Our climate and environmental responsibilities

Scottish Government’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2045 is unwavering – we are already around half way there and continue to decarbonise faster than the UK average. Transport emissions is Scotland’s highest carbon emitting sector which is why we need to continue to take action on transport to tackle climate change including on cars which is almost 40% of transport emissions. The statutory framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland is set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

In 2019, the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act amended the 2009 Act and established Scotland's target of net zero emissions by 2045. The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2024 amends the 2009 Act, replacing the annual emissions reduction target framework with five-yearly carbon budgets and will help us on our journey to net zero by supporting a credible pathway to net zero in 2045. The new Act enables the levels of carbon budgets to be set once the latest advice has been received from the Climate Change Committee, due in May 2025.

We are focused on delivery of climate mitigation, with the commitment to taking forward policies in the major sectors, including on transport, where we need to focus our decarbonisation efforts and demonstrate how we will progress towards delivering that 2045 goal.

A just transition to net zero, including adapting to climate change, reducing transport emissions and supporting economic development through net zero remain at the core of Transport Scotland’s policy and decision making The Climate Change Team leads on climate change policy, setting the strategic direction and building the evidence base on how to reduce emissions from Scotland’s transport sector.

This builds on our existing updated Climate Change Plan (CCPu) which includes transport policy outcomes, policies and proposals covering the period up to 2032. The transport sector is contributing to development of the next draft Climate Change Plan and our next Plan will cover the period 2026-2040.

Progress reporting on CCPu commitments and just transition elements is completed annually including for the transport sector as part of a Monitoring Framework. This provides greenhouse gas emissions statistics, a suite of policy outcome indicators; and a policy tracker monitoring implementation of specific policies and proposals.

We will continue to report on progress on the next Climate Change Plan commitments through annual monitoring reports. Ministers will be required to lay in Parliament an annual report on emissions reduction. At the end of each carbon budget period, these reports will also include an indication of whether Scotland’s carbon budget target for that period has been met.

For Transport Scotland itself as an organisation, we are required as part of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 to submit our annual emissions performance to Scottish Ministers via the Climate Change (Duties of Public Bodies: Reporting Requirements) (Scotland) Order 2015. This report acts as Transport Scotland’s function to assess our corporate emissions performance in relation to carbon emissions against a 2015-16 baseline as outlined in the Carbon Management Plan (CMP) 4th Edition.

Our CMP sets our corporate carbon emission targets to 2027, along with the various initiatives we will undertake to achieve those. The goal of this plan is to not only achieve Net Zero across our own corporate activities, but to also challenge the way in which emissions are managed throughout our supply chain.

Our targets below meet the latest legislative requirements to set Zero direct and Net Zero indirect emissions targets associated with our operational control; and additionally, we have also set a Scope (i) target, where we can influence emissions reduction in our supply chain:

• By 2025, Transport Scotland’s Scope 1 emissions will be zero,
• By 2025, Transport Scotland’s Scope 2 emissions will be Net Zero,
• By 2025, Transport Scotland’s Scope 3 emissions will be Net Zero primed,
• By 2027, Transport Scotland will reduce indirect emissions by 15% (combination of Scope 2 & 3),
• By 2045, Transport Scotland’s Scope ‘i’ emissions will be Net Zero.

The Duties also require reporting on our actions in relation to climate change adaptation, acting in the best way calculated to help deliver the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Adaptation Programme. Our Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience outlines the key climate risks affecting Scotland’s transport system and sets out our strategic outcomes for Road, Rail, Aviation and Maritime transport networks.