Environment Strategy for Scotland: strategic environmental assessment (SEA) post adoption statement

How environmental considerations have been integrated into the Environment Strategy

Environmental considerations for the Environment Strategy

Environmental considerations are at the heart of the Environment Strategy, reflecting the key aims and objectives of the Scottish Government. The main environmental considerations highlighted in the Environment Strategy focus on tackling the three interconnected global crises of nature loss, climate change, and pollution, while ensuring Scotland thrives within the planet’s sustainable limits.

On nature loss, the Strategy aims to restore and protect biodiversity by preventing biodiversity decline by 2030 and regenerating ecosystems by 2045, recognising nature’s role in providing essentials and underpinning economic productivity, and embedding nature-positive practices across sectors like agriculture, energy, housing, and industry.

The vision of the Environment Strategy sets out our aim to end Scotland’s contribution to climate change by 2045 through a reduction in emissions by addressing emissions embedded in imported goods by transitioning to a circular economy, and nature-based solutions.

The Environment Strategy also sets out how we will look to tackle pollution and waste by implementing strategies like Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 and River Basin Management Plans, and reduce plastic and chemical pollution by tackling lifecycle impacts of plastics and hazardous chemicals through bans, recycling, and international collaboration. We also look to reduce waste and promoting reuse, repair, and recycling through the circular economy.

We will also look to reduce Scotland’s global environmental impact by reducing Scotland’s ecological footprint, especially in food and textiles, embedding sustainability in trade deals and due diligence requirements, and ensuring net zero transition does not cause environmental harm overseas.

As referenced above, the Environment Strategy is designed to create an integrated framework for achieving Scotland’s role in tackling the global crises of nature loss, climate change and pollution. It focuses on approaches that will help to transform our country for the better - by improving people’s health and wellbeing, promoting social justice and strengthening our economy, helping us to become a fairer, more prosperous and resilient nation.

Environmental considerations through the SEA

The SEA has helped play a role in highlighting the environmental factors to be

considered in the development of the final version of the Environment Strategy. The responses to the consultation on the draft Strategy and the SEA have also been taken into account in the final version.

During the development of the SEA, the following topics were scoped into the assessment (confirmed through the scoping consultation with statutory consultees):

• Biodiversity, Flora and Fauna
• Population and Human Health
• Climatic Factors
• Air
• Soil
• Water
• Cultural Heritage and the Historic Environment
• Landscape and Geodiversity
• Material Assets

As part of the SEA, and consistent with the requirements of Schedule 3 (1) and (5) of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) 2005 Act, the SEA identified and reviewed other relevant plans, programmes and strategies (PPS) which could influence the draft Environment Strategy. These included PPS at an international/European, national, regional or local level, commensurate with the scope of the draft Strategy. The review identified the relationships between the draft Strategy and other strategies could contribute to the achievement of their environmental and sustainability objectives. The review is an examination of the key environmental protection objectives relevant to the draft Environment Strategy.

For each relevant SEA topic, baseline information was also provided for the current receptors which could be impacted by the draft Environment Strategy. The baseline provided an understanding of the environment and key environmental risks and opportunities and covered the whole of Scotland. Presenting the baseline at national level allowed the SEA to reflect on the interaction of the draft Environment Strategy with wider environmental trends. The draft Strategy was assessed against this baseline to provide an indication of the type and significance of environmental effects that could arise from the priorities and proposals in the draft Environment Strategy. The evolution of this baseline was taken to be the likely evolution of the policies without implementation of the Environment Strategy against the scoped topics in the assessment.

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