Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009

The third report on proposals and policies (RPP3 - the draft climate change plan)) is due to be published in January 2017 and Parliament has a maximum of 60 days to report on the document.  Four committees of the Scottish Parliament have agreed to collaborate to consider the draft plan: 

• The Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee (EJW) 
• The Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee (ECCLR) 
• The Local Government and Communities Committee (LGC) 
• The Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee (REC)

The REC has circulated an Information Pack for Stakeholders to provide more information about the process and I have placed this, together with a copy of the covering e-mail message in a Dropbox folder.  There is more background on the Scottish Government website.

No doubt many members of the Forum will wish to contribute to the review process independently and I propose that I keep a watching brief in case there is any input that the Forum as a whole could usefully provide.  The areas that the ECCLR will consider are likely to be of most relevance to the Forum.  I will welcome any suggestions from members about how the Forum could provide input.

I will be arranging a meeting for Lord Lindsay and me with the Cabinet Secretary for REC, Fergus Ewing MSP, in January and we will raise this for discussion as part of the meeting. 

Funding for peatland restoration

The Scottish Government has announced £1.7 million of funding for restoring Scotland's peatland landscape.

This is terrific news and is a sign that the message has been understood about the importance of peatland for carbon management, for agriculture, for biodiversity and sporting management.

The Moorland Forum's Peatland Working Group will be working with the Scottish Government, SNH, the IUCN UK Peatland Programme and other members of the Group, which extends beyond the Forum, to secure the best use for this funding.

Initiative for Carbon Accounting (ICARB)

The Initiative for Carbon Accounting (ICARB) is a group of academics, politicians and consultants working to create a set of transparent, consistent and accurate rules for Carbon Accounting.  See the ICARB website for more details of this rapidly expanding science.

ICARB aims to provide a forum for the development of a consensually agreed Language and Rule Book for Carbon Accounting that is relevant, complete, consistent, transparent and accurate and enables compatible approaches across sectors.

Accounting for CO2 emissions from peatlands

Photo: Norrie Russell, RSPB

IUCN has urged the UK government to account for CO2 emissions from peatlands.  A decision has to be made now if peatland rewetting is to be included in the UK national greenhouse gas accounting for the next Kyoto Protocol commitment period 2013-2017.

Electing to account for Wetland Drainage and Rewetting in national climate change targets could give extra impetus for Government spend on peatland rewetting and could pave the way for business funding through carbon markets.

I recommend the IUCN briefing as a way of gaining understanding of what is proposed and there is more detail available in the longer briefing that is linked from the first document.