Leadership in the public sector
Scotland’s public sector has a key role to play in the shared national endeavour to tackle the global crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and health inequalities. Public bodies are already demonstrating strong leadership in delivering a just transition to net zero emissions by 2045, while supporting resilient, fair and sustainable public services.
Public bodies in Scotland are subject to climate change duties, set out in section 44 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. In exercising their functions, relevant public bodies must act in the way best calculated to contribute to the delivery of emissions reduction targets, to help deliver the Scottish National Adaptation Plan, and in a way that the body considers is most sustainable.
Since 2015, Scotland’s public bodies have been legally required to report annually on their compliance with the climate change duties, including progress on reducing operational emissions. The public sector can be proud of the role it has played in helping to halve Scotland’s national greenhouse gas emissions over this period. Many organisations show leadership in climate action, using their scale, influence and spending power to drive wider change across society.
Public bodies are also central to Scotland’s preparedness for the impacts of climate change. Alongside emissions reduction, they play a vital role in climate adaptation, ensuring that services, infrastructure and communities are resilient to the changing climate.
Local authorities’ climate action
Local authorities are rising to the challenge of the climate emergency and play a critical role in reducing area-wide emissions, supporting community resilience and delivering local climate action.
We are working closely with COSLA to strengthen collaboration between national and local government through a shared Climate Delivery Framework to agree priorities, align action and jointly address delivery challenges.
We have established a Scottish Climate Intelligence Service (SCIS) in partnership with local government, which supports councils to build capability, access data and evidence, and accelerate area-wide climate action.
Strengthening the statutory framework
Updated statutory guidance for public bodies, to support them in implementing the climate change duties, was published on 6 March 2026. The guidance aims to support public bodies to meet the climate changes duties by minimising their operational emissions, adapting and becoming resilient to the current and future impacts of the changing climate, living within environmental limits, and ensuring a strong, healthy and just society.
Climate change duties reporting
Public bodies subject to the climate change duties must submit annual compliance reports setting out emissions data, targets and actions taken in relation to mitigation, adaptation and procurement. These reports are a key mechanism for transparency, accountability and continuous improvement.
In 2020, the legislative framework underpinning public sector climate leadership was strengthened through additional reporting requirements. These require public bodies to report, where appropriate:
- a target date for achieving zero direct emissions
- targets for reducing indirect emissions
- how their spending aligns with emissions reduction targets
- how they contribute to the objectives of Scotland’s National Adaptation Plan
Analysis of the annual reports is undertaken by the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN), and reports are published on the SSN website. The most recent analysis provides a comprehensive overview of trends, challenges and good practice across the public sector. Reported operational and electricity-related emissions from public buildings have reduced by almost a third since mandatory reporting began in 2015 to 2016.
A number of public bodies have set ambitious targets. For example, Scotland’s colleges have collectively committed to achieving net zero by 2040 or earlier, while Scottish Water has also set a net zero target for 2040.
Scottish Government corporate emissions
At the end of March 2025, annual greenhouse gas emissions from the Scottish Government estate and operations had reduced by 19% when compared to the baseline year of 2019 to 2020.
A new Climate Action Plan for the period of 2026 to 2030 is under development. This will set emissions reduction targets and outline plans for climate adaptation and wider sustainability.
We report annually on our progress in addressing the climate emergency within our Public Bodies Climate Change Duties Report and s.76 Scottish Civil Estate Report.