Publication - Impact assessment

The Environment Strategy for Scotland: Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)

Published: 24 March 2026
From: Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
Directorate: Environment and Forestry Directorate
Topic: Children and families, Environment and climate change
ISBN: 9781806439928

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) for the Environment Strategy for Scotland

Supporting documents

Introduction

1. Brief Summary

Type of proposal:

Decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children and young people.

Name the proposal, and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.

Name: Environment Strategy

The Environment Strategy sets out a holistic framework for delivering Scotland’s role in tackling the global crises of nature loss, climate change and pollution. The Strategy brings together the Scottish Government’s existing policy response to tackling nature loss, climate change and pollution, highlighting the importance of carefully managing synergies^[1] and trade-offs across these goals. The Strategy builds on these existing policies by outlining new priorities and proposals. These focus on opportunities for supporting the economic and societal changes needed to help tackle these global crises in ways that create wider benefits for Scotland – supporting green jobs and industries, such as renewables, improving people’s health, tackling poverty and promoting social justice.

The Strategy sets out the steps needed for supporting and enabling these changes in ways that will transform our country for the better, improving the lives of people across Scotland, including children. Achieving the Environment Strategy’s vision will play a fundamental role in improving outcomes for children and young people. For example:

Younger generations will be most affected by the impacts of climate change, nature loss and pollution - we have a responsibility to safeguard the planet for current and future generations and to ensure the voices of children and young people are heard and respected as part of this.
Tackling air pollution and improving our resilience to climate change is particularly important for safeguarding the health of children, who are disproportionately affected.
Outdoor, nature-based play and education can play an important role in improving children and young people’s health, wellbeing and educational attainment.

The Environment Strategy fulfils Ministers obligation under section 47 of the UK Withdrawal from the EU (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 to prepare and publish an environmental policy strategy, with section 47 also requiring Scottish Ministers to have due regard to the strategy when making policies, including proposals for legislation.

Vision and outcomes

The vision for the Strategy begins by describing our 2045 vision: by restoring nature, ending Scotland's contribution to climate change and tackling pollution, our country is transformed for the better - helping to secure the wellbeing of our people and planet for generations to come. The vision recognises that tackling these crises will depend on changes in Scotland’s economy and society, and how this can help transform Scotland for the better – for improving people’s health and wellbeing.

The Strategy aims to improve the wellbeing of everyone in Scotland, including children and young people. The aim of the Strategy is to ensure that everyone, including children and young people can enjoy the life-supporting benefits the environment provides. This includes improving people’s health and wellbeing, tackling poverty and inequalities, and supporting green jobs and businesses in the transition to net zero by 2045.

To achieve the Strategy’s vision, we have identified a set of outcomes that will contribute to this aim. Four outcomes describe our goals for tackling climate change and restoring the health of our natural environment, in Scotland and overseas:

Scotland’s nature is protected and restored
We have ended Scotland’s contribution to climate change
We minimise pollution and waste in our environment
Scotland’s global environmental impact is sustainable.

Two of the outcomes describe the positive transformations in our society and economy that will support these goals, while creating wider benefits for Scotland’s prosperity and wellbeing:

Scotland’s society is transformed for the better by living sustainably, in harmony with nature
Scotland’s net zero, nature positive and circular economy thrives within the planet’s sustainable limits.

The Strategy also sets out two cross-cutting outcomes that explain how we will build Scotland’s resilience to the impacts of these global crises and support wider goals for social justice in Scotland and overseas:

We build Scotland’s resilience to climate change and other global environmental risks.
These transformations are achieved through a just transition, supporting climate and environmental justice and intergenerational equity.

The Strategy presents high-level pathways for driving progress towards the outcomes. These pathways summarise key existing policies while also identifying proposals and priorities to guide future policy development across the breadth of government. The pathways are followed by a summary of arrangements for monitoring and reporting progress towards the outcomes, in order to guide improvements to our approach.

Start date of proposal’s development: 29 January 2021

Start date of CRWIA process: 21 June 2024

2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which aspects of the proposal are relevant to or impact upon children’s rights?

Consideration of this question can be set in the context of the developing thinking on the recognition of a right to a healthy environment. Proposals for the recognition of the right to a healthy environment are included in the development of a Scottish Human Rights Bill, and there is continuing development of the proposals as a part of wider continuing work to produce an effective legislative framework to protect and advance human rights for people in Scotland. The development of the Strategy has been informed by the development of these proposals, as well as by the existing requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation)(Scotland) Act 2024.

Matters considered in the development of the Environment Strategy, which will provide positive benefits to children and young people, can be related to the Articles of the UNCRC and include (additional information can be found in Annex 1):

Article 2 (non-discrimination) and Article 23 (children with a disability) – the Strategy will benefit all children and young people and will address areas of inequalities, especially race and disability. Evidence indicates that all children and young people will benefit from greater air quality, especially those with disabilities and children and young people who live in more ethnically diverse communities.
Article 3 (best interests of the child), Article 6 (life, survival and development), Article 24 (health and health services) & Article 27 (adequate standard of living) - the Strategy will benefit everyone, but children and young people will benefit more than others from improvements in air quality, as children and young people are more at risk of lung conditions such as asthma and chest infections.
Article 28 (right to education) & Article 29 (goals of education) - nature-based education will help benefit children’s health, wellbeing and educational attainment.
Article 31 (leisure, play and culture) – the Strategy will help children and young people benefit from increased access to high-quality environmental spaces.

The Environment Strategy will apply across Scotland, and while the Strategy will benefit society as a whole, children and young people in particular will benefit. This is because evidence shows that poorer air quality is more likely to impact children and young people than adults, with more children and young people being admitted to hospital with lung conditions such as asthma and chest infections^[2]. Children and young people living in more deprived areas^[3], and those living with poor health^[4] are also at greater risk.

The proposed outcomes of the Strategy will enable children and young people to benefit from increasing access to green spaces and improving air quality, which will create significant health benefits and help to reduce inequalities. It will also support children and young people as they finish education and look to move into the job market.

There is also a commitment in the Strategy to strengthen nature-based education to inspire care for nature and improve outcomes for children, as there is strong evidence of the benefits this can create for children and young people’s health, wellbeing and educational attainment.

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal.

Evidence from:

Existing research:

Evidence from Consultation/feedback from stakeholders

As part of our consideration and development of the Environment Strategy, a formal public consultation was carried out. The consultation was launched on Thursday 3 July and closed on Monday 29 September. The consultation was held on the Scottish Government’s Citizen Space website: https://consult.gov.scot/environment-forestry/draft-environment-strategy/. There were 126 responses submitted to the consultation from individuals and a wide range of organisations. A number of public engagement sessions were also held with stakeholders. The draft CRWIA formed part of the public consultation, alongside the draft Environment Strategy, and questions were included to help assess the impact on children.

The consultation analysis on the draft CRWIA can be found in the annex, and the full consultation analysis can be found here.

In addition, in a meeting between the First Minister and his Cabinet, Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs) and Children’s Parliament (MCPs), one of the key issues that was discussed was on climate change and mental health^[5]. This shows the importance of climate change to younger people and taking their views into account is important to them.

4. Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed

No gaps in evidence have been identified, however we recommend that the individual priorities and proposals that follow the publication of the Environment Strategy will be assessed for their impact on children and young people, and further CRWIAs (and other relevant impact assessments) will be carried out where appropriate. This will help to prevent any potential unintended consequences from the priorities and proposals.

It will also be important that children and young people’s views are considered in the implementation of the priorities and proposals, and as part of the monitoring of the Environment Strategy.

5. Analysis of Evidence

Children and young people living in more deprived areas are more likely to be exposed to higher levels of air pollution and have less access to green spaces than those who live in less deprived areas. This is evidenced by there being a smaller percentage of people living within the most deprived areas being less than a 5-minute walk to their nearest green or blue space than those living in the least deprived areas.

Evidence suggests^[6] that increasing access to green spaces and improving air quality can help to improve our health and mental wellbeing especially those suffering with poor mental health and health issues. As mentioned above, evidence shows that air quality is more likely to impact children and young people more than adults, with more children being admitted to hospital with lung conditions such as asthma and chest infections, and even before birth with the risk of babies being born smaller or premature.

The evidence indicates that children with disabilities will also benefit from the Strategy through better health and wellbeing. Research has shown that better access to green spaces and improving air quality helps improve mental wellbeing and health, which will be of benefit to those people with disabilities, including children and young people with respiratory diseases.

The impact of the climate crisis is also having an effect on the mental health of children and young people^[7], with many children and young people being impacted by climate anxiety. Research^[8] conducted by the Lancet has found that respondents across all countries were worried about climate change (59% were very or extremely worried and 84% were at least moderately worried). More than 50% reported each of the following emotions: sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty. Achieving the vision and outcomes in the Environment Strategy will help resolve some of these problems and help remove some of the anxieties on children and young people.

Increasing access to green spaces and improving air quality will also help to improve children’s mental wellbeing^[9]. This will also help to remove inequalities by improving environmental quality in the most deprived areas of Scotland^[10]. It has also been suggested that nature-based education can help benefit children’s health, wellbeing and educational attainment^[11]. There is also likely to be a positive impact on children from green jobs as they transition into adulthood, creating fairer opportunities for training and employment.

A summary of the responses on the draft CRWIA were generally positive, particularly on the environmental benefits for children and the benefits from green space, cleaner air, and nature-based education. However, some responses suggested that the impact of mental wellbeing could have been further emphasised by highlighting the growing impact of climate anxiety. In addition, some respondents wanted more detail on how access to green spaces and air quality would be improved for low-income and rural-based children. Other responses also highlighted that children already have right to a healthy environment, under Article 24 of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024. We believe that these respondents were actually referring to Article 24 of the underlying Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognises “the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health” rather than Article 24 of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024.

Responses also mentioned the importance of considering potential unintended consequences from transition costs and the impact on children from lower income families. Responses also wanted more consideration on the impact of future generations in the CRWIA and on the benefits of green jobs. On nature-based education, many respondents called for environmental education to be treated not as an optional activity, but as a right for all young people. Consultation respondents also noted that unequal access to outdoor spaces, environmental education, and nature-based learning continues to disadvantage children in rural, island, and low-income communities. Lastly, some of the responses highlighted the importance of involving children in the development of the Strategy, and how this could strengthen policy going forward.

Therefore, the evidence suggests that there is likely to be a greater, more positive impact to children from the Strategy on their wellbeing than perhaps on other age groups. The Strategy is, therefore likely to have a positive impact in general on younger people, however potential unintended consequences will need to be considered and mitigated against during the implementation of the priorities and proposals. Evidence indicates that all children and young people will benefit from greater air quality, especially those with disabilities and children and young people who live in more ethnically diverse communities.

6. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?

Following consultation, the Strategy has been amended to include consideration of intergenerational equity^[12], alongside other issues of environmental justice. The Strategy emphasises the importance of ensuring the voices of children and young people are heard, to ensure our approach supports intergenerational equity. Going forward, the Strategy states that we shall embed intergenerational equity in our approach, across government, to tackling the nature, climate and pollution crises – guided by the principles of the UN Declaration on Future Generations. This will influence policy making and further impact assessments will be conducted as appropriate during the implementation of the proposals in the Environment Strategy. This will help to ensure that potential unintended consequences are mitigated against.

Contact

Email: environment.strategy@gov.scot

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