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Publication - Impact assessment

Scotland's Climate Change Plan – 2026-2040 - CRWIA

Published
24 March 2026
From
Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
Directorate
Energy and Climate Change Directorate
Topic
Environment and climate change
ISBN
9781807750688

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) of the climate change plan (CCP) 2026 to 2040.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

1. Brief Summary

Type of proposal: Decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children.

Name the proposal, and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.

Name: Climate Change Plan 2026-2040.

Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, 2045 is the target date for reaching net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases in Scotland. Within this, a five-year Carbon Budget approach sets a limit on the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in Scotland over that period.

The Climate Change Plan is the key strategic document which sets out the Scottish Government’s approach to delivering this target. There is a requirement to publish an updated Climate Change Plan every five years. The Climate Change Plan covers the period 2026-2040 and will enable our Carbon Budgets to be met for the periods 2026-2030, 2031-2035 and 2036-2040.

A draft Climate Change Plan was published on 6 November 2025 and a period of consultation followed. An Initial Children’s Rights Considerations Document was published to support the draft Climate Change Plan and to give further information to those responding to the consultation by outlining our initial children’s rights considerations. This Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) is published to accompany the final Climate Change Plan, published in March 2026, using evidence gathered during the consultation alongside wider evidence to inform potential impact assumptions.

The Climate Change Plan outlines the objectives and associated policies and proposals for meeting the emissions reduction targets during the Climate Change Plan’s period. It sets out in detail how we intend to deliver action to tackle climate change. The Climate Change Plan reflects the policies and proposals grouped into seven ‘sectors’, being:

  • Business and Industrial Process,
  • Energy Supply,
  • Buildings (Residential and Public),
  • Agriculture,
  • Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (separated within this impact assessment as ‘Peatland’ and ‘Forestry’),
  • Transport (including international aviation and shipping), and
  • Waste Management.

The full list of outcomes, policies and proposals for the Climate Change Plan can be found in Annex 1.

This Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment will assess the collective impact of the outcomes, policies and proposals within the Climate Change Plan in a cross-cutting way, with similar impacts grouped and assessed together. The development of individual policies and proposals may already have been, or will be if required, subject to individual Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments.

Start date of proposal’s development: September 2024

Start date of CRWIA process: November 2022

2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which aspects of the proposal are relevant to children’s rights?

2.1 The policies and proposals within the Climate Change Plan are grouped under seven sectors, each with overarching outcomes. The articles listed below are linked to the UNCRC Articles through the analysis of evidence gathered. Policies and proposals with an impact on children are shown below. Some policies and proposals that have a similar nature have been grouped and assessed together. The full policy and proposal list with the overarching outcomes for the draft Climate Change Plan can be found in Annex 1.

2.2 Business and Industrial Processes

  • Environmental disruption through the construction and operation of new carbon capture or negative emissions technologies facilities (Outcome 2, Policies 1 and 2 – Article 24 health and health services).
  • Long-term environmental impacts through the reduction of emissions (all policies and proposals are mostly relevant to – Article 6 life, survival and development, Article 24 health and health services, and Article 27 adequate standard of living).
  • Development of new technologies on long-term employment opportunities and the development of new green skills (Outcome 2, Policies 1 and 2, and Proposals 3 and 6 – Article 6 life, survival and development, Article 24 health and health services, and Article 27 adequate standard of living).
  • The use of carbon pricing to incentivise emissions reductions through the UK emissions trading scheme (Outcome 1, Policy 1 – Article 27 adequate standard of living).
  • Long term environmental impacts through the reduction of emissions through energy efficiency measures or fuel switching (Outcome 1, Policies 2 and 6, and Outcome 2, Proposals 1, 3 and 4 – Article 24 health and health services).
  • The development of lower carbon products (Outcome 1, Policies 2, 4, 5 and Proposal 1 and 2 - Article 27 adequate standard of living).

2.3 Energy Supply

  • Air quality in relation to Energy from Waste (Outcome 1, Proposals 1, 2, 3 and 4 – Article 24 health and health services).
  • Air quality in relation to fossil fuel electricity generation (Proposals 5 and 6 – Article 24 health and health services).
  • Shifting from fossil fuel electricity generation to renewable generation (Proposals 7 and 8 – Article 27 adequate standard of living).
  • Investment in renewable electricity for recreational sites and for communities (Proposals 7 and 8 – Article 27 adequate standard of living).

2.4 Buildings (Residential and Public)

  • Healthier indoor conditions; improves children’s health by reducing cold, damp and mould driven by enhancing indoor air quality through energy efficiency upgrades (Outcome 2, Enabling Policies 2, 3 and 4 – Article 24 health and health services).
  • Fairer outcomes for vulnerable children, with financial support targeted at low-income households and those at risk of poor housing conditions (Outcomes 2 and 3, Enabling Policies 2, 5 and 6 – Article 2 non-discrimination Article 3 best interests of the child).
  • Long-term environmental protection, supporting children’s rights to a safe and stable future environment through significant emissions reductions in buildings, ensuring warmer, cleaner and more consistent indoor temperatures that support child development, sleep and wellbeing (Outcomes 1 to 3, Policies 1, 7 to 9, Enabling Proposal 3, Enabling Policy 5 – Articles 3 best interests of the child Article 24 health and health services).
  • Supports a better standard of living by lowering energy demand, reducing household energy costs and improving housing conditions across all tenures, with targeted support for families at risk of fuel poverty; schemes are designed to target those most at risk (Outcomes 2 to 3, Enabling Policies 3, 4 and 6 – Article 2 non-discrimination, Article 26 social security and Article 27 adequate standard of living).

2.5 Agriculture

  • Build a sustainable food production sector for future generations while continuing to offer high-quality produce for consumption (all Outcomes, policies and proposals – Article 24 health and health services).
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration and nature restoration (all Outcomes, policies and proposals – Article 24 Health and health services and Article 27 adequate standard of living).
  • Accessing the knowledge and guidance currently available as well as seeing on farm implementation of practices through Outcome 1, Proposals 1 and 2, Outcome 2, Policy 1, Outcome 3, Policy 1 and Proposal 2, Outcome 4, Policies 1 and 2 and Outcome 5, Policy 2 - Article 29 goals of education – respect for urban and natural environments.

2.6 Peatland

  • Not applicable. Peatland restoration, protection and management policies in Scotland are primarily designed to guide and support landowners, businesses, and corporate entities, including financial investors, wishing or required to adopt certain land management approaches that help meet our environmental and climate targets. These policies, supported by government investment, focus on carbon and ecosystem resilience, and water regulation and quality. While these restoration efforts indirectly benefit society at large, including future generations, the policies and delivery frameworks are not directly framed to engage children and young people as rights holders under the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024.

2.7 Forestry

  • Not applicable. Woodland creation is not directly relevant to The Articles of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024. The policies and mechanisms are for delivery and are targeted at landowners, businesses and corporate bodies, such as financial investors. As such and due to the compliance rules associated with the Forestry Grant Scheme, policies and measures around woodland creation would not, and are not, designed to directly interact with children and young people.

2.8 Transport (including international aviation and shipping)

  • Air pollution and road accidents in relation to reducing car use (Outcome 1 policies – Article 6 Life, survival and development).
  • The health of children in relation to reducing car use (Outcome 1 policies – Article 24 Health and health services).
  • Improving the provision of spaces and opportunities for children’s participation in recreational and leisure activities through reduction in car use (Outcome 1 policies – Article 31 Leisure, play and culture).
  • While reducing car use, maintaining access of private vehicles for those who need to use these because of a disability (Outcome 1 policies – Article 23 rights of disabled children).
  • Consideration of increased risks of discrimination or targeted violence due to increased reliance on public and active travel modes (Outcome 1 policies – Article 19 protection from all forms of violence).
  • Shifting the transport mode of freight goods from road to rail or water and the impact on emissions (Outcome 3 policies – Article 24 health and health services).
  • The aim to grow the public electric vehicle charging network and future job opportunities (Outcome 4 policies – Article 27 adequate standard of living).
  • The development of electric vehicle infrastructure in promoting jobs and innovation (Outcome 4 policies – Article 4 implementation of the Convention and Article 28 right to education).

2.9 Waste Management

  • Measures to deliver behaviour change-based approaches focused on sustainable consumption aligned to Let's Do Net Zero communications; and assessing effective communication practices to inform future standards as part of the household recycling co-design process (Outcome 2 policies and proposals and Outcome 3, policy 2 – Article 17 Access to information from the media).
  • Measures particularly in reduce and reuse that a transition to more sustainable resource use and a circular economy could bring (all Outcome 2 policies and proposals – Article 24 Health and health services and Article 27 Adequate standard of living).
  • Measures seeking to embed circular construction practices (Outcome 2, policies 8,9, and proposal 8,9 Article 27 Adequate standard of living).
  • Measures influencing accessibility to affordable goods and services, and accessibility to high quality goods and services (Outcome 2, policies 1, 4, 6 and proposal 1 and 5 – Article 24).
  • Measures around the development and introduction of policies which would increase the access to affordable goods via secondary markets (Outcome 2, policies 1 and 6, and proposal 1,5 – Article 27 Adequate standard of living).
  • Measures to reduce food waste (Outcome 2, policy 7, and proposals 6,7 – Article 27 Adequate standard of living).
  • Implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) (Outcome 2, policy 3, Article 24 health and health services, Article 31 leisure, play and culture and Article 29 goals of education – respect for urban and natural environments).
  • Measures that support greater uptake of green circular economy skills, training, and development opportunities (Outcome 1 policies, and cross-cutting across all outcomes – Article 29 Goals of education).
  • Consideration of the need to provide accessible and inclusive communications. For example, on any changes to recycling collections, new householder duties or any enforcement action. Further examples would be where English is not a first language, for older individuals who may require large print or for disabled individuals who may require braille or other suitable communication options (Outcome 2, proposals 5,6, and Outcome 3, policies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 – Article 30 Children from minority or indigenous groups).

2.10 Cross-cutting

As outlined above, there are multiple policies and proposals across the different sectors which have impacts on the following articles:

  • Article 6 (life, survival and development)
  • Article 24 (health and health services)
  • Article 27 (adequate standard of living)
  • Article 29 (goals of education)
  • Article 31 (leisure, play and culture)

In addition, the creation of a Children’s version of the Climate Change Plan contributes to meeting the requirements under the following articles:

  • Article 2 (non-discrimination)
  • Article 42 (knowledge of rights)

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal.

3.1 Business and Industrial Process

3.2 Energy Supply

3.3 Buildings (Residential and Public)

· Delivering net zero for Scotland’s buildings – Heat in Building’s Bill: consultation

3.4 Agriculture

3.5 Peatland

Not applicable.

3.6 Forestry

Not applicable.

3.7 Transport (including international aviation and shipping)

The Vessels and Ports Plan for the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles networks (2025-2045) – Islands Connectivity Plan

3.8 Waste and Circular Economy

Contact

Email: ClimateChangePlan@Gov.Scot

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