Setting annual targets
18.Section 4 contains a number of conditions which must be met when the Scottish Ministers set annual targets. Subsections (1) and (2) establish that the targets must be set by order and must be set for certain periods by specified dates.
19.Subsection (3) imposes a duty on the Scottish Ministers when setting annual targets to have regard to any advice they receive from the relevant body as to the cumulative amount of net Scottish emissions for the period 2010 to 2050 that is consistent with a reduction over that period which would achieve the 2050 target.
20.Subsection (4) details a list of criteria which must be considered by the Scottish Ministers when setting annual targets. This largely replicates the list in section 2(5) but also includes in paragraph (a) the objective of not exceeding the fair and safe Scottish emissions budget (i.e. cumulative emissions, as defined in subsection (6)). This list is not intended to be the sole list of factors that the Scottish Ministers may consider when setting annual targets and additional factors can also be considered.