Scotland's Climate Change Plan 2026-2040: children's version

Key actions in the plan

The actions in this plan:

• We will support transport services, people and businesses to reduce their emissions.
• We will promote and develop renewable energy, creating jobs and developing skills within the industry.
• We will tackle fuel poverty (which is when a household spends too much of their income on paying their heating and electric bills) and protect those on low incomes while removing emissions from heating buildings.
• We will reverse nature decline and restore biodiversity in Scotland.
• The actions in this plan will help us to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Recognising that warming trends are already happening due to past global emissions, we have to change our way of life to ensure we don’t suffer harmful effects.
• We will ensure a fair approach to tackling climate change in Scotland and countries overseas. We will protect and improve the lives of current and future generations.

Sector 1: Buildings (Residential and Public)

Emissions from buildings come from using polluting heating systems like gas boilers. Most homes in Scotland use polluting heating systems. We need to switch to clean heating systems like electric heating, heat pumps and heat networks.

Key Policies in the Plan:

We will set a target for homes and buildings to change to clean heating by 2045, while also improving their insulation, so they are more efficient and take less heat to keep us warm.

We will boost heat networks. A heat network is a shared heating system that supplies heat from a central source to several buildings. When a heat network is available, large business and public sector buildings like hospitals and schools will need to switch from polluting to clean heating.

We will support homeowners to install clean heating and improve their insulation. Insulation helps to keep the heat inside.

We will provide support to those struggling to pay energy bills to have insulation and clean heating. We will provide funding to help homeowners fit a heat pump.

Sector 2: Transport

Reducing transport emissions needs everyone to make changes. We need to reduce the need to travel and encourage the use of eco-friendly forms of transport and fuels.

Key Policies in the Plan:

We will phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030. We will also make sure that all road vehicles are zero emission by 2040 (for example heavy goods vehicles which include a wide range of heavy vehicles e.g. lorries).

We will work with the companies and businesses to grow the charging network for electric vehicles, including cars, vans and heavy goods vehicles.

We will support people to move away from car use to more sustainable forms of travel, including public transport like trains and buses, walking, wheeling and cycling for everyday journeys.

We will support the sustainable (that means low or zero emissions) movement of goods by encouraging more freight (which is the transport of goods) to move by rail or water instead of road.

We will decarbonise scheduled flights within Scotland by 2040.

Section 3: Waste

We will build a more circular economy in Scotland. A circular economy is where we reduce waste, recycle materials and reuse or repair everyday items. It’s where we value our resources and keep them in use for as long as possible. This will help households and businesses to reduce waste, and reuse, repair and recycle more. This will reduce the impact of waste disposal on our environment and our climate.

Key Policies in the Plan:

We are helping businesses to take responsibility for the environmental impacts of the products they produce and sell.

This will help reduce the impact of products like clothing, packaging, batteries and electrical and electronic equipment throughout a product’s life.

We will take actions to cut food waste across households and business and introduce a Deposit Return Scheme for single-use drink containers. This system means you will get money back on your cans and plastic bottles, meaning people will be encouraged to bring them back to shops rather than throw them away. Recycling for households and commercial organisations will be modernised.

We are reducing emissions from landfill by banning biodegradable household and business waste from being sent to landfill, and capturing the harmful gas that landfill sites produce.

Section 4: Energy Supply

Net Zero for energy means cutting our use of fossil fuels for everyday activities so that we only add as much carbon to the atmosphere as we can remove with other technologies.

Key Policies in the Plan:

We will make and store more renewable energy and fuel that is better for the planet.

Generating and storing clean energy will help make sure there is a reliable and secure low carbon energy supply for Scotland's people, households, communities and businesses, like green electricity from windfarms.

Energy plants that generate energy by burning rubbish and power stations, like Peterhead, need Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage technology to be operating. This technology catches the carbon gases that the plants or power stations produce and stores them underground, or uses the carbon in other ways. This will stop the greenhouse gases going to the atmosphere and instead they will be locked away or used to make other products.

Many of Scotland’s islands use non-renewable energy to make electricity. We want to build cables to connect more islands to the mainland so they can get clean renewable energy instead.

Section 5: Business and Industrial Process

Scotland wants businesses and industries to use less energy and reduce the use of fossil fuels, like oil and natural gas, which pollute the air or harm the environment. This will help cut down emissions and support Scotland’s climate goals.

Key Policies in the Plan:

We want industries to switch to clean electricity. Electricity made from renewable sources like wind and solar is best. To do this, we’ll upgrade the electricity grid which transports electricity around the country, and help update the rules about how the energy system works.

Industries can also waste energy. We want to help them stop this and use less energy overall by upgrading equipment and improving buildings. To make this happen, we’ll give industries advice and support and make plans to improve how industries use energy. They’ll save money and help tackle climate change at the same time.

However some industries will find it difficult to reduce emissions, like concrete or chemical manufacturers. For these industries, we’ll keep working with the UK Government to deploy Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage technology. This technology will trap carbon before it goes into the air. It can then be used again or stored deep underground so it can’t harm the environment.

Section 6: Agriculture

Agriculture is all types of farming. Growing plants like fruits, vegetables, and grains, and raising animals like cows and chickens for food and other products can release emissions into the atmosphere. Scottish farmers provide food and drink to people across Scotland and the world and we’re working with them on reducing their emissions whilst producing the best quality food.

Key Policies in the Plan:

We will continue to change how we support farmers. Our support will help to deliver excellent food and drink while protecting the environment.

The Whole Farm Plan will help farmers to better understand and improve on what they are already doing so they can create less greenhouse gases.

It is important to learn from each other. We will provide advice on farming that is good for the environment and showcase examples of good practice from farmers that are seeing the benefits of what is known as “sustainable farming”. We will work with the industry on how to make their animals more climate-friendly and take care of the soil used to grow crops and grass.

We will investigate how new technologies can help tackle climate change, including non-road mobile machinery, like tractors.

Farmers can also capture and store carbon on their land, for example by planting hedges, restoring degraded (dried up) peatland and growing trees on their farms. They can also create energy by turning farm waste into what’s known as biogas.

Section 7: Land use, land use change and forestry

Scotland’s land supports many needs. Land used for food production helps remove greenhouse gases and provides the clean air and fresh water we need to live. Forestry and peatlands are important land-uses.

Key Policies in the Plan:

Scotland’s forests take harmful carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it as wood. They also protect the environment, increase biodiversity and enhance nature and support local communities. Tree planting improves biodiversity as it provides a home for more of the animals, plants and insects we need to keep our environment healthy. We will plant more trees each year until 2030 and maintain levels of woodland creation after that.

Land managers and farmers will plant more trees on their land in ways that strengthen existing agriculture and rural businesses. Financial support will be provided.

Scotland has more peatlands than any other part of the UK, with around 2 million hectares. Peatlands are wetland ecosystems that have developed over thousands of years. In good condition, they capture and store carbon, support unique biodiversity and help to reduce flooding and keep our lochs, burns and rivers clean. They are also a way of preventing flooding as they act like sponges in wet weather.

Peatlands are fragile and can be easily damaged. It is estimated that around 70% of Scotland’s peatlands are currently in a damaged condition. To reinstate the benefits they can offer, we will increase peatland restoration by 10% each year to 2030 and maintain levels after that leading to the restoration of more than 400,000 hectares of degraded peatlands across Scotland by 2040.

Other policies will support the protection and management of peat, ban the sale of peat for use in horticulture and improve deer management. High numbers of deer can damage fragile ecosystems like peatlands and woodlands as they trample the ground and eat young trees and stop them from growing. So deer numbers need to be controlled to reduce this damage.