Scottish Government admits ‘falling short’ of its own climate change law

The Scottish Government has admitted “falling short” of its own climate change laws by failing to set out how its ambitious emissions cutting targets are compatible with massive infrastructure investment.

Holyrood ministers were threatened with legal action last week by the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS) and Good Law Project, over a potential breach of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

The legislation states that when announcing major infrastructure investments, ministers must publish an assessment showing how they will impact targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

However, lawyers for the two groups pointed out that no such assessment has been released in relation to the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan, more than two years after it was published in February 2021.

In a written response, lawyers for the Scottish Government said ministers “now accept that the documentation published to date falls short of the requirements” in the Climate Change Act.

The letter added: “Urgent work is under way on a remedy to ensure that the duty is discharged in full and as soon as possible.”

It also urged the groups to hold back on lodging a judicial review, arguing that this would be “premature” while the situation is being resolved. Dr Shivali Fifield, chief officer at ERCS, said: “While it is promising that the Scottish Government has finally admitted their failure, it is extremely concerning that they are still needing time to publish a climate impact assessment for a plan that is already in progress.

“This breach only came to light because a concerned citizen contacted us. It shouldn’t be left to individuals to suss out whether ministers are acting lawfully or adding fuel to the fire when confronting the climate crisis.

“It is now down to the Government to regain credibility and show that their spending decisions will deliver a just transition towards net zero.”

Emma Dearnaley, legal director at the Good Law Project, added: “Governments can try to duck and weave around their duties when their law breaking is revealed, so it’s heartening that the Scottish Government has owned up to its mistake and committed to correcting it quickly.

“We’ll be keeping a close eye on this to make sure the Government follows through.

“With floods and fires sweeping across the world, there’s no time to lose in the fight against the climate emergency. The Scottish Government must now act with the urgency the crisis requires.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Scottish ministers have accepted that the Infrastructure Investment Plan material published to date falls short of the statutory requirement to also publish an assessment of how the plan is expected to contribute to emissions reduction targets.

“Urgent work is underway to ensure that the duty is discharged in full and as soon as possible. The Scottish Government is also working with Environmental Standards Scotland to resolve this issue.”