Since the 2009 Climate Change Act, emissions have fallen mainly due to the closure of large fossil fuel power stations, with renewables replacing electricity generation. Very little progress has been made in “daily life” sectors – renovating our homes, how we get around, the food we grow and eat.

At the pace we have seen since the Act, emissions from heat and transport would be 30 years late hitting their 2030 milestones, and for agriculture 45 years late. Action in these sectors must accelerate dramatically.

In practice, decarbonising daily life needs a huge coordinated effort – a massive dose of investment, widespread infrastructure upgrades, an upskilled workforce and growing supply chains equal to the pace of the climate emergency. But the critical component at the heart of this effort is widespread participation across society.

Take transport. On top of new electric cars, the targets need us to reduce the amount we drive 20 per cent by 2030 because of all the old cars that will still be on the road. Or take heat. We need to retrofit zero-emissions heating systems to around half our homes by 2030, replacing boilers at double the rate they break down.

To be effective and command legitimacy, the policies that drive these changes must be actively chosen by an informed public. A government that imposes change risks backlash, and a government that works only on background, enabling conditions will not coordinate accelerated change. We need a much more active role for the public in decision-making – designing effective policies and making conscious choices that will reshape how we live together in a net-zero Scotland.

The Scottish Government has so far struggled with participatory policymaking. The Climate Assembly – 100 members of the public debating climate policy in 2020 and 2021 – revealed a significant appetite for bold policies. But assembly members were deeply frustrated when they saw almost no change in policy as a result of their recommendations.

After the latest missed emission-reduction target, the Scottish Government must use the next Climate Change Plan, due later this year, as an opportunity to open up climate policy to meaningful public participation. To be credible, a just transition must be people-powered.

Dave Hawkey is a senior research fellow at the IPPR Scotland think tank

After another missed climate target, here's what the Scottish Government should be doing – Dave Hawkey

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