reply from paul wheelhouse (p.1) 2013-04-02 (3).pdf
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7/28/2019 Reply from Paul Wheelhouse (p.1) 2013-04-02 (3).pdf
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Ministear airson na h-Arainneachd agus Atharrachadh Aimsir
Minister for Environment and Climate Change
Paul Wheelhouse BPA/MSP
F I T: 08457741741
Ms Kezia Dugdale MSPThe Scottish ParliamentEDINBURGHEH991SP
Ur faidhieNour ref: GL-07-03-13Ar faidhle/Our ref: 2013/0006714
2'i March 2013
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The ScottishGovernmentRiaghaltas na h-Alba
n-LEGAC Y 2014XX COMMONWEALTH GAMES
SCOTLAND
Thank you for your letter of 7 March on behalf of one of your constituents regarding the DraftSecond Report on P roposals and Policies for Low Carbon Scotland: Meeting our EmissionsReduction Targets 2013-2027 (RPP2).
The draft RPP2 has recently been considered by the Scottish Parliament and we willconsider carefully the recommendations made as we work to prepare the final version of thereport. The Scottish Government is proud of the fact that we have passed the world's mostambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. It would have been far easier to set _targets that ignored climate science or showed little ambition, so-that tFletargets would be--straightforward to meet. In addition, the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 requiresScottish Ministers to report annually to the Parliament on our progress against annualtargets. Therefore, we not only have the world's toughest targets but the level of scrutiny isalso unequalled internationally.
In February, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange commented that the initiatives taken by the Scottish Government for tackling thethreats posed by climate change are a matter of pride. In addition, our independentadvisors, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), noted the positive action that is beingtaken in Scotland in their recent progress report, published on 12 March. David Kennedy,Chief Executive of the CCC said that the emissions reductions that Scotland has achieve todate "lays the foundations for meeting ambitious Scottish emissions targets and building alow-carbon economy in Scotland with the benefits that this will bring."
Taigh Naomh Anndrais, Rathad Regent, Dun Eideann EH1 3DG
St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG
www.scotland.gov.uk
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7/28/2019 Reply from Paul Wheelhouse (p.1) 2013-04-02 (3).pdf
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As the very first chapter of the draft RP P2 makes clear, the purpose of the Scottish
Government is to focus on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all ofScotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable growth. Making the transition to a low
carbon Scotland through the achievement of our climate change targets will place Scotlandin an advantageous position within the global economy and, in doing so, provide numerousbenefits to communities and businesses across Scotland.
The draft RPP2 shows that together all of the policies and proposals described within it
would allow us to exceed each annual target from 2013 to 2027. Therefore there is flexibilityto decide which proposals should be adopted, and which options are to be held in reserve in
case any actions prove less effective than expected. We would have liked to spend more
money to convert proposals into policies but the reality is that the Scottish Governmentbudget has been cut by the UK Government. Nevertheless, we have committed over
1.1 billion over the current spending review period for climate change action, including:
over 340 million to drive the growth of low carbon energy;
more than 350 million in homes and communities, including energy efficiency andthe Climate Challenge Fund;
over 200 million to reduce the impact of transport through active travel, low carbon
vehicles and measures to reduce congestion;
over 79 million in our Zero Waste Scotland programme to help Scottish families and
businesses cut waste to unlock savings and reduce emissions; and
over 117 million to tackle emissions in rural land use including woodland creation
and support to help farmers make more efficient use of nitrogen fertilisers.
You asked about transport and homes in particular. Within transport, our current focus is toreduce emissions through technology change and modal shift from car to active travel and
public transport through voluntary behavioural change. We are also developing work around
alternatives to travel, in which information communication technologies will have increasingly
significant roles. We are committed to increasing the numbers of people cycling, safely and
more often. The Climate Challenge Fund has also funded a number of projects to developcycling in local communities in rural and urban areas. The Cycling Action Plan for Scotland
was published in J une 2010 - with a vision that by 2020,10% of all journeys will be made bybike - is now undergoing a refresh to ensure its effectiveness in steering actions across a
range of partner bodies. The updated action plan will be published later this year.
In May 2012, the Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport announced that we woulddevelop a National Walking Strategy. This is now under development and the aim is to have
a walking strategy in place by the end of this year. We will be launching a public campaign topromote walking for short journeys this spring. In addition, a full evaluation report on the
16 million Smarter Choices Smarter Places demonstration project funded jointly with
COSLA will also be available during the spring. Under this four year project a range of
interventions to support more cycling, walking and public transport use were implemented
and monitored in seven communities across the country.
Taigh Naomh Anndrais, Rathad Regent, Dun Eideann EHl 3DG
St Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EHl 3DG
www.scotland.gov .uk
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