Legislation that will see Scotland move to using five year carbon
budgets to set climate targets has been passed.
The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill
amends the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 to introduce limits
on the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in Scotland over a
five-year period.
The move, which is based on recommendations from the independent
Climate Change Committee (CCC), aims to provide a more reliable
framework for emissions reduction. This is because the previous
annual emissions targets are vulnerable to year-to-year
fluctuations caused by events such as a particularly cold winter
or a global pandemic.
The legislation enables the carbon budgets to be set through
secondary legislation based on the expert advice from the
Climate Change Committee. The Bill also changes the current
deadline to finalise the next Climate Change Plan for Scotland so
the Plan can align with the process for setting the new carbon
budgets.
Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero said: “Scotland is now
halfway to net zero and continues to be ahead of the UK as a
whole in delivering long term emissions reductions.
“The Scottish Government's commitment to ending Scotland's
contribution to global emissions by 2045 at the latest, as agreed
by Parliament on a cross-party basis, is unwavering. It is
crucial that our target pathway to 2045 is set at a pace and
scale that is feasible and reflects the latest independent expert
advice.
“Carbon budgets are an established model for assessment of
emissions reductions used by other nations including Japan,
France, England and Wales, and they will include emissions from
international aviation and shipping and there will be no
provision to “carry over” emissions from one carbon budget to
another.
“We will continue leading on climate action that is fair,
ambitious and capable of rising to the emergency before us and
reflects our commitment to the ambition of credible emissions
reduction.”
Background
Climate Change (Emissions
Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill
