Scotland's climate change plan 2026-2040: Fairer Scotland Duty assessment

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose

The Scottish Government (SG) is undertaking a series of impact assessments with respect to Scotland’s 2026 Climate Change Plan (CCP) 2026-2040. These assessments are:

• Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA),
• Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA),
• Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment (FSDA),
• Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA),
• Strategic Impact Assessment (SEA), and
• Business Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA).

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

This report sets out an FSDA of the policies and proposals within the CCP based on available evidence and internal engagement with Scottish Government officers between November 2022 and August 2025.

1.2 The Climate Change Plan

The Climate Change Plan (referred to as ‘CCP’ and ‘the 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 forthcoming Climate Change Plan will cover the period from 2026-2040. This will cover our Carbon Budgets for the periods 2026-2030, 2031-2035 and 2036-2040.

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 will set out in detail how we intend to deliver action to tackle climate change. The Climate Change Plan reflects the policies and proposals grouped into ‘sectors’, being:

• Business and Industrial Process,
• Energy Supply,
• Residential and Public (Referred to as ‘Heat in Buildings’ in this impact assessment, however buildings emissions not exclusive to this sector)
• 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 draft Climate Change Plan’s outcomes, policies and proposals have been assessed against inequalities of outcome. This assessment is set out throughout this Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment and set out by sector.

1.3 Relevant Legislation

1.3.1 The Fairer Scotland Duty (2018)^[1]

Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010, the ‘Fairer Scotland Duty’ came into force in April 2018. The Duty places a legal responsibility on the relevant authorities to actively consider how they can reduce inequalities of outcome. The Scottish Government, when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise its functions, must have due regard to the desirability of exercising them in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic. disadvantage. This differs from the Public Sector Equality Duty under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 which considers only reducing inequalities of opportunity (for protected characteristics groups). Public bodies must also publish a written assessment under the Fairer Scotland Duty, demonstrating how they have considered inequalities of outcome when making any major strategic decision.

1.3.2 The Fairer Scotland Duty - Guidance for Public Bodies, Scottish Government, 2021^[2]

The FSDA guidance identifies a need to consider both ‘communities of place’ and ‘communities of interest’. Communities of place refers to groups of people bound together because of where they reside, work, visit or otherwise spend a continuous amount of time, for instance people in some rural, remote and island areas. Communities of interest are groups of people who share an experience, such as those who share a protected characteristic listed in the Equality Act 2010 and are particularly impacted by socio-economic disadvantage.

Figure 1-1 illustrates aspects that contribute to socio-economic disadvantage including socio-economic background, low (or no) wealth, low income, area deprivation and material deprivation. The inequalities of outcome that can arise as a result include poorer skills and educational attainment, work that is lower quality, less secure and lower paid, a greater chance of being a victim of crime, less chance of being treated with dignity and respect, and lower healthy life expectancy. In seeking to meet the Duty, the Scottish Government is expected to tackle the range of inequalities of outcome it observes relevant to its core functions.

The Fairer Scotland Duty Guidance has been taken into account in the development of the FSDA methodology.

1.3.3 Paris Agreement^[3]

The Paris Agreement states that Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change must recognise a number of factors when acting in response to the threat of climate change, including the imperative of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities, and the acknowledgement that Parties may be affected not only by climate change, but also by the impacts of the measures taken in response to it.

1.3.4 Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009^[4] and Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2024^[5]

The 2024 Act amended existing climate change legislation to establish a carbon budget approach to emissions reduction target setting and thus establish a more flexible statutory target framework that is receptive to both the non-linear realities of long-term decarbonisation policy planning and reflects the latest advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (Scottish Carbon Budgets) Amendment Regulations 2025 set the levels of the carbon budgets for the carbon budget periods through to the net zero emissions target in 2045. These levels take into account the advice of the CCC in their Scotland’s Carbon Budgets report.

Section 35C of the 2009 Act establishes Just Transition Principles which must be considered in action to reduce net emissions in a way which –

a. supports environmentally and socially sustainable jobs,

b. supports low-carbon investment and infrastructure,

c. develops and maintains social consensus through engagement with workers, trade unions, communities, non-governmental organisations, representatives of the interests of business and industry and such other persons as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate,

d. creates decent, fair and high-value work in a way which does not negatively affect the current workforce and overall economy, and

e. contributes to resource efficient and sustainable economic approaches which help to address inequality and poverty.

1.3.5 Just Transition Commission

To further support the application of Just Transition principles, the Scottish

Government established its first Just Transition Commission (JTC) in 2019. The Commission was tasked with providing practical independent advice to Ministers on how to maximise the economic and social benefits of decarbonising Scotland, while managing the risks and challenges.

The second JTC, currently in operation, was appointed in December 2021. This continues the work of its predecessor by:

• providing scrutiny and advice on the ongoing development of Scottish Government led just transition plans, including the application of the Just Transition Planning Framework,
• advising on the most suitable approaches to monitoring and evaluation,
• undertaking meaningful engagement with those most likely to be impacted by the transition, hearing from a broad range of representative voices and advising on how to ensure these can shape and contribute to just transition planning work in Scotland,
• engaging and collaborating with other sources of expertise, including relevant Scottish Government advisory bodies and relevant programmes of work (including, but not limited to the Committee on Climate Change, the Poverty and Inequality Commission, Fair Work Convention, the Council of Economic Advisors and the development of the National Strategy for Economic Transformation), and
• publishing an annual report to reflect on Scotland’s progress.^[6]