Scotland's Climate Change Plan – 2026-2040

Annex 4 – Responding to this consultation

Responding to this consultation

Consultation overview

The Climate Change Plan (referred to as ‘the Plan’) is the key strategic document which sets out the Scottish Government’s approach to delivering our climate targets. There is a requirement to publish an updated Climate Change Plan every five years.

This Plan covers the period from 2026-2040. This will include our Carbon Budgets for the periods 2026-2030, 2031-2035 and 2036-2040.

The Plan outlines the objectives and associated policies and proposals for meeting the emissions reduction targets during the Plan’s period. It describes in detail how we intend to deliver the action required to tackle climate change.

How to respond to this consultation

We are inviting responses to this consultation by the closing date of 29 January 2026. Please respond using the Scottish Government’s consultation platform, Citizen Space. You can do so here.

The consultation questions are divided by sector and theme, you may skip individual questions or whole sections if you do not believe they are relevant to you. The consultation is designed for a mix of respondents and there is no obligation to respond to all questions.

As you complete your response, each page will provide the option to 'Save and come back later' at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.

Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a pdf copy of your answers sent to you.

If you are unable to respond online, please complete the Respondent Information Form (see ‘Handling your Response’ below) to:

climatechangeplan@gov.scot

OR

Victoria Quay, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ

Why your views matter

Achieving net zero by 2045 means transformation for the way we live, work and do business. This creates opportunities as well as challenges. As we make the transition, the Scottish Government is determined that our country will seize those opportunities and meet those challenges in a way that is fair and just. It means making sure that, as our country transitions to net zero and adapts to a changing climate, no one is left behind. These are ambitious aims, and we know that achieving them will require careful planning.

The Scottish Government understands how important it is for your views to be part of this planning – to ensuring that our country takes the right decisions, and that people support the approach we are taking.

For these reasons, we hope as many people as possible from all across Scotland are able to contribute their views to the consultation.

Handling your response

If you respond using Citizen Space you will be directed to the Respondent Information Form. Please indicate how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to published.

If you are unable to respond via Citizen Space, please complete and return the Respondent Information Form included in 'Supporting documents’ here. If you ask for your response not to be published, we will regard it as confidential, and we will treat it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Government is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.

What happens next

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public, and after we have checked that they contain no potentially defamatory material, responses will be made available to the public at Scottish Government consultations. If you use Citizen Space to respond, you will receive a copy of your response via email.

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence. Responses will be published where we have been given permission to do so.

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to:

climatechangeplan@gov.scot

OR

Victoria Quay, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ

Scottish Government consultation process

Consultation is an essential part of the policy-making process. It gives us the opportunity to consider your opinion and expertise on a proposed area of work.

You can find all our consultations online. Each consultation details the issues under consideration, as well as a way for you to give us your views, either online, by email or by post.

Responses will be analysed and used as part of the decision-making process, along with a range of other available information and evidence. We will publish a report of this analysis for every consultation. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may: indicate the need for policy development or review; inform the development of a particular policy; help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals; and be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented.

While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.

Consultation questions: Draft Climate Change Plan 2025

Section 1: Delivering a Just Transition

• The following questions concern the Delivering a Just Transition section of the Plan, more specifically: communities, skills, workforce, employers and adapting to climate change.

1. What are your views on our approach to delivering a just transition for people and communities?

2. We recognise that workers face particular impacts from the Plan and we have outlined our approach to supporting the transition of the workforce, including skills for jobs. What skills, training and qualification provisions will be most important in a net zero future and what more could be done to support them?

3. The Plan will bring opportunities and challenges for businesses and employers. How can we best support employers across the private, public and third sectors to make the changes needed and seize the benefits of net zero?

4. Our approach recognises that some of the Plan’s impacts will have greater implications for particular regions of Scotland. What are your views on our approach to supporting places where the transition presents particular regional impacts?

Section 2: Sectoral Contributions and Policies and Proposals

• The following questions concern the Sectoral contributions and policies and proposal sections of the Plan.

Buildings (Residential and Public)

5. How can we decarbonise homes and buildings in a way that is fair and leaves no one behind?

6. How can clean heating systems (such as heat pumps) be made more affordable for everyone?

Transport

7. Which of the following would be most effective in enabling you to transition your vehicle(s) to zero emissions alternatives? Please rank your choices from highest to lowest priority, where 1 is the highest priority. Please only give one ranking to each option:

• If you’re responding for an organisation: you may want to consider car fleets as well as HGV fleets.

  1. Cost of new zero emission vehicles needs to come down

  2. Cost of used zero emission vehicles needs to come down

  3. Reliable infrastructure for vehicles (such as fuel or charging networks)

  4. Noticeably cheaper running costs (electricity, maintenance, insurance)

  5. Convenient access to public charging infrastructure

  6. Ensuring an adequate number of trained mechanics are available to perform essential maintenance and repairs

  7. Access to funding support / low-cost finance

  8. All of the above

  9. Other

8. How can the Scottish Government support communities to participate in planning of local sustainable infrastructure (such as, walking, wheeling and cycling routes)?

9. What action by the Scottish Government would be most helpful in supporting you to live a more climate-friendly lifestyle?

Waste

10. Are there any additional proposals to support waste sector emission reduction that should be considered across the following 5 areas:

1. Strengthen the circular economy

2. Reduce and reuse

3. Modernise recycling

4. Decarbonise disposal

5. Other emission sources (including waste water and anaerobic digestion)

Energy Supply

11. What are your views on Scotland generating more electricity from renewable sources?

Business and Industrial Processes

12. What support do industries need to reduce their carbon emissions while remaining competitive?

Agriculture and Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF)

13. How can the Scottish Government encourage sustainable land use, that is also productive for local communities?

14. What do you think about our proposals for planting trees and restoring natural habitats like peatlands?

15. How can the Scottish Government support farming to become more climate-friendly while continuing to support food production and improve biodiversity?

Section 3: Impact Assessments

• The following questions concern the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA), Child rights and wellbeing impact assessment (CRWIA), Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA), Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA), Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment (FSD). The purpose of these impact assessments is to understand the effects of government policy on specific groups, including children and young people, island communities, business and equalities groups.

16. Which groups or communities do you think will be most affected by the transition to net zero, and in what ways?

17. How do you think the Climate Change Plan aligns with existing local, regional, or national priorities that you are aware of or involved in?

18. If you identified there could be negative impacts of the Climate Change Plan, are there any ways you think we could reduce that negative impact and if so, what would you recommend?

19. Please share any other quantitative data, or sources of this, to assist in developing the impact assessments?

20. Are there any previous examples or case studies we should consider when assessing potential impacts?

21. Can you think of any further positive or negative impacts, that are not covered in the impact assessments, that may result from the Climate Change Plan?

Section 4: Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

• The following questions concern the SEA. There is a legal requirement to consult on the SEA Environmental Report (Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005). The purpose of the SEA is to assess the likely environmental effects of government policy, considers how negative impacts can be avoided or minimised and ways that positive effects can be enhanced.

22. What are your views on the accuracy and scope of the environmental baseline set out in the environmental report? Are you aware of further information that could be used to inform the assessment findings?

23. What in your view are the most significant environmental effects which should be taken into account as the Draft Climate Change Plan is finalised?

24. What are your views on the predicted environmental effects as set out in the environmental report? Please share any other useful sources.

25. What are your views on the proposals for mitigation, enhancement and monitoring of the environmental effects set out in the environmental report?

Section 5: Monitoring emissions reductions

• The following questions concern the reporting of annual emissions reductions:

26. What are your views on the proposed approach to reporting annual emissions output and how this could support public understanding of Scotland’s progress towards achieving our Carbon Budgets?

27. How useful do you think reporting emissions statistics at a more detailed level (including at the sub-sectoral level), would be in helping people understand key sources of emissions, and our progress in reducing them?

28. How might the use of timely indicators, as proposed, help people to understand what needs to be delivered to achieve our Carbon budgets, and to understand whether progress is on track?

Section 6: Monitoring Just Transition

• The following questions concern the 14 proposed indicators for monitoring and evaluation of the Climate Change Plan:

29. Please detail any specific changes that would improve any of the 14 proposed indicators, including any data sources not currently included within this framework that could provide a useful indicator of progress towards a just transition in Scotland on an annual basis.

30. What are the most appropriate indicators for judging whether we are achieving meaningful public participation in decisions related to the climate? This includes both the quality of the participatory process itself, and the impact of that participation on the decision-making process.

31. What indicator would provide the best measure of the impact of net zero development in local communities across Scotland? For example, the impact of the installation of renewable energy infrastructure or other land use changes (e.g. through peatland restoration or tree planting).

32. Ensuring positive outcomes for workers who have transitioned from jobs within high-carbon industries is central to delivering a just transition. What specific data or indicators could we use to monitor the extent to which workers in high-carbon industries are securing alternative employment?

33. What specific data or indicators could we use to meaningfully monitor the impact of the transition to net zero on the environment and biodiversity across Scotland on an annual basis?