Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland

assisting the public to exercise their rights in environmental law

Scottish Government still hasn’t proved how flagship infrastructure plan will meet net zero targets – press release

The Scottish Government has come under fire for failing to provide “concrete evidence” of how its flagship £26bn Infrastructure Investment Plan will deliver the emissions cut needed to hit net zero targets.

Sustained legal pressure from the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS) and Good Law Project won a commitment from the Scottish Government to publish their assessment of the climate impacts of its infrastructure plan. Back in September 2023, the Scottish Government admitted that its failure to produce a carbon assessment was in breach of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 and pledged to take urgent work to address the issue.

The published assessment, however, has now come under scrutiny. In a legal letter to the Scottish Government, ERCS and Good Law Project criticised the assessment for its lack of detailed analysis and concrete emissions calculations. These concerns come amidst the Climate Change Committee’s finding that Scotland is significantly off-track from meeting its 2030 net zero targets.

Whilst avenues for further legal action are limited, ERCS and Good Law Project have urged Scottish Ministers to reconsider their assessment. The two organisations warn the Government that they will continue to closely monitor progress on net zero targets.

Dr Shivali Fifield, Chief Officer at ERCS, said:

“Our legal pressure on the Scottish Government has forced them to finally publish their climate impact assessment they had been holding back for over two years. Scotland’s ministers and public bodies are not above the law, and this success shows that we can use it to demand transparency.

“But this assessment is not enough. We are deeply disappointed by the Government’s lack of analysis – they neither provide any emissions calculations nor show whether infrastructure investment will deliver on their promised emission reductions. This is undoubtedly one of the many reasons why the Government is not going to meet their 2030 net zero targets as identified by the Climate Change Committee.

“ERCS will continue to press for clearer monitoring requirements and accountability mechanisms, so that the Scottish Government delivers on their climate obligations.”

Good Law Project Legal Director, Emma Dearnaley, said:

“With legal pressure, we have helped to ensure Ministers meet their commitments under Scottish climate legislation.

“However, with so much at stake for the climate and Scotland’s economy, the Scottish Government needs to raise the bar. We’re concerned that the climate impact assessment they’ve now provided fails to include concrete evidence that the infrastructure plan is compliant with Scotland’s vital net zero targets.”

ENDS

Please direct media enquiries to:

Shivali Fifield at ERCS on Sfifield@ercs.scot / 07395 652434

Tim Picton at Good Law Project on press@goodlawproject.org / 07907 296156.

Notes to editors

  1. To arrange an interview with Dr Shivali Fifield, please contact Sfifield@ercs.scot / 07395 652434. To arrange an interview with Emma Dearnaley, please contact press@goodlawproject.org / 07907 296156.
  2. A chronology of the legal correspondence between Good Law Project/ Environmental Rights Centre Scotland and Scottish Government:
  3. The Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021-22 to 2025-26 (PDF)
  4. Infrastructure investment plan 2021-2022 to 2025-2026: carbon assessment
  5. Infrastructure Plan Progress Report – 2021-2022
  6. The relevant legislation is the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 as amended by the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019.
  7. This is Good Law Project’s first legal campaign in Scotland since it announced its expansion into the country last year.
  8. About the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland: The Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS) was established in 2020. We assist the public and civil society to understand and exercise their rights in environmental law and to protect the environment. We carry out advocacy in policy and law reform to improve environmental rights, and ensure full compliance with the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice on environmental matters.
  9. About Good Law Project: Good Law Project is a non-profit that uses the law to build a fairer future. We took a leading role in overturning Boris Johnson’s unlawful prorogation of parliament and in exposing the cronyism at the heart of the government’s £50bn Covid procurement. We helped a woman who had suffered sexual assault defend her right to tell her own story and forced the government to rewrite its threadbare net zero strategy.