First Minister to chair cross-party meeting on net zero

First Minister Humza Yousaf will chair a cross-party discussion on Scotland’s climate change ambitions.

Inviting party leaders to discuss how we can all address the climate crisis, the First Minister will highlight the Parliament’s shared goal of securing a future that is fair and just for all.

He will urge all parties to lead and promote behaviour change from everyone in society.

Chris Stark, Chief Executive of the independent UK Climate Change Committee (CCC), will present information on where Scotland is in its journey to net zero.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the First Minister said:

“Tackling the climate and nature crises is the collective fight of our lifetime, with implications for generations to come. The discussion will focus both on the challenges and opportunities we face in reaching net zero. We collectively made a commitment to deliver on net zero when Parliament backed the Act on a cross-party basis.

“There must be a recognition from across the political divide that we require bold action to tackle the scale of the climate crisis, and meet our ambitions on net zero.

“In addition to our Climate Change Plan, we are developing the first set of Just Transition Plans to set out how these changes impact different parts of society and how we can promote a fair path to a net zero and climate resilient Scotland.

“We will continue to implement net zero policies and deliver funding to where it is needed the most – with the highest impact.

“From today’s meeting, I am hopeful that we can continue to work together to implement net zero policies – thereby helping to create a better and more sustainable planet for us all.”