Scottish government faces legal action over missing climate assessment

The Scottish government has pledged to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2045, declaring that Scotland’s contribution to global heating will “end, definitively, within one generation”.

However, more than two years since the government announced its £26 billion Infrastructure Investment Plan, it has yet to publish an assessment of the plan’s climate impact, despite its statutory duties under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 requiring the government to show how investments are in line with emissions targets.

The investment plan for the 2021-2026 term outlines £26bn of investments in projects and programmes around Scotland, such as health and transport infrastructure, emphasising the government’s commitment to net zero and highlights investments in the natural environment – but no assessment of the emissions the plans will produce has been published.

Dr Shivali Fifield, chief officer at the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS), said: “By failing to publish a climate impact assessment for its Infrastructure Investment Plan, the Scottish government is leaving citizens in the dark, with no way to keep check on whether public money will be spent on projects that drive up carbon emissions.

“To the government we say: show us your homework. Too many times, you have over-promised and under-delivered, and in a climate emergency, the stakes are too high for wishful thinking.

“The Scottish government has committed to incorporating the right to a healthy environment as part of its new Human Rights Bill and this includes the right to a safe climate. These spending decisions will shape Scotland for decades to come. Only with effective public scrutiny can we ensure reality matches rhetoric to advance the right to a healthy environment for everyone.”

Emma Dearnaley, legal director at Good Law Project, said: “The Scottish government says it is committed to reaching net zero. But it’s breaching its own climate legislation that sets the emissions targets needed to get there.

“It’s one thing to make climate commitments – it’s another to deliver on them. So it’s vital we can all see if the government’s investment plans clash with its plans to tackle the climate crisis.

“There’s no time to lose in the fight against irreversible damage from global heating. That’s why we won’t hesitate to bring a legal challenge if the Scottish government doesn’t publish these crucial climate assessments.”