Carbon Neutral Islands: financing roadmap

Ministerial Foreword

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that Scotland’s islands are at the forefront of our decarbonisation journey. We know that islands are under particular threat from the effects of climate change through rising sea-levels and coastal erosion. However they also hold huge potential and are often at the forefront of innovation when it comes to sustainable economic growth.

It was within this context that the Carbon Neutral Islands Project was established in 2021/2022. This project aims to support six Scottish islands – Yell, Hoy, Barra, Raasay, Islay and Cumbrae – to reach net zero emissions by 2040, five years before the target for the rest of Scotland. The first three years of the project have seen many successes. We have collaborated with local expertise to lead on the project on each island and work on their Community Climate Change Action Plans is well underway.

It is now time to bring the project into a new phase, scaling up the ambition of its deliverables and clarifying how the high cost of the net zero transition can be met across the islands. This Financing Roadmap sets out how the project will operate in this new phase, highlighting the importance of collaborative work between the Scottish Government, local authorities and island partners.

The Roadmap also sets out aspirational projects for each island showing clearly their next steps towards net zero carbon emissions.

I look forward to working closely with each island as we further the ambitions of this Roadmap and work towards carbon neutrality.

Jim Fairlie

Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity.