Seòmar agus comataidhean

I think that we touched on this point last week. I do not know whether you are referring to some of the figures that have been provided by the industry with regard to what it thought it needed, but I can bring in Brendan Callaghan to delve into that in more detail. We have the resources to deliver what is set out in the draft climate change plan in the coming year’s budget and in the spending review for the years following that.

Can you elaborate on that, Brendan? I think that the industry had asked for a higher budget, but we do have the budget that we need to deliver the policies that have been set out—if that was the point you were trying to make, convener.

Brendan Callaghan will be able to provide more focused detail in relation to identifying the right places and how those processes work at the moment. The type of tree is also important. Analysis that has been done by Forest Research shows that planting faster-growing conifers will deliver the greatest level of removals between now and the middle of the century. Overall, native and broadleaf woodlands are also vital in building up wider woodland carbon stocks over the longer term and in supporting the wider resilience of any new woodland that is created.

I saw the evidence that you touched on about where trees should be planted. We have always been keen to have the right trees in the right places. That has been fundamental to our approach. I will hand over to Brendan Callaghan, who can say a bit more about the detail that is considered in that regard.

Key to delivering that is the “Peatland ACTION Five Year Partnership Plan 2025-2030”, which the convener touched on in one of his previous questions. That plan sets out and describes the actions that we need to take to increase restoration during the first phase of the journey to the new 2040 target.

The plan sets out how we will work with the sector to develop those approaches to focusing public funds on delivering on climate and nature objectives and broader objectives, and ensuring that we increase the proportion of highly degraded, high-emitting peatlands that are restored. The partnership is currently working through ways to better target those peatland types. We have mapped out the extent of peatland in Scotland, and we are identifying where those more challenging and highest-emitting sites are.

Again, all sorts of complexities might well arise with projects in the coming year. You are absolutely right—£28 million has been earmarked in this year’s budget, and it is for delivering 10,000 hectares. That is purely because the cost of restoration has gone up quite dramatically—from what I can remember, it has increased by 150 per cent—and that can inhibit activity.

It might mean that slightly less gets restored, but the expectation has been that there will be peaks and troughs between years. If you look at previous years, you will see that we were able to restore 15,000 hectares of degraded peatland, so we would expect to be able to make up this shortfall in the coming years.

That is why piloting some of the projects that we have talked about is important: we need to see what will work and minimise the costs that are involved. When we undertake projects, such as the carbon contracts project, it is important to consider whether we can scale them up. We can then look at using a blended finance model in the future, but we very much have to see how the pilot progresses and what learning we can take from it.

I absolutely agree.

We want to take an integrated approach, which is why I talked about the involvement of different policy areas in the agricultural reform programme. We have talked about the forestry grant scheme and the support that is available through that for smaller-scale planting. I hope that the lessons that we get from trying to overcome some of the barriers that have traditionally existed in relation to peatland restoration through the work that is being taken forward by the Flow Country Partnership are helpful in identifying and removing some of those barriers. We all want to end up in a place in which support is better integrated and there are options available for farmers and crofters.

Thank you for having me along to speak to the draft climate change plan. The way that we use our land is absolutely central to tackling climate change, and it also matters deeply for our economy, our communities and the natural environment more broadly. The United Kingdom Climate Change Committee has made it clear that our land assets are one of the key reasons why Scotland could aim for net zero by 2045.

The draft climate change plan sets out how we intend to support an agricultural sector that continues to produce high-quality food while also reducing emissions, adapting to climate change and restoring nature. It takes a whole-system approach by looking not only at individual policies but at how land use fits together as a coherent picture. That includes looking at forestry, creating the right woodlands in the right places and protecting and restoring our peatlands so that they deliver for climate, nature and people.

Agriculture is vital to Scotland’s economy. It underpins our world-class food and drink industry, supports more than 67,000 jobs and sits at the heart of our rural communities. The plan sets out a comprehensive package to cut agricultural emissions while building a sector that is resilient, productive and profitable. We continue to design agricultural reform with the sector, because we know that achieving our climate and nature goals depends on successful farming and crofting businesses, which is why direct payments remain such an important part of our approach.

Many farmers and crofters are already showing what is possible by adopting low-carbon practices, improving efficiency, planting trees and restoring peatlands. We want to scale up that momentum across the whole sector and move towards Scotland becoming a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture. We also know that our people are just as important as policies, which is why advice, skills support and training remain central to helping farmers and crofters to adopt low-carbon approaches with confidence.

Forestry also has a major role to play. The draft plan includes an ambitious but achievable woodland creation programme that will support net zero, enhance nature, benefit local communities and provide new opportunities for farmers to integrate trees into their businesses.

Our peatlands, too, are vital. Around 70 per cent of Scotland’s peatlands are degraded, and restoring them will be essential if we are to meet our climate and nature ambitions. The plan sets out a long-term goal to restore more than 400,000 hectares of peatland, which, in combination with other measures proposed, would see peatland emissions almost halved by 2040, with a strong focus on the highest-emitting areas.

On the whole, the draft climate change plan sets out ambitious policies and proposals across agriculture, forestry and peatlands that I believe will deliver on not only our climate but our nature ambitions. I am happy to take any questions that the committee might have.

I think that we are talking about two different things. We are 13 per cent down on the overall baseline from 1990 but, potentially—

I do not agree with that statement. The critical thing for me in my role—and our position has been clear the whole way through this—is that, ultimately, we want to deliver a new future framework of support that works with our farmers and crofters and that we know is deliverable.

I recognise some of the criticisms that we have received about the pace and scale of change, but we have to balance that with the need to take people along with us on that journey. I do not agree with that comment about being too close to industry. I, of course, engage with the farming sector as much as I do with environmental organisations. I know that there has been criticism about the scale of change, but we have to balance that with the pace at which people can move. We want to make progress and take people along with us on the journey while we continue to support the sector to have productive, resilient businesses. That is the approach that we have taken.

It is not as if we are standing still. In one of my earlier responses, I listed just some of the changes that we have implemented and that will be coming into play over the coming years. We are making progress, but the next few years will be vital in building momentum as we look to later years of the plan.

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