It’s been a year since 20 March 2024 when the Climate Change Committee (CCC) announced that Scotland’s 2030 climate goals were “no longer credible”, and that there was no comprehensive strategy in place for Scotland to achieve net zero.
Following on from this stark statement, in November 2024, the Climate Change Bill was passed in Holyrood, effectively acknowledging the position. The Bill scrapped the annual targets and the interim targets for 2030 and 2040, but (thankfully) retained the goal of net zero by 2045.
With a collective sharp intake of breath, this was a sobering moment for the country, particularly when, only a few years earlier, Scotland was lauded for its ambitious climate strategy, setting the gold standard globally for other countries to follow.
Fast forward to March 2025 – and at the time of writing we still await the updated Scottish Government Climate Change Plan. Initially scheduled for draft release in November 2023, the latest briefings from Scottish Government indicate they await advice from the CCC before bringing forward regulations to set carbon budget levels and before any draft Climate Change Plan is laid before Parliament. In practice that means it may be towards the end of 2025 before we see a revised Plan.
At a time when UK Government ambition has never been higher (as articulated in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan) we need some decisive Scottish action to help move the dial on decarbonisation north of the border.
Never has this been more critical than in the context of cities, where decarbonisation (particularly in relation to heat and transport) remain key challenges. Solutions are not being implemented quickly e.g. the adoption rate of EVs and heat pumps is less than anticipated across cities (recent data indicates that in Edinburgh the percentage of electric licenced cars comprises only 4% of all cars on the road). Granted, there is a limit to which councils can demand changes of residents, particularly when e.g. the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles has been delayed from the original target date of 2030 (and so councils are reliant on low emission zoning to tackle the problem).
Pending the publication of the new Climate Change Plan, we would do well to accelerate progress by adopting a commonality of approach across the country. Whilst the nature of urban decarbonisation options differ (depending on location and geography), there is merit in local authorities sharing data, decarbonisation solutions and combining buying power to leverage the impact of collective action.
The power of a unified intra-national approach has the potential to be a game-changer. Aside from accelerating decarbonisation, it would undoubtedly help unlock economic growth (another key challenge for Scottish Government). This point is not lost on the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, who is a vocal advocate for integrated public services and regional cooperation. In February 2025 Burnham suggested that Glasgow ought to form a five-city pact with cities across the UK and Ireland to realise its full economic potential.
If you accept that collective city action is the way forward, then the next question is how best to harness this potential? A good deal of transparency, accountability and co-operation would be needed amongst local authorities, but first there needs to be a collective desire to make cities the engine rooms for change and growth (and putting to one side local elections and politics). Certainly, capacity building programmes such as the Scottish Climate Intelligence Service should help unlock opportunities. Just imagine what might be possible if we took an integrated UK wide approach to city decarbonisation.
Meantime, delays in publication of the updated Climate Change Plan cannot be an excuse for inertia. As a country, we need to progress a place-based transition to net zero – and working together to make that happen will be key.
Clare Foster is a confirmed speaker at All-Energy 25, the UK’s largest renewable and low-carbon energy exhibition and conference, taking place in Glasgow on 14-15 May.
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