Climate Change Plan 2018-2032 - update: strategic environmental assessment - draft

Chapter 6 - Monitoring

6.1 Monitoring for any unforeseen adverse environmental effects is a statutory requirement within the 2005 Act. Monitoring seeks to ensure that plans avoid generating unforeseen adverse environmental effects. Due to the wide-ranging nature of the sectors, and the potential for indirect environmental effects it is necessary for the monitoring framework for the SEA to reflect all environmental topics.

6.2 A monitoring framework has been developed for the Climate Change Plan update which sets out indicators for each policy outcome and progress towards key milestones and targets. It is suggested that the monitoring for the Environmental Report combines the monitoring framework for the Climate Change Plan with other key environmental indicators in order to identify potential correlation between progress towards outcomes and other environmental change, and to trigger further investigation of potential causation.

6.3 The following existing monitoring programmes will be relevant to monitoring potential adverse environmental effects of the Climate Change Plan Update:

• Scotland’s GHG emissions- data collected by the Committee on Climate Change^[254].
• Travel and transport – data collected for the National Transport Strategy and key statistics collected by Transport Scotland^[255].
• Biodiversity, flora and fauna – condition monitoring of designated biodiversity sites^[256].
• Air quality^[257] - national monitoring of air quality.
• Water quality^[258] - SEPA undertake water quality condition monitoring.
• Soil – a soil monitoring action plan is underway^[259] and land use change can also provide indications of soil quality.
• Cultural heritage^[260] - Historic Environment Scotland monitors changes to designated sites but impacts on setting and cumulative change requires an alternative monitoring mechanism to be established.
• Landscape and geodiversity – NatureScot run the national Scotland’s Landscape Monitoring Programme^[261]. Additionally, data on woodland and forestry, changes in agricultural land management practices and renewable energy all provide data on landscape change.
• Total waste production – SEPA collect key waste statistics^[262]. Data on the proportion of energy from waste (combustion and biogas) would also be relevant.
• Area of woodland and forestry/new woodland and forestry^[263] - Scottish Forestry collect woodland and forestry data.
• Scotland’s installed renewable GW capacity – collected through proposed CCPu monitoring framework.