The Climate Change Plan (CCP) is a document which outlines how the Scottish Government intends to meet emissions reduction targets across all portfolio areas and sectors of the economy. The Plan covers the period 2026-2040 as Scotland looks to be ‘net zero’ in carbon emissions by 2045.
Net zero is the point when emissions entering the atmosphere are balanced by removals out of the atmosphere.
The Scottish Government laid a on 6 November 2025. The was in 2018, with a published in 2021.
This follows the Scottish Parliament’s approval of regulations which set five-year carbon budgets - limits on the amount of greenhouse gas which can legally be emitted over a given time. The CCP seeks to meet the reduction targets set out in the regulations for the period 2026-2040.
The CCP must also set out the costs and benefits of policies it proposes, whilst taking into consideration the principles of a Just Transition - that the switch to net zero should reduce not increase social injustice.
The was published on 27 February 2026
Scrutiny of the draft CCP was also a cross-parliamentary effort, reflecting the fact that climate change impacts across all sectors.
As well as the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee the following committees published their own reports or sent this Committee letters on the draft CCP:
Committees who also published reports on the draft CCP:
, published 12 February 2026;
, published 6 February 2026;
, published 3 March 2026
Six other committees wrote to the NZET Committee to support scrutiny on the draft CCP:
Following the period of parliamentary scrutiny, the Scottish Government published the .
The Committee launched a new consultation on 27 November 2025 designed to hear the views of individuals and communities on what they think about how Scotland reaches netzero emissionsin a short and accessible format.
The NZET Committee ran a Call for Views asking respondents what should be in the draft CCP over the summer. We received 101 responses which are available here, alongside summaries prepared by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Read the summaries of the Call for Views responses prepared by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, broken down by subject:
Land Use, Land Use Changes and Forestry
27 June 2025
The Committee’s Call for Views opened
19 September 2025
The Committee’s Call for Views closed
6 November 2025
The Scottish Government laid the draft Climate Change Plan for a period of 120 days.
25 November 2025
The Committee took evidence from a panel on the draft CCP as a whole, considering aspects including financing, governance, monitoring and evaluations.
27 November 2025
The Committee launched a consultation using the Your Priorities platform aimed at reaching individual and communities to hear their views on the draft Plan.
16 December 2025
The Committee heard from two panels on:
- An overview of the draft CCP, considering aspects including delivery, costs, and the balance between different areas where emission reductions are proposed.
- A panel focussing on the rollout of Electric Vehicles to meet emission reduction targets in the transport section of the draft CCP.
6 January 2026
The Committee heard from two panels on:
- Further aspects of the transport section, focussing on travel demand management, active and sustainable transport, and freight.
- The waste chapter of the draft CCP which includes landfill and circular economy policies.
19 January 2026
The Committee visited the north east of Scotland to hear from local communities and stakeholders with an interest in the energy section of the draft CCP.
20 January 2026
The Committee heard from a panel on energy deployment in the draft CCP
25 January 2026
The Committee’s consultation using the Your Priorities platform closed on 25 January 2026.
27 January 2026
The Committee heard from a panel on renewable energy production as it related to the draft CCP.
3 February 2026
The Committee took closing evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport.
10 February 2026
The Committee will take closing evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy.
27 February 2026
The Committee published its report.
5 March 2026
The Committee held a debate in the chamber on the draft Plan.The Official Report is available on the Parliament’s website.
24 March 2026
The Scottish Government published the Climate Change Plan
The inquiry was discussed at the following Committee meetings:
The Committee met with Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament’s Transport, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee on 13 January.
The Committee also visited Aberdeen on 19 January:
The was published on 27 February 2026
The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence during the inquiry:
Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy Follow up to draft climate change plan evidence session 16 February 2026
Letter from Dr Elizabeth Lawson, 10 February 2026
Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Transport, 5 February 2026
Letter from Dr Mark Winskel, 5 February 2026
Letter to Climate Change Committee, 4 February 2026
Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, 2 February 2026
Letter from Economy and Fair Work Committee, 30 January 2026
Letter from Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, 30 January 2026
Letter from Professor Jillian Anable, 30 January 2026
Letter from Criminal Justice Committee, 29 January 2026
Letter from Climate Change Committee, 29 January 2026
Letter to Climate Change Committee, 28 January 2026
Letter from Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, 27 January 2026
Letter from Storegga, 27 January 2026
Letter from Walking Scotland, 23 January 2026
Letter from Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF), 23 January 2026
Letter from Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, 23 January 2026
Letter from Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, 23 January 2026
Letter from Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action, 22 January 2026
Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, 22 January 2026
Letter to Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, 19 January 2026
Letter from Charge UK, 13 January 2026
Letter from Audit Scotland, 10 December 2025
Letter from Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, 9 December 2025
Letter from Social Justice and Social Security Committee, 27 November 2025
Letter from Criminal Justice Committee, 1 December 2025
Letter from DPLR Committee, 26 November 2025
Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, 6 November 2025
Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, 3 November 2025
Letter from Convener to Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, 30 October 2025
Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, 24 July 2025