News

The Public Engagement Observatory welcomes the publication of Scotland’s Draft Climate Change Plan: 2026-2040, and the Scottish Government’s continued commitment to a fair and inclusive low carbon transition embedding key aspects of the Net Zero Nation Public Engagement Strategy in planning.

Whilst the plan focuses on the social opportunities of the transition to net zero – as evidenced by the focus on delivering community co-benefits, distributive and cosmopolitan justice, intergenerational equity, and addressing energy poverty – it also accounts for the need to empower people to participate. However, significantly more should be done to ensure public participation and engagement are actually meaningful and empowering.

Accordingly, and as detailed in our response, there are three key ways the plan can go further in responding to people and communities by: 

1. Better recognising the multiple and diverse ways that people and communities across Scotland can and do already engage with energy and climate change;
2. Moving significantly beyond just capturing public views at specific moments in time through the Scottish Climate Survey, to listen and respond to the diverse public engagements highlighted above and the societal concerns, views and solutions they bring forth; and
3. Adopting a more systemic approach to participation nationally.

Read our full response, and additional contributions from across the UKERC consortium, here.