Net Zero Assessment: Pilot report

3. Aims of Net Zero Assessment

15. The SG is developing a government-wide Net Zero Assessment (NZA) aimed at establishing a dedicated carbon assessment process during early policy development stages that will provide increased depth and detail on the climate impact of individual policies and their associated budget allocations.

16. The NZA was recommended by the JBR to provide an opportunity to screen decisions at an earlier stage than the existing scrutiny and allow better alignment of policy and shape ministerial decisions with reference to net zero. The Assessment will act as a filtering process to ensure that all spending with major emissions implications undergoes a quantitative carbon assessment.

17. The NZA aims to support decision-making by Ministers and public sector leaders by providing estimates of carbon emissions early in the policy development process, giving an insight into the expected emissions impact of key policies at early decision points, and provide an opportunity for early consideration of mitigation of negative impacts through potential changes to policy design, enhancing the opportunities for emissions-reduction effort.

18. The NZA will allow the collation of a consistent evidence base for the emissions impact of Scottish policies. The NZA pilot had three key aims:

a. The resource requirement. The first aim of the pilot was identifying the policy development and analytical resources required to scale-up the assessment across government, including where resource is best sourced from. Throughout the pilot the resource of both the central NZA Team and the various policy teams was recorded to provide an effective evidence base for the roll out.

b. The effectiveness and proportionality of the analytical process. This included evaluating the information captured through the pilot and opportunities to improve the process with a view to identifying the resource implications and identifying ways to reduce the administrative burden while not compromising the quality of the analysis. The pilot involved a number of components that were being implemented for the first time. These included the scope of the assessment, the three-stage process, the threshold for de minimis exclusion, and guidance for the assessment. The pilot aimed to review these processes and provide an updated position for the full roll-out of the NZA.

c. The approach to reporting and governance. The pilot aimed to assess the effectiveness of the central review panel which would ensure that all assessments were of sufficient quality and were appropriately applying the proportionality built into the process. The pilot also tested the methods of ensuring that the results of assessments, including where no significant emissions impact is identified, are effectively and consistently reported to senior leaders and Ministers.