Cleaner Air For Scotland 2 Towards a Better Place for Everyone.

Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 (CAFS 2) is the new air quality strategy and sets out how the Scottish Government will continue to deliver air quality improvements over the next five years. This strategy is shaped around 10 general themes, which largely reflect the high level recommendations arising from the Cleaner Air for Scotland (CAFS) review.
The focal themes are: 1) Health – A Precautionary Approach: the current weight of evidence justifies adopting a precautionary public health approach to air pollution reduction. 2) Integrated Policy: strategies, policies and plans for placemaking, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and related polices such as noise reduction, should be closely coordinated and aligned with those for air quality in order to maximise co-benefits. Central and Local government both have a key role to play. a key role to play. 3) Placemaking: National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) will transform how Scotland’s planning system shapes places and society over the years and decades to come. 4) Data: There are gaps that need to be addressed in both quality and coverage of air quality, transport and human health data in Scotland. 5) Public Engagement and Behaviour Change: development of complementary and co-ordinated public engagement strategies is essential to deliver the required behavioural change outcomes and to avoid confusing or conflicting messages. 6) Industrial Emissions Regulation: the Scottish Government has made clear its commitment to maintain or exceed EU standards, following the UK’s departure from the European Union (EU). 7) Tackling Non-Transport Emissions Sources: domestic (household) burning and agriculture are two sectors not addressed in detail in CAFS, but which make an important contribution to air pollution, consideration is needed. 8) Transport: increasing modal shift to active travel and public transport is key to further reductions in transport emissions. This will mean, amongst other objectives, providing a transport system that facilitates active travel choices, better public transport provision, embracing new technologies, and constraints upon private vehicle use, especially in urban centres where pollution and congestion are most acute. Establishment of Low Emission Zones in our four biggest cities is also important in this context. 9) Governance, Accountability and Delivery: simple and effective governance arrangements and a focus on practical joined up delivery are imperative for CAFS 2. 10) Further Progress Review: As in the original version of CAFS, the intention is that CAFS 2 will have a five year lifespan. A further review of progress on air quality improvements will commence during 2024.