Public sector leadership on the global climate emergency: guidance

2. Supporting National Climate Change Policies and Action

Scotland has set in legislation worldleading climate targets, to cut emissions by 75% by 2030 and 90% by 2040 from the 1990 baseline and then to achieve net zero emissions by 2045. How these targets will be achieved is outlined in the publication of the Climate Change Plan Update.

Scotland’s public sector is providing frontline leadership and advocacy across the full range of climate and related policies including:

• a just transition and green recovery to a resilient net zero economy;
• investment in green energy and supporting green jobs, training and skills;
• low carbon transport and active travel;
• emissions reductions from energy efficiency in buildings and from low carbon heat;
• decarbonisation of the £13.3bn of public sector procurement; and
• adaptation of public services to the impacts of the changing climate and the implementation of nature-based solutions.

Other key policies for the public sector are: planning and place policy; waste recycling and circular economy; health and wellbeing; land use, agriculture and biodiversity; and public engagement.

Given the global climate emergency, public bodies must play a key role in the national endeavour to achieve net zero emissions by 2045, by:

• aligning investments and programmes with the priorities of the updated Climate Change Plan to support a just transition to net zero and a green recovery;
• engaging the private sector to encourage them to take action towards a just transition, including transition planning, a commitment to partnership working, placing equity and environmental considerations at the heart of decision-making and supporting good, green jobs and sustainable procurement;
• Using their influence in communities and sectors they work in, leading the way on decarbonisation;
• helping to develop case studies to showcase action; and
• accelerating action to become a net zero organisation.

Public bodies have been required to take action on climate change for many years and the statutory requirements have been strengthened over time. The statutory framework for climate action and reporting is outlined below:

• Section 44 of Part 4 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 places duties on public bodies relating to climate change which entered into force on 1 January 2011.
• Section 44 says that a public body must, in exercising its functions, act:
  • in the way best calculated to contribute to the delivery of Scotland’s national emissions reduction targets (known as ‘mitigation’);
  • in the way best calculated to help deliver Scotland’s statutory climate change adaptation programme;
  • in a way that it considers is most sustainable.
• Section 46 of the 2009 Act and The Climate Change (Duties of Public Bodies: Reporting Requirements) (Scotland) Order 2015 have required over 180 listed public bodies to report annually on compliance with their Section 44 duties since 2015-16.
• The Climate Change (Duties of Public Bodies: Reporting Requirements) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2020 sets out that, by November 2022, public bodies will be required to provide in their statutory annual climate change reports:
  • 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;
  • where applicable, targets for reducing indirect emissions of greenhouse gases;
  • how the body will align its spending plans and use of resources to contribute to reducing emissions and delivering its emissions reduction targets;
  • how the body will publish, or otherwise make available, its progress to achieving its emissions reduction targets; and
  • where applicable, what contribution the body has made to helping deliver Scotland’s Climate Change Adaptation Programme.

Net Zero Places and the Wider Influence of Public Bodies

The public sector plays a vital role in enabling Scotland’s transition to net zero. Through their varied functions, public bodies can have a wide and significant influence on emissions far beyond their organisational boundaries. Public bodies can and must act collaboratively to create the conditions by which national, regional and local scale emissions can be reduced in line with Scotland’s targets.

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 places duties on all public bodies to use the range of their functions to address climate change. Public bodies have a wide range of functions that can influence emissions. These include spatial and transport planning, place-making, investment, infrastructure development, economic development, funding, regulation, communications, education, community development, and partnership development and facilitation. At a local authority area level, community planning is a statutory requirement to support and enable community empowerment and place-making. Local authorities have planning and financing powers, and at national and regional levels a range of public bodies have powers and responsibilities for planning, development, investment and public engagement. All of these functions need to be brought to bear to enable Scotland to increase the scale and pace of climate action.

The wider influence of public bodies on emissions can be categorised, in part, as the Scope 3 upstream and downstream impacts of their functions. For example, when developing new housing in a locality, there will be upstream impacts due to the resources used in the construction of the housing, and there will be downstream impacts due to the emissions generated by the new households. Housing should be developed with these upstream and downstream impacts in mind, and action taken to have a positive influence along the ‘value chain’ that public bodies can influence.

Another way of addressing these wider influence emissions is through the lens of place-making and the need to transition to net zero places. In many local authority areas, for example, public bodies are working together to develop net zero plans and partnership on areawide emissions. Local authority placebased emissions work is guided by the GHG Protocol for Cities | Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and can often be linked to local authority commitments e.g. the Global Covenant of Mayors. While less mature than corporate emissions monitoring, reporting and verification, this area of standards, protocols and approaches is developing fast, reflecting the scale and importance of public sector action on place-based emissions.

Policy commitments that are driving forward place-based climate action include policies on Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies, National Planning Framework 4, policies on active travel, car journey reduction targets, the development of concepts such as the 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, and the use of the Place Standard Tool to develop climate smart localities, and the Scottish Government’s response to the Scottish Infrastructure Commission.

Examples of local authority placebased climate action in Scotland include examples in Scotland‘s cities – for example Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Stirling – and in other areas such as Dumfries and Galloway and Fife. Local and regional partnerships are being formed, such as in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire, and targets are being set by local authorities for their areas. Net Zero Plans are also being developed, with work commissioned by the likes of Dumfries and Galloway Council and Shetland Islands Council. In some areas, Community Planning Partnerships are being used to drive local collaboration and coordination of place-based climate action. Place-based climate action is also being researched and developed by the UK-wide Placebased Climate Action Network, with University of Edinburgh and the City of Edinburgh Council being the leads for this multi-year research and development programme. This programme is supporting the development of local area Net Zero Routemaps, informed by the work of the Leeds Climate Commission.

Emissions data is available to inform local authority place-based climate action. The UK Government provides the Local Authority CO2 dataset, which also contains a sub-set of data on ‘emissions under the influence of local authorities’. This data is released annually, and is useful to provide a common data start point which can be supplemented by data available locally to inform local planning. In 2021 the local government Improvement Service integrated these two datasets into the Local Government Benchmarking Framework.

There are also a range of tools that are developing to help support place-based climate action. Many consultancies also have their own tools, based on GPC standards and adhering to the Global Covenant of Mayors guidance. More information about tools can be found on the SSN website.

The Scottish Government and SSN are seeking to develop further guidance and advice on place-based climate action to support public bodies.