The Act
3.Climate change is one of the most serious threats facing Scotland and the world. The most severe consequences include famine, drought and extinction of species. Urgent action is needed by all nations to avoid the most severe climate change.
4.The aim of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act is to establish a framework to drive greater efforts at reducing Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland. The Act creates mandatory climate change targets to reduce Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions.
5.The provisions in the Act set a long-term target to reduce Scotland’s emissions of Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gases by at least 80% by the year 2050. This long-term target is supported by a 2020 interim target and a framework of annual targets intended to drive the policies necessary for achieving the long-term target. Many of the policy measures required to meet these targets will not require legislation to implement, but certain climate change mitigation and adaptation policies have been identified which do require legislation and this Act contains provisions in Part 5 to allow these to be taken forward.
6.The Act is separated into six parts.
	Part 1 creates the statutory framework for the greenhouse gas emissions reductions in Scotland by setting an interim 42% reduction target for 2020, with the power for this to be varied based on expert advice, and an 80% reduction target for 2050. To help ensure the delivery of these targets this Part of the Act also requires that the Scottish Ministers set annual targets, in secondary legislation, for Scottish emissions from 2010 to 2050.
	Part 2 contains provisions which will allow the Scottish Ministers to establish a Scottish Committee on Climate Change or to designate an existing body to exercise advisory functions.
	Part 3 places duties on the Scottish Ministers requiring them to report regularly to the Scottish Parliament on Scotland’s emissions and on the progress being made towards the emissions reduction targets set by the Act.
	Part 4 places climate change duties on public bodies requiring them to act in the way (a) best calculated to deliver the emissions reduction targets, (b) best calculated to deliver adaptation programmes made under the Act, and (c) that they consider most sustainable. This Part also contains powers to allow the Scottish Ministers, by order, to impose further duties on public bodies in relation to climate change and to require that they report upon the discharge of those duties. It also imposes on the Scottish Ministers a requirement to issue guidance to those bodies relating to their climate change duties.
	Part 5 – Chapter 1 requires the Scottish Ministers to lay programmes on adaptation to climate change before the Scottish Parliament, and to report on these programmes and the progress made under them.
	Part 5 – Chapter 2 places a duty on the Scottish Ministers to produce a land use strategy and provides for an enabling power for the Scottish Ministers to vary, but not shorten, the permitted times during which muirburn may be made where they consider it necessary or expedient to do so in relation to climate change.  This chapter also allows modification by secondary legislation of the functions of the Forestry Commissioners to enable the Forestry Commission in Scotland to play a greater role in tackling climate change.
	Part 5 – Chapter 3 contains a range of provisions relating to energy efficiency.  These include -production by the Scottish Ministers of a plan for the promotion and improvement of energy efficiency:production by the Scottish Ministers of a plan for promoting of the use of heat from renewable sources:the making of regulations regarding the assessment and improvement of the energy performance of non-domestic buildings and living accommodation:a duty on local authorities to establish energy efficiency discount schemes using the council tax system:provisions enabling the Scottish Ministers to make regulations in respect of non-domestic rates discounts related to energy efficiency:a “climate change burden” that can be added to a property’s title deeds to specify the mitigation or adaptation standards that must be met when the burdened property is developed:provision on Tenement Management Schemes:provisions on permitted development rights for the installation, alteration or replacement of microgeneration equipment in domestic and non-domestic buildings:changes to the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 so that development plans contain policies for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of new buildings by the installation of low and zero carbon technologies:the promotion by Scottish Water of water conservation and water-use efficiency.
	Part 5 – Chapter 4 contains provision regarding the procurement and construction of buildings which become part of the civil estate in Scotland and sets out duties concerning reports which must be made concerning the efficiency and sustainability of the civil estate.
	Part 5 – Chapter 5 contains provisions which enable the Scottish Ministers to make regulations relating to the acquisition of accurate information about waste and the promotion of waste reduction and recycling by different methods.
	Part 6 contains provisions of a general nature including provisions which require the Scottish Ministers to prepare and publish a public engagement strategy and to lay before Parliament, at the same time as they lay before Parliament draft budget proposals for the use of resources in any financial year, a document describing the impact on greenhouse gas emissions of the activities to be funded by virtue of those proposals.