Net Zero advertising campaign expenditure and information: FOI release

Information requested

1. “Could you provide the full costs of all net zero advertising campaigns from the last five years, with a breakdown per year and what the money was spent on, i.e each advert and associated spend?

2. Who came up with the idea of the driving less one and the reasons behind it?”

Response

Question 1:

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the websites listed, then please contact us again and we will send you a paper copy.

All Scottish Government marketing expenditure is published on an annual basis. You can find the full net zero advertising campaign costs and breakdowns via the following: Marketing spend: Scottish Government reports - gov.scot

Question 2:

Scotland has set a legally binding target to become a net zero nation by 2045. The ‘driving petrol and diesel cars less’ message included in the Net Zero campaign was developed by officials based on policy work identifying the household actions that have the greatest potential to reduce emissions.

The rationale for focusing on reduced petrol and diesel car use is based on evidence that shows emissions from passenger cars amounted to 38.9% of total Scottish transport emissions in 2023 (Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics 2023 - gov.scot), representing a significant contribution to Scotland’s overall emissions.

The most recent figure published 9 June 2026 indicates that cars were the single largest contributor (38.0%) to total Scottish transport emissions in 2024 and 13% of total GHG emissions in Scotland (Section B.2. Key Trends By Territorial Emissions Statistics Sector - Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics 2024 - gov.scot).

The Climate Change Plan, published in March 2026, sets out a target to reduce emissions from cars in the first carbon budget (2026-2030) by at least 16% from today’s levels (2023). Consistent with the Climate Change Committee’s advice, Scotland will need to reduce annual car mileage by at least 4% by 2030 (on a 2030 ‘business as usual’ forecast baseline) (Scotland's Climate Change Plan: Annex 2 - Sectoral Annexes).

This approach is consistent with wider independent analysis. The Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget highlights that around one third of the emissions reductions required by 2040 depend on household low-carbon choices. Of this, 74% of household carbon abatement is from no longer driving a petrol or diesel car and replacing a gas boiler with low carbon heating (The Seventh Carbon Budget - Climate Change Committee).

The marketing communications approach was developed to support this evidence by encouraging behaviour change at an individual level, focusing on the actions that are expected to have the greatest impact on emissions.

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