The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 received Royal Assent on August 5, 2009. These pages on the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill are no longer being updated, and have been retained for information only.
On June 24, 2009 the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill, following a comprehensive period of Parliamentary scrutiny and amendment.
Taking forward this Bill is a key commitment for the Scottish Government and places Scotland at the forefront of global efforts to tackle climate change.
The Bill will create a long-term framework that will:
- introduce a statutory target to reduce Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050
- establish an interim target of at least 42 per cent emissions reductions by 2020, with a power for this to be varied based on expert advice from the UK Committee on Climate Change;
- establish a framework of annual targets; and
- include emissions from international aviation and international shipping.
This framework will help build a sustainable future for Scotland. It will contribute to the country's sustainable economic growth by moving the public and private sectors towards a low carbon economy.
The Bill was developed following a public consultation which received over 21,000 responses.
When considering targets, Scottish Ministers will take advice from the UK Committee on Climate Change. A formal request will be made to the Committee regarding the level of targets, but in advance of that, Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson wrote to the Chief Executive of the Committee on June 17, 2009 to emphasise two issues which he is keen for the Committee to take into account when giving advice to the Scottish Government.
Information on the Bill's progress through Parliament is available on the Scottish Parliament website.