Public sector leadership on the global climate emergency: guidance

1. Guidance Overview

This section of the guidance provides public bodies with an overview of policy areas, action plans and targets across key areas of emissions and climate action.

This guidance is in part to support the strengthened statutory climate change reporting duties and the requirement for public bodies to report:

• where applicable, the body’s target date for achieving zero direct emissions of greenhouse gases, or such other targets that demonstrate how the body is contributing to Scotland achieving its emissions reduction targets; and
• where applicable, targets for reducing indirect emissions of greenhouse gases.

This guidance does not cover the wider role of public sector in climate leadership.

The scope of this section is to provide expectation over:

• the leadership and governance within public bodies on climate action;
• the standard of greenhouse gas reporting; and
• action on different emissions categories e.g. Buildings, Transport etc. for public bodies’ organisational emissions.