The Consumer Futures Unit (CFU) has responded to the Scottish Parliament’s joint call for evidence as part of its scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s third draft Climate Change Plan.
The CFU is pleased to have had the opportunity to comment on Scottish Ministers’ plans for meeting Scotland’s annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets. In responding to the Scottish Parliament’s joint call for evidence we have limited our comments to areas of the draft plan that are directly relevant to our remit.
In this publication we present our written evidence to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee. Our evidence to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee and the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee is available separately and can be downloaded below.
The draft CCP has clearly set out the Scottish Government’s vision for a low carbon Scotland and the overarching framework for achieving emissions reduction targets.
Much of the progress to date in reducing Scotland’s emissions derives from changes in the power generation sector. Achieving further significant progress will need progress in areas that require active consumer involvement.
The CFU is concerned that by considering only urban logistics systems and not the operation of logistics systems in rural areas, the draft CCP risks damaging outcomes for rural consumers of postal services - specifically parcel deliveries.
The relevance of delivery consolidation centres to rural areas should be considered, as there is potential to reduce both emissions and consumer costs.
Policy intended to drive investment in low emission technology by logistics firms must consider the rural context as well as the urban, or there is a risk of further detriment to rural consumers when compared to urban consumers.
