Ministear airson na h-Arainneachd agus Atharrachadh Aimsir Minister for Environment and Climate Change

Paul Wheelhouse BPA/MSP

FIT: 0845 7741741

E: scottish.ministers@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

The Scottish Government

Riaghaltas na h-Alba

Ms Kezia Dugdale MSP The Scottish Parliament EDINBURGH EH991SP

LEGACY 2014
XX COMMONWEALTH SCOTLAND GAMES

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Ur faidhieNour ref: GL-07-03-13 Ar faidhle/Our ref: 2013/0006714

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March 2013

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Thank you for your letter of 7 March on behalf of one of your constituents regarding the Draft Second Report on Proposals and Policies for Low Carbon Scotland: Meeting our Emissions Reduction Targets 2013-2027 (RPP2). The draft RPP2 has recently been considered by the Scottish Parliament and we will consider carefully the recommendations made as we work to prepare the final version of the report. The Scottish Government is proud of the fact that we have passed the world's most ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. It would have been far easier to set targets that ignored climate science or showed little ambition, so-that tFle targets would be-straightforward to meet. In addition, the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 requires Scottish Ministers to report annually to the Parliament on our progress against annual targets. Therefore, we not only have the world's toughest targets but the level of scrutiny is also unequalled internationally. In February, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change commented that the initiatives taken by the Scottish Government for tackling the threats posed by climate change are a matter of pride. In addition, our independent advisors, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), noted the positive action that is being taken 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 to date "lays the foundations for meeting ambitious Scottish emissions targets and building a low-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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As the very first chapter of the draft RPP2 makes clear, the purpose of the Scottish Government is to focus on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable growth. Making the transition to a low carbon Scotland through the achievement of our climate change targets will place Scotland in an advantageous position within the global economy and, in doing so, provide numerous benefits 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 flexibility to 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 Government budget 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, the Climate Challenge Fund; including energy efficiency and

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 to reduce 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 develop cycling in local communities in rural and urban areas. The Cycling Action Plan for Scotland was published in June 2010 - with a vision that by 2020,10% of all journeys will be made by bike - 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 would develop 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 to promote 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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