On 6 November, the Scottish Government published a draft Climate Change Plan (CCP). The draft CCP sets out the Scottish Government’s policy proposals for how it will reduce carbon emissions throughout the period 2026 – 2040 and make progress towards Scotland becoming ‘net zero’ by 2045.
Scrutiny of the draft CCP will be a cross-parliamentary effort, reflecting the fact that climate change impacts across all sectors. This work is being led and coordinated by the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee.
Further details on the draft CCP and the Parliament scrutiny undertaken so far can be found in the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee section of the Scottish Parliament website.
Climate Change Plan | Scottish Parliament Website
The Rural Affairs and Islands Committee has agreed to consider two sections of the draft CCP relevant to its remit:
The Committee carried out pre-legislative scrutiny of the CCP at its meetings on 12 and 19 March when it heard from industry stakeholders and experts on the decarbonisation of Scottish agriculture.
The issue of climate change was also discussed as part of a roundtable held by the Committee on forestry at its meeting on 15 January.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee Meeting, 15 January 2025
The Committee will hold further evidence sessions on the agriculture and LULUCF sections at its meetings on 7 and 14 January. It will then take concluding evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands at its meeting on 28 January.
The Committee will then publish a report on its findings prior to the statutory reporting deadline of 5 March.
The inquiry was discussed at the following Committee meetings: