MAP Position Paper (UK, Scotland) - Climate change and environmental sustainability

In Scotland, public attitudes are continuing to show increased recognition of the level of urgency of tackling climate change, and indications of some support for particular types of interventions and changes in behaviour, which are required. Scotland has natural and socio-economic opportunities with significant potential to follow pathways towards net zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2045. Priorities for climate mitigation have focused on investing in natural, social and economic capital. The long-term nature of the aim, but shorter and immediate term timescales of actions necessitates a diverse range of actions across sectors and communities, with a coherent set of policies (e.g. planning, land use), and a systems perspective to understand the impacts and dependencies of actions on one dimension on another. There is a need to continue to improve the quality of scientific evidence between the actions to mitigate climate change and the reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases, and their impact on achieving the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C