Chamber and committees

Under section 36 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, the Scottish Government has a legal duty to produce a catch-up report with additional policies and proposals to compensate in future years for the excess emissions from any missed annual emissions targets. These have already been published for any previously missed targets. The 2020 target, which is the most recent to have been reported on, was met. We are one of only a very few countries to have such a rigorous statutory system which requires us to outperform on future targets when past targets are not met.

Under the legal framework set by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and agreed by the Scottish Parliament, a target outcome is determined at the time it is reported, which means that it is not possible to subsequently meet a previously missed emissions target.

The Scottish Government meets regularly with the UK Government to discuss areas of shared interest on climate change, including through the Net Zero, Energy and Climate Change Inter-Ministerial Group. Given the significant powers reserved to Westminster, including on energy infrastructure, taxation and borrowing powers, the Scottish Government intend to discuss further with the UK Government how we can ensure our plans aren't delayed as a result of UK Government decisions where shared action is needed to meet our future emissions targets.

The extremely stretching statutory emissions targets framework, set in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (“the 2009 Act”) by the Scottish Parliament, places specific duties on Scottish Ministers in the case that emissions reduction targets are missed. In particular, a missed emissions target triggers a duty on Ministers to bring forward – as soon as reasonably practicable after such a target outcome has been reported - additional policies and proposals to compensate in future years for the excess emissions arising from the missed target.

Under section 36 of the 2009 Act, a statutory catch-up report in relation to the 2019 annual emissions target was laid in Parliament in October 2021 (supplementing the ambitious and transformational commitments in the updated Climate Change Plan, finalised in March 2021)which included measures to make up for the shortfall from the previously missed 2017 and 2018 annual targets.

This approach ensures that the total amount of Scottish emissions over the lifetime of the targets in the Act will remain no greater than would have been the case if all of the annual targets had been exactly met.

The outcome of the 2021 emissions reduction target will not be known until statistics for that year are published by early June 2023. In the event that any emissions reduction target is missed, under section 36 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 the Scottish Government has a legal duty to produce a catch-up report with additional policies and proposals to compensate in future years for the excess emissions. This approach ensures that the total amount of Scottish emissions over the lifetime of the targets in the Act will remain no greater than would have been the case if all of the annual targets had been exactly met.

Officials regularly engage with institutions with expertise across further education, training, and skills. During the development of our draft ESJTP, we have had input from representatives from Robert Gordon University, Stirling University, University of the Highlands and Islands, University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, OPITO, X-Academy, Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, The Business Partnership, and Skills Development Scotland.

We will continue to engage with industry experts and wider stakeholders and encourage the broadest possible range of responses to the formal consultation of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.

The Scottish Government engaged with a range of industry stakeholders as part of the development of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, including through the Scottish Energy Advisory Board and its Strategic Leadership Groups, as well as engagement with research organisations and independent experts. Officials regularly engage with stakeholders including OEUK, Scottish Renewables, Energy UK and Solar Energy Scotland, and that engagement has informed the development of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. We will continue to engage with industry experts and wider stakeholders, and encourage the broadest possible range of responses to the consultation on the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.

The development of an investment prospectus, as mentioned in the Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan , originated as a recommendation from the Just Transition Commission, in its ‘Making the Future – Initial Report of the 2 nd Just Transition Commission’ report. Officials are committed to the development of the investment prospectus over the course of this Parliament, with much of the detail emerging through the process of developing our next Climate Change Plan and the Just Transition Plans.

We will be seeking to make use of the Just Transition Commission's expertise as we develop our work. The investment prospectus will also be developed in consultation with key stakeholders, including financial institutions, trade bodies, and business, ahead of the finalised Strategy and Plan.

The Scottish Government engaged with a range of industry stakeholders as part of the development of the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, including through the Scottish Energy Advisory Board and its Strategic Leadership Groups, as well as engagement with research organisations and independent experts. Officials regularly draw on the expertise of organisations, such Wood Mackenzie. We will continue to engage with industry experts and wider stakeholders, and encourage the broadest possible range of responses to the consultation on the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13041 on 10 January 2023 . All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .’

While we can be confident that the Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics publication for 2021 will be published by early June 2023, we can not provide a precise date at this time. The reason being that the publication date is agreed by officials in the four Nations of the UK following initial quality assurance of the draft greenhouse gas inventory dataset.

The publication date will be pre-announced on the Scottish Government website during the month before publication.