The Environment Strategy for Scotland

Annex D: Benefits for Scotland’s people, communities and economy

At a fundamental level, tackling the nature, climate and pollution crises is essential in order to secure a safe and just future for people in Scotland and around the world (Box D). Playing our role in tackling these crises will also create a wide range of important benefits for Scotland’s people, communities and economy. Examples of these benefits are illustrated in Figure 14 and described below (with references to sections where more detailed information can be found in Annex A):

1. Benefits for Scotland’s people and communities:

Strengthening communities: Creating nature-rich places for communities, and investing in other adaptation measures, will build communities’ resilience to the impacts of climate change, reducing risks to health, property and livelihoods (5.1, 7.1). Supporting the shift towards sustainable transport and local living will allow communities to enjoy cleaner air and safer, more sociable streets and public spaces (5.7.2). Communities will also be empowered to lead local action (8.2) and to benefit from renewable energy (6.1.2).

Reducing the cost of living: There are strong opportunities to help reduce the cost of living for households through avoiding food waste (5.7.1), improving access to low-cost travel options (5.7.2), measures to increase home energy efficiency (5.7.3) and supporting sustainable consumer choices (5.7.4). Reducing risks associated with energy and food security will also help to avoid cost of living impacts (7.2, 7.4).

Tackling poverty and inequalities: Our just transition to a green economy will create significant opportunities for new, high-quality jobs; with skills support helping to ensure people can secure these (6.5.6). As above, there are strong opportunities to cut the cost of living through enabling sustainable lifestyles, helping to reduce fuel and transport poverty. Tackling nature loss, climate change and pollution will create many opportunities to reduce inequalities e.g. health inequalities in people’s exposure to climate and pollution impacts and access to nature (related to factors such as wealth, ethnicity, disability, age and gender) (5.2); and inequalities in children’s access to nature-based play and education (5.3). Delivery of the Strategy will be designed to help reduce existing inequalities and avoid creating new ones.

Improving people’s health and wellbeing: Enabling access to a healthy, nature-rich environment and healthy, sustainable lifestyles will play a significant role in tackling key mental and physical population health issues (5.2). As explained below (‘Supporting public services’), this will help to reduce financial pressure on the NHS. Supporting global efforts to reverse nature loss will help to reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases (7.2).

Caring for children: Children will benefit from action to tackle the impacts of climate change and pollution that disproportionately affect young people (8.3); from increased access to nature-based play and education (5.3); and from embedding principles of intergenerational equity (8.4). Child poverty will be reduced through measures to create jobs and cut the cost of living, as outlined above.

Enhancing education: Children’s educational attainment will benefit from increased outdoor, nature-based education and the cross-curriculum approach to ‘learning for sustainability’ will empower young people to take action (5.3). Lifelong support for green skills will equip people to secure high-quality jobs in green industries, as part of our just transition (6.5.6).

Inspiring culture and the arts: Restoring Scotland’s nature and landscapes will help to safeguard their essential role in inspiring the arts in Scotland, our cultural heritage and our international reputation. Action on sustainability is also inspiring exciting new creative and cultural initiatives (5.5).

Empowering public participation: Strengthening public participation will help to ensure people are empowered to shape our approach to tackling the nature, climate and pollution crises; and to ensure this is designed to improve people’s lives (8.2).

Promoting human rights: Supporting the right to a healthy environment and access to environmental justice (5.6, 8.3) will strengthen our approach to human rights.

Supporting public services: Climate adaptation measures will build the resilience of our public services to climate impacts (7.1). Supporting a preventative approach to health – by enabling access to a healthy, nature-rich environment and healthy, sustainable lifestyles – has significant potential to reduce pressure on the NHS (5.2). For example, nature already provides cost savings worth over £1 billion per year to Scotland’s NHS. This includes avoided health impacts worth £140 million per year resulting from air pollution removal by vegetation; and cost savings worth £870 million per year due to nature-related recreation activities.

2. Benefits for Scotland’s economy:

Supporting thriving businesses: The wide range of economic benefits outlined below will support thriving businesses e.g. by creating new market opportunities and boosting businesses’ competitiveness, resilience and long-term productivity. The steps in the Strategy for engaging with businesses will help to maximise economic opportunities, overcome barriers and avoid unintended impacts (6.2).

Restoring natural capital: Restoring nature will strengthen the foundations of our economy, supporting the productivity and resilience of many sectors (6.1.3). For example, Making the Case for Nature: Insights from Scotland’s Natural Capital Analyses (2025) reports that ‘The industries most dependent on natural capital are among the most important sectors for the Scottish economy, such as agriculture and whisky…Overall, the clear message is that nature is essential and, in most cases, irreplaceable in supporting economic prosperity and key Scottish industries.’ ^[177] Although all economic activity is ultimately dependent on nature, it is conservatively estimated (as a lower limit) that over £40 billion of Scotland’s total economic output is supported by natural capital, accounting for around 14 per cent of Scotland’s total output.

Growing green industries: Growing globally competitive green industries, including renewable energy, will support businesses and high-quality jobs, creating new opportunities for inward investment and for exporting expertise and energy (6.1).

Generating new market opportunities: Transitioning to sustainable transport (5.7.2), clean heat (5.7.3) and a circular economy (4.1) will create new market opportunities for businesses – from manufacturing heat pumps and electric vehicles to providing repair services and using waste streams to generate new products.

Saving money: Action to tackle the nature, climate and pollution crises will help to avoid the greater costs of inaction (6.5.1); and save money via preventative approaches e.g. for health (5.2). Adopting net zero, circular economy practices will help to boost businesses’ productivity and save money by improving energy and resource efficiency and cutting waste (6.2.2). For example, policies to promote packaging reuse could result in a net saving to the UK economy of around £2 billion per year (6.4.1).

Creating high-quality jobs: Scotland’s just transition to a net zero, nature positive, circular economy will create many high-quality jobs (6.5.6). For example, industries directly reliant on natural capital (excluding non-renewables) are already conservatively estimated to support a minimum of 260,000 jobs in Scotland. Scotland leads the UK in creating green jobs, with the number advertised tripling since 2021.^[178] Support for skills is helping to ensure people can secure these jobs.

Enhancing Scotland’s ‘green brand’: These transformations will strengthen Scotland’s ‘green brand’, which plays a key role in supporting the competitiveness of our exports (including food and drink) and our tourist industry, and which attracts people and businesses to choose Scotland as a place to live, work and invest.^[179]

Boosting competitiveness: They will also help to boost Scotland’s global competitiveness and market access by responding to increasing demands from customers, investors and export markets for sustainable business practices (6.2).

Catalysing innovation: The mission-led approach in our ENRA Research Strategy and the focus on net zero and natural capital in our Innovation Strategy will help to position Scotland as a leader in sustainable innovation (6.5.5).

Strengthening local economies: Promoting delivery of shared goals via our economic and environmental regional and place-based initiatives – including Community Wealth Building – will support thriving, green, local economies (6.4.3).

Building economic resilience: The steps in the Strategy will build the resilience of our economy to the profound risks posed by climate change and nature loss^[180] and wider global risks e.g. linked to food and energy security (7.1-7.4). Growing a circular economy will improve our resilience to global shocks by reducing our reliance on international supply chains (4.1).

Embedding a just transition: Delivering our approach to a just transition will help to create a more inclusive economy by supporting high-quality jobs, tackling inequalities and ensuring everyone shares in the benefits (8.1).