Low carbon

Issue

Some respondents questioned whether environmental issues are currently priority for the communities that rely on ferry services. There were calls for a realistic approach which ensures that achieving targets on emissions does not come at the expense of reliable ferry service provision. Some respondents highlighted that while broadly agreeing with Low Carbon priority, it is considered as a necessary outcome of the work that will need to be done as opposed to a high priority in its own right and should not be delivered at the cost of other three priorities.

Response

The final Strategic Approach will restate our commitment to ferries, and island transport connectivity more widely, contributing to the Scottish Government’s legal obligation to achieve net zero by 2045. We will clarify that this will not be to the detriment of our priorities of reliable and resilient, accessible, and integrated service but will be part of planned vessel and port replacement projects with appropriate specifications and targets included in the CHFS and NIFS contracts.