Scottish ministers admit climate assessment failure

Scottish ministers have admitted failing to meet climate commitments regarding their infrastructure investment plan, under threat of legal proceedings by the Good Law Project and the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland.

The challenge was brought over a failure to publish an assessment of the climate impact of the £26bn plan more than two years after the plan was announced, as required by s 94A of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

After the two campaign groups wrote to Màiri McAllan, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition, saying they would launch a legal challenge unless she took urgent action to publish this assessment, the Government's Legal Directorate responded accepting that the documentation published to date "falls short" of the s 94A duties and affirming that "Urgent work is underway on a remedy to ensure that the duty is discharged in full and as soon as possible."

Emma Dearnaley, legal director at Good Law Project, commented: "Governments can try to duck and weave around their duties when their law breaking is revealed, so it’s heartening that the Scottish Government has owned up to its mistake and committed to correcting it quickly. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this to make sure it follows through."

Dr Shivali Fifield, chief officer at Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland, agreed that the admission was "promising", but added: “It is extremely concerning that they are still needing time to publish a climate impact assessment for a plan that is already in progress.

"This breach only came to light because a concerned citizen contacted us. "It should not be left to individuals to suss out whether ministers are acting lawfully or adding fuel to the fire when confronting the climate crisis."

"It is now down to the Government to regain credibility and show that their spending decisions will deliver a just transition towards net zero."

Good Law Project is also considering whether to bring legal proceedings against the UK Government following the Prime Minister's announcement this week delaying the dates by which sales of gas boilers and new petrol and diesel cars will be banned.