Overview of the Act and General Notes Interpretation Part 1: Emissions Reduction Targets Section 6: Preparation of plan: public consultation
54.Section 6 of the Act inserts a new section 35ZA into the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 to create a requirement for the Scottish Ministers to consult publicly to inform the proposals and policies to be set out in a climate change plan. The new section further requires the Scottish Ministers to lay a statement before the Scottish Parliament, ahead of carrying out such a consultation, describing their approach to the consultative process. The duty created by the new section applies only to climate change plans that are to be laid before the Parliament under section 35(1)(b) of the 2009 Act, which means that it does not apply to the first climate change plan to be prepared.