As part of our over-arching Just Transition approach, key sectors are taking steps to support our rural and island communities as we work to reduce our carbon emissions, in particular providing equitable access to funding, ensuring anyone who meets the eligibility criteria can access the financial support they need. Examples include:

• The Small Producers Pilot Fund, where we are helping producers regardless of location to access vital services such as private kill facilities at abattoirs. This approach is part of our broader commitment to empowering small producers to contribute meaningfully to the Vision for Agriculture, ensuring that support is inclusive and regionally balanced.
• The Forestry Grant Scheme, available across Scotland, with over half of the applications being for small woodlands, many from farmers and crofters. A small woods loans scheme is available to help those developing small scale applications access grants, and the level of support for smaller woodland projects has been increased to help counter inflationary pressures. There are also targeted grants with enhanced rates to support crofters for native woodland creation in the crofting counties, including the Western and Northern Isles.
• Peatland ACTION funding, which primarily supports on-the-ground peatland restoration activities and is open for applications from eligible land managers who have peatlands that would benefit from restoration. There are no geographical restrictions or target areas for Peatland ACTION funding.
• The Scottish Government's Nature Restoration Fund, which supports projects that are planning and delivering on the ground activity to protect and restore Scotland's biodiversity while helping us build resilience to climate change. There are no geographical restrictions for the Nature Restoration Fund.
• The FIRNS grant scheme, to support projects that shape and grow the use of private investment and market-based mechanisms to finance the restoration of Scotland’s nature.

The Scottish Government is grateful for the latest advice from the Climate Change Committee on Scotland’s Carbon Budgets.

We will carefully consider the Committee’s advice before bringing forward regulations to set carbon budget levels for Scotland. This will include consideration of the target setting criteria set out under the act, and an assessment of whether the pace of decarbonisation is appropriate for people, sectors and businesses across Scotland. Any carbon budgets proposed via secondary legislation must provide an achievable pathway to net zero in 2045.

Work is ongoing on the development of the next Climate Change Plan which will cover the period 2026-2040. Parliament will be updated once the new timetable for the next Climate Change Plan is finalised. The forthcoming Climate Change Plan will outline policies and proposals which will set out in further detail how we intend to deliver action to tackling climate change across all key areas of the economy, including land use. It will, of course, be subject to all necessary impact assessments to ensure rural and island interests are fully considered.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to continuing to support our agricultural industry with both the core role of sustainable food production and in terms of integrated land use, we are also in the process of developing our Land Use and Agriculture Just Transition Plan. This plan will focus on the wider livelihoods, skills, health, and wellbeing of those who live in and rely on Scotland’s land and agricultural sector for their livelihoods and wellbeing, as well as focusing on supporting thriving rural and island communities.

The Climate Change Committee’s projection of a 36% reduction in cattle and sheep numbers by 2045 is based on UK-wide dietary modelling and does not reflect Scotland-specific market dynamics. The Scottish Government has no policy to reduce livestock numbers and is committed to supporting the sector to improve productivity, resilience and emissions intensity.

Alongside exploring options such as improved breeding and methane-reducing feed products, the Scottish Government is supporting rural communities to integrate new income streams alongside existing farming enterprises, including through tree planting and bioenergy crops.

We are also investing £40 million annually through the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme to help improve beef herd efficiency, implementing calving interval conditionality. This support enables farmers to reduce emissions intensity while maintaining production – ensuring that high-quality Scottish beef continues to be produced sustainably..

The Scottish Government recognises the vital cultural, social, and economic role that livestock farming plays in Scotland’s rural and island communities which is why we remain fully committed to supporting livestock production and rural communities through our vision for sustainable and regenerative farming. While livestock numbers have declined over time, this reflects long-standing structural and economic challenges—such as profitability, labour shortages, and confidence—rather than any policy to reduce numbers. We are aware of recent reports highlighting the unique role that agriculture plays in sustaining rural life, including its contribution to community identity, cultural heritage, and local economies. These findings reinforce the importance of maintaining active farming across all parts of Scotland.

The Scottish Government is exploring the potential role of methane suppressing feed products (MSFPs) in reducing agricultural emissions, including how appropriate uptake could be recognised in future. Any future support would be and aligned with wider agricultural reform and climate policy objectives. There is currently no financial support available to farmers adopting MSFPs.

In relation to improved manure management practices, over £13 million of capital budget has been allocated in recent years to fund low emission spreading equipment, slurry store covers, slurry stores and irrigation lagoons in order to improve water quality and manure management. Directing support specifically at the slurry options was intended to help the sector comply with the new regulatory requirements introduced by the ‘The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021’. As these regulations will come into effect from 1 January 2026, it is no longer appropriate to offer further support for slurry storage options or to prioritise other manure management support.

The Agricultural and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 requires Scottish Ministers to publish reports on the implementation of the Rural Support Plan and the schemes delivered under it. These schemes constitute the Scottish Government’s primary mechanism for promoting the adoption of low-carbon technologies and sustainable practices in agriculture. A monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework to support this work is currently under development.

The framework will adopt a hierarchical structure, with programme-level monitoring and evaluation informed by tier- and intervention/scheme-level assessments. At the programme level, indicators are being developed to track progress against the strategic outcomes framework, with a baseline set for 2025 and reporting scheduled every five years. Strategic Outcome 3—Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation—aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in line with the Climate Change Plan (CCP) envelope and to enhance the sector’s capacity to adapt to climate change. This outcome is supported by sub-outcomes related to carbon storage, livestock and soil emissions, machinery and slurry emissions, and adaptation measures.

Analysts are currently identifying and quality-assuring indicators to measure progress in these areas, including uptake of sustainable and regenerative farming technologies and practices. Additional monitoring will be conducted at the tier and scheme levels, with appropriate baselines and reporting schedules established for each. As part of the M&E framework, analysts will consider how the uptake of schemes or measures may differ across different regions, communities or business types.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting our livestock farmers in playing a full part in Scotland’s journey to net zero, including by reducing methane emissions in ways that strengthen farm productivity and resilience. The Scottish Government has no policy to reduce the national herd, our approach focuses on reducing emissions intensity rather than livestock numbers, through improvements in genetics, low-methane breeding, and we continue to explore opportunities around appropriate uptake of methane-suppressing feed products.

We also recognise the importance of evidence and practical tools for supporting change on-farm. That’s why we’ve introduced new calving interval conditionality to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme, helping farmers increase efficiency while lowering emissions. We are also supporting farmers through data-driven tools like MyHerdStats, which provides herd performance metrics to help identify opportunities for improvement.

We will continue working with the sector to ensure it thrives as part of a climate-smart food system, while recognising the importance of Scotland’s livestock products to UK and international markets.

The Scottish Government recognises the economic and environmental benefits of precision farming technology and has provided capital support to allow farmers and crofters to invest in precision farming equipment.