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4 October 2024
However, in doing so the Committee has underlined that scope for effective Parliamentary scrutiny of targets and plans, something which it calls crucial to overall net zero delivery, is essential.
In its report, the Committee state that action so far to meet Scotland's ambitious climate change emission reduction targets has been inadequate, leading regrettably, to a situation where the interim target is no longer achievable by 2030.
The Committee accept that a framework based on multi-year carbon budgeting is a better and more flexible system for setting targets for emissions reductions than the current approach. The Committee also calls for actions to deliver the next climate change plan to be set in motion as soon as possible.
Committee Convener, Edward Mountain MSP, said;
“This Bill was announced in April, but it took until 5 September for it to be introduced meaning that as a committee, we found ourselves considering at pace legislation that, whilst succinct, is also technical and complex. This was wholly unsatisfactory and should have been avoided.
“Consequently, we are now posing fundamental questions to the Scottish Government which must be answered before this Bill progresses to the next stage.”
The report sets out recommendations as to how parliamentary scrutiny, public consultation and policy development can be achieved. These include;
The Scottish Government says that the purpose of the Bill is “...to amend the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (“the 2009 Act”), in the wake of the Climate Change Committee’s advice that Scotland’s interim emissions reduction target for 2030 is beyond what can be achieved.”
The Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 5 September 2024.
The Bill and accompanying documents can be found here.
The Committee held a pre-legislative targeted call for views over the summer on the likely main elements of the Bill and received 52 submissions.
The Committee held 3 evidence sessions on 10, 17 and 24 September 2024.
SPICe produced a briefing on the Bill.
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