In 2016 the Scottish Government pledged to deliver a new climate law that would increase Scotland’s climate ambition in response to the UN Paris Climate Agreement. However, the current proposals fail to meet the ambition required, and imply doing almost nothing extra to tackle climate change between now and 2030.

We’re working to ensure the new Climate Change Act delivers our fair share of global greenhouse gas cuts, and builds a just transition towards a fairer, healthier, zero-carbon Scotland.

To set Scotland on a path consistent with the Paris Agreement aims of keeping global warming below 2ºC, and preferably to 1.5C, we need stronger targets, together with new policies to deliver rapid emissions cuts.

The campaign so far

• In June 2017 the Scottish Government published their proposals for the new Climate Bill. The plans showed a disappointing lack of ambition, proposing to do almost nothing extra to tackle climate change between now and 2030.
• Working with Stop Climate Chaos Scotland and 38 degrees, our campaign during the public consultation helped nearly 20,000 people respond to the government, telling them to set more ambitious targets. Read our response.
• We won an early commitment in the Programme for Government to phase out the sale of new fossil fuelled vehicles by 2032, which will help to bring down emissions from transport.
• The Scottish Government also committed to establishing a Just Transition commission to advise the Government on how to make the move towards a low-carbon economy in a fair way. This was one of our key asks during the consultation, and will help ensure the benefits of a low carbon economy are shared within Scotland.
• The Climate Change Bill was published in May 2018, but there’s a lot to improve!

What’s next?

The Bill must now pass through three stages in the Scottish Parliament before it can become law; during which time all MSPs will have the chance to debate, vote and suggest improvements to the Climate Bill.

To improve the Bill, we need to work with all parties in the Parliament. Please help us by emailing your MSP today and asking them to support stronger targets.

It may be spring next year before the Bill becomes law, and we need to keep up the pressure throughout the process.