Climate plan needs ‘detailed’ policies

Scottish ministers’ latest plan to tackle climate change contains “high ambition” but must be backedupbymoredetailed policies on how it will be achieved, a Holyrood committee has been told.

The Scottish Government’s “route map” was published in February, setting out how it intends to achieve a target of reducing emissions by 66 per cent by 2032.

Appearing before the environment, climate change and land reform committee at Holyrood, Adrian Gault, acting chief executive of the independent Committee on Climate Change, said the advisory body had not yet assessed the final document.

However, he said: “I think it is clear that when you look at the plan there are some areas where there is high ambition, but still a lot more to do to bring forward details of the policies and instruments that will be used to deliver on that ambition.

“For example there are very good plans around energy efficiency, and a very high level of ambition for energy efficiency for buildings. But there is a route map that is going to be produced for the Scottish energy efficiency programme later this year which needs to provide more detail about how that ambition is going to be achieved.”