Government threatened with legal challenge over infrastructure investment plan

The Scottish Government is being threatened with legal action unless it publishes full details of the environmental impact of policies contained in its infrastructure investment plan.

The Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS) and the Good Law Project insisted that the failure to publish such an assessment meant ministers are already breaching their own climate change legislation.

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 requires the Government to show how investments are in line with emissions targets – with the groups saying they will take legal action if this matter is not “urgently addressed”.

While the Scottish Government’s infrastructure investment plan for 2021 to 2026 outlined some £26 billion of investment, the groups said so far no assessment has been published of the emissions these projects will produce.

As a result the ERCS and Good Law Project have now written to Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan, setting out their intention to take legal action.

Dr Shivali Fifield, chief officer at the RCS said: “By failing to publish a climate impact assessment for its Infrastructure Investment Plan, the Scottish Government is leaving citizens in the dark, with no way to keep check on whether public money will be spent on projects that drive up carbon emissions.

“To the government we say: show us your homework. Too many times, you have over-promised and under-delivered, and in a climate emergency, the stakes are too high for wishful thinking.”

Dr Shivali added that “effective public scrutiny” was needed to “ensure reality matches rhetoric” on environmental issues.

Meanwhile, Emma Dearnaley, legal director at the Good Law Project, said: “The Scottish Government says it is committed to reaching net zero. But it’s breaching its own climate legislation that sets the emissions targets needed to get there.

“It’s one thing to make climate commitments – it’s another to deliver on them. So it’s vital we can all see if the Government’s investment plans clash with its plans to tackle the climate crisis.”

She added: “There’s no time to lose in the fight against irreversible damage from global heating.

“That’s why we won’t hesitate to bring a legal challenge if the Scottish Government doesn’t publish these crucial climate assessments.”

Conservative net zero spokesperson Douglas Lumsden said the threatened court case was “potentially a hugely embarrassing situation for the SNP-Green government”.

Mr Lumsden stated: “Ministers are full of rhetoric on tackling climate change, but far too often fail to put their warm words into action.

“It is a clear dereliction of duty that this assessment has not been carried out and the public are being kept in the dark.

“Ministers must rectify this immediately before taxpayers have to foot the bill for a costly legal challenge.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat climate emergency spokesperson Liam McArthur said: “Scotland has regularly missed its climate change targets. Ministers need to show that they are up to the challenge or lawsuits like this will be the least of their problems.”

He stated: “The impact of the climate emergency is becoming more visible in Scotland year on year with new and extreme weather patterns. Meantime, the effects on the global south are even more dramatic and existential.

“Every decision our governments take must recognise the seriousness of the climate and biodiversity emergencies and be tailored to meeting our climate goals. Scotland undoubtedly needs to modernise its infrastructure, but this must be done in ways that are sustainable.”

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.