The Scottish Government has announced a series of new, legally binding Carbon Budgets, establishing concrete limits on the nation's greenhouse gas emissions for the coming decades.

These five-year statutory targets, spanning from 2026 to 2045, mark a significant step in Scotland's ongoing efforts to tackle climate change and align with recommendations from the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the Scottish Government's own evaluations.

The newly proposed budgets aim for substantial reductions against 1990 emission levels:

• 2026 - 2030: 57% lower

• 2031 - 2035: 69% lower

• 2036 - 2040: 80% lower

• 2041 - 2045: 94% lower

These proposals will undergo parliamentary scrutiny before a vote is held in the autumn. Should they be approved, the Scottish Government plans to release a draft Climate Change Plan, outlining specific actions, associated costs, and benefits required to achieve the first three carbon budget targets.

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Gillian Martin, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy, emphasised Scotland's leadership in emission reduction.

"Scotland is now halfway to our 2045 climate change target and is ahead of the UK as a whole in reducing long term emissions," she stated.

Ms Martin affirmed that the new Carbon Budgets provide "clear limits on emissions for the coming decades in line with the independent advice of the UK Climate Change Committee." She added that the forthcoming Climate Change Plan would detail the necessary policies, promising it "will not ask the impossible of people. We will not sacrifice people’s health or wealth."

While welcoming the CCC's advice, Ms Martin highlighted Scotland's intent to tailor its approach to suit national circumstances. "While we welcome the UK CCC’s advice on how to stay within these limits, as they make clear, it is always for Scotland to decide whether those policies are right for us," she explained.

This includes charting an independent course on forestry, with plans to go further than the CCC's suggestions. Furthermore, to protect rural communities and support a thriving rural economy, not all recommendations concerning agriculture and peatland will be adopted. Instead, Scotland aims to meet its targets in a way that safeguards its "iconic livestock industries" and works for rural Scotland.

"These Carbon Budgets keep Scotland at the forefront of efforts to protect the planet and our Climate Change Plan will ensure the action we take is fair, ambitious and capable of rising to the emergency before us," Ms Martin concluded.