Concrete policies backed by clear targets and timelines must be at the heart of the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan, says Holyrood’s Net Zero Committee.
In its report published this week, the Committee says that key policies must also state clearly who will lead on delivery and, wherever possible, be costed.
A clear and accessible system to monitor progress will also be vital to catch policies and interventions at risk of going off track.
The report highlights the Plan’s reliance on electrification for delivery across many sectors. The Committee calls on the Scottish Government to work with the UK Government and other UK administrations on a joint plan of action for more affordable electricity.
The report also identifies areas of potential risk in plotting a pathway to net zero emissions, either because the Scottish Government is dependent upon others for key actions or because they have set ambitions that look stretching. These include, for example, a quite fast-paced switchover to electric vehicles; decarbonising Scotland’s homes; and using negative emissions technology at scale over the next decade to abate hard to decarbonise areas.
The Plan sets out how the Scottish Government intends to meet emission reduction targets across all portfolio areas and sectors of the economy. It covers the period 2026-2040 as Scotland looks to be ‘net zero’ in carbon emissions by 2045.
10 committees took part in the Scottish Parliament’s scrutiny of the draft Plan. Leading the cross-parliamentary effort, the Net Zero, Energy & Transport Committee considered the draft as a whole; including governance, monitoring, and fiscal arrangements; as well as three sectors relevant to its remit; energy supply, transport and waste.
Convener of the Net Zero, Energy & Transport Committee, Edward Mountain MSP, said: “Scotland has lost momentum in reaching net zero and a new Climate Change Plan is the key opportunity for a reset. The Plan must be focused on delivery, with credible proposals and clear lines of accountability for each major policy.
“There are some good aspects to the draft Plan but it often falls short, with insufficient detail on key policies and the mechanisms to achieve specific outcomes, or on costs and who they will fall on.
“Public engagement is central to net zero delivery as it requires actions at a household level. People rightly want assurances that changes they are being asked to make are affordable and sensible. We reached out to the public and to grassroots community groups as widely as we could, within the time we had.
“Getting the Plan right also means the Scottish Government must listen to industry, NGOs and scientific experts, as well as the Parliament.“The Scottish Government has given itself a maximum of just three weeks to reflect on our recommendations and its own public consultation. This is not good practice. It lowers confidence that consultation is meaningful and will help shape the new Plan. It must not happen again.”
The Scottish Government has committed to publishing its final Climate Change Plan in advance of the dissolution of Parliament for the 2026 election.
Key committee recommendations:
In their reports, Committees highlighted a range of issues including, for example:
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
In relation to energy supply, transport & waste:
- Proposals to decarbonise the transport sector are heavily reliant on EV switchover, with challenges around affordability and convenience of charging etc. The Scottish Government holds only some of the levers in this area. This poses a risk that should be monitored carefully. The Plan should encourage EV uptake but have more measures to enable less car usage.
- Placing a high level of reliance on negative emissions technologies, a developing technology that is untested at scale, is a significant delivery risk that will require careful monitoring and reappraisal in the light of new evidence and data.
- Ambitions on electrifying and decarbonising the freight sector look unrealistic, with insufficient detail on delivery.
- Revised projections for emissions from energy from waste are required in light of the recent delay in banning biodegradable waste going to municipal landfill.
Read the Net Zero, Energy & Transport Committee’s report
Rural Affairs & Islands Committee
- The agriculture emissions pathway in the draft Plan was unclear due to a lack of clarity around the sector’s reform plans and the absence of a Rural Support Plan (RSP).
- The final Plan must show how RSP policies will deliver sectoral emissions targets and the next Parliament must scrutinise the links between the RSP, wider reform programme and the Plan, to ensure sufficient leadership and ambition for the sector.
- While the draft CCP signals strong long-term ambition for forestry and peatland, it should also set out how sites will be prioritised – using spatial analysis or mapping – and provide clearer detail on long-term financing, including the Scottish Government’s position on multiannual funding.
Read the Rural Affairs & Islands Committee’s report
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
- The Committee is concerned that the projected rates of heat pump installations will not sufficiently scale up by 2030 in order to put Scotland on course to reaching the 2045 target. There needs to be national leadership from the Scottish Government in partnership with the UK Government to deliver this through a coherent delivery plan.
- Having sufficient numbers of trained tradespeople to deliver retrofitting is clearly critical, and the Scottish Government should set out a plan as to how a recognised skills gap will be addressed, particularly in rural areas where the skills shortage is greater, and with a focus on supporting SMEs to grow their retrofit workforce.
Read the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee’s report
Economy and Fair Work Committee
- The Plan needs to include more information, be clearer on the priority of actions and involve workers and professional bodies. If not, there’s a real risk we repeat past mistakes, with industries closing and skilled workers leaving Scotland to find jobs elsewhere.
- The Committee calls for a change in the way electricity prices and charges are set. Until this is addressed, it warns against adding new requirements for industries to cut emissions, as this too could risk more closures and job losses.
Read the Economy and Fair Work Committee’s letter sent to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee (246KB, pdf)posted 02 February 2026
Other Committee correspondence
Read the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s letter sent to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee with further findings due to be published shortly (136KB, pdf)posted 30 January 2026
Read the Criminal Justice Committee’s letter sent to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee (97KB, pdf)posted 08 December 2025
The Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee sent two letters to the letters the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee:
Read the letter sent on 9 December 2025 (121KB, pdf)posted 15 December 2025
Read the letter sent on 23 January 2026 (158KB, pdf)posted 26 January 2026
Read the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs & Culture Committee’s letter sent to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee (217KB, pdf)posted 26 January 2026
Read the Social Justice & Social Security Committee’s letter sent to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee (117KB, pdf)posted 01 December 2025
Read the Public Audit Committee’s letter sent to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee (192KB, pdf)posted 07 November 2023.
Upper Foyer, Highland Hall at 2pm on Friday 21 June.