What's the Health of Our Nation?

29 January 2009

News release 26th November 2008

Report reveals challenges ahead for a sustainable Scotland

Today Government's independent advisor, the Sustainable Development Commission Scotland reveals Scotland is a long way from being a sustainable nation that lives within its environmental limits and ensures a strong, healthy and just society.

The Commission has just published a comprehensive assessment of progress made by the Scottish Government toward sustainable development.

Professor Jan Bebbington, Vice Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission said,

"All developed countries are struggling with how to achieve positive economic, social and environmental outcomes simultaneously, so the position that the Scottish Government finds itself in is by no means unique.

"It is clear that the Scottish Government is looking to show the lead internationally in tackling problems like climate change, but there remains a worrying mismatch between the level of commitment and the scale of the sustainable development challenge Scotland faces."

Government is showing leadership in the way it has radically changed the way Government works by establishing a National Performance Framework and removing all departments, and through the development of tools such as a Carbon Balance sheet for transport and Carbon Assessments to sit alongside Government budgets. For Government to respond effectively to the scale of the challenge there are two key issues it must address.

• Action on climate change needs to move rapidly from putting in a policy framework to delivering significant cuts in emissions levels. We welcome Government's rapid action in putting climate change thinking into policy and the machinery of Government but emissions have fallen on average by approximately 1% per annum over recent years and actually rose in the last year*. To get to grips with this Government is going to have to increase the ambition level of its climate change related policies and ensure that implementation is more rigorously pursued.
  
• Government needs to demonstrate unequivocally how growth in economic activity (as measured by GDP) will be used to support rather than undermine its other Purpose targets on Solidarity, Cohesion and Sustainability. This means Government has difficult choices to make: this is not business as usual and a problem which is made more pressing by the current economic turbulence.

• Clearly articulate how Scotland's approach to sustainable economic growth - both for the overall direction of Government and for headline policy initiatives and decisions - will achieve a sustainable Scotland and how the National Performance Framework can support delivery of a sustainable Scotland
• Deliver a Climate Change Bill and associated delivery framework that moves Scotland to a low carbon economy and sets a clear timetable for implementation
• Recognise the scale of the problem of fuel poverty and renew its efforts to tackle fuel poverty. Government's introduction of an Energy Assistance Package is very welcome, but when one third of Scottish households are now in fuel poverty, more information is needed about whether the additional funding provided by Government will be sufficient to remove fuel poverty by 2016
• Build the right infrastructure to foster sustainable development actions and choices. In particular, major decisions on transport infrastructure need to contribute to delivery of a sustainable Scotland
• Government needs to demonstrate leadership by shifting to sustainable procurement models and using the enormous power of public sector spending to deliver more sustainable outcomes.

Professor Jan Bebbington of the Sustainable Development Commission continued,

"Sustainable economic growth, the phrase championed by the Government, must be demonstrated in all its actions to mean growth in economic activities which can increase the wellbeing of Scottish citizens within global environmental limits, or it is simply not sustainable. The response to the economic crisis demands no less." 
 
Cabinet Secretary for the Environment Richard Lochhead responded by saying:

"This is a valuable report which both gives the Scottish Government food for thought and recognises the significant progress which has been made in the last 18 months towards a greener Scotland.

"With a marked improvement in recycling figures, more renewable energy developments and new bills on Climate Change and the Marine Environment poised to go before the Scottish Parliament, we are showing real initiative. Our Climate Change Bill will set the most ambitious targets anywhere in the world.

"However, there remain a number of challenges to be faced in the coming months and years and we will continue to work with the Sustainable Development Commission as we move towards increasing sustainable economic growth for Scotland."

Notes:
* denotes 2006, the last year for which greenhouse gas emissions data was published.

Sustainable Development: A review of progress by the Scottish Government (2008)

» Sustainable Development in Scotland 2008: A review of progress by the Scottish Government

» Sustainable Development in Scotland 2008: Executive Summary

Annex 1: Detailed Review of Government Indicators
Annex 2: Detailed Review of Sustainable Development Governance 
Annex 3: Detailed Review of Scottish Government Leading by Example
Annex 4: Detailed Review of Stakeholder Survey

Speeches

» Jan Bebbington's speech at the 2nd Assessment launch

For further information on this project, please contact:

Phil Matthews
Senior Policy Analyst, Scotland
0131 625 1883

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