The Scottish Government's independent advisory body on sustainable development
SDC Scotland's Third Annual Assessment
Frameworks in place but lack of follow-through to the local level
• Scots locked in unsustainable communities – transport and planning still obstacles to sustainability
• Financial crisis an opportunity for fresh thinking and finding alternative measures to GDP
• Action on climate change can deliver fairer and healthier Scotland
• Scottish school children leading the way
Scottish communities are still not geared towards low carbon living but widening the perspective when delivering the Climate Change (Scotland) Act could make the Act a catalyst for a flourishing Scotland. The world leading climate legislation is a golden opportunity for the Scottish Government to deliver on health, community development and social inclusion.
This is the main recommendation in SDC Scotland’s Third Annual Assessment of Government’s progress on sustainable development. The report shows that we need to rethink the structure of our communities and our economy if we are serious about a low-carbon sustainable lifestyle.
Commitment on climate change
The SNP administration is committed on issues like climate change, marine/fisheries and waste. But our analysis shows that there is a significant gap between aspirations, action on the ground, following through on national initiatives at the local level and Government’s own indicators for success.
Transport policy is again identified as one of the obstacles to low carbon living, safer communities and healthier lives. Integrated solutions looking at planning our communities for low carbon living will achieve more for less; alternatives through for example IT and active travel solutions deliver on transport problems and wider benefits for community, local business, and health and well being. This is a trick the Scottish Government must not miss at a time of great financial pressure.
The Scottish Government is showing leadership internationally through the Scottish Climate Change Act and education for sustainability is successfully being integrated in Scottish schools. However, Government must be bold and fundamentally shift its approach to the pace of change. Sustainable development in Scotland will require far greater integration and link planning, housing, education, food, transport, social, economic and health policy.
Alternatives to GDP
We support the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) recommendation that the Scottish Government use other measures of performance in addition to GDP. This is the only way forward. The assessment advices Government to place the limits of our natural environment at the heart of economic policy. This means economic growth should not be seen as an objective in itself. Growth on its own does not deliver a healthy environment, address the gap between rich and poor or better Scotland’s health statistics.
Our analysis is based on Government’s own indicators in the National Performance Framework. Many of the public health indicators continue to be poor and there is no evidence of a narrowing of the gap between highest and lowest earners. This is very worrying from a sustainable development perspective. In the middle of a financial crisis the only way forward is a radical rise in spend on preventative healthcare.
The assessment's central challenges to Government
• Economic policy is still centred on economic growth as opposed to well-being and wider sustainable outcomes. Government must adopt economic indicators that help show wider policy outcomes and look at alternatives to growth based economics.
• Government must deliver the objectives in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act in a way consistent with wider sustainable development. Vital though climate change action is, it must be tackled in a way that also delivers better outcomes across policy portfolios.
• As a crucial element in tackling fuel poverty the finalised Energy Efficiency Action Plan must be backed by sufficient resources to deliver a radical improvement in domestic energy performance.
• Government must address the disconnect between national planning guidance and local planning action. The sum of local planning decisions needs to change radically if we are to create sustainable, integrated communities that promote health, well being and low resource use living.
• There must be greater focus on making significant improvements to the sustainability of procurement activity across the public sector. The choices made within £8 billion worth of public procurement have significant impacts – good or bad – on local economies, on society and on the environment.
» Download the Third Assessment report
» Commissioner speaks out: Jan Bebbington on how to get more for less
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Third Assessment Annexes
» Annexe 1 Scottish Government Indicator and Target data
» Annexe 2 Scottish Government Indicator and Target analysis
