Whether it will provide an update on proposals to recognise the right to a healthy environment in the proposed Human Rights Bill.

The Scottish Government supports the principle of a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and we recognise the important role that environmental human rights can play in protecting both people and the environment. However, following careful consideration, Ministers have decided not to include a standalone right to a healthy environment in the future Human Rights Bill.We are concerned that, at this stage, inclusion of the right could create uncertainty or unintended delays in decision-making, potentially impacting the delivery of vital initiatives required to meet Scotland’s net zero ambitions. Our human rights framework must be clear, coherent and effective in practice. Given the developing nature of the right and its interaction with our domestic framework, we do not consider that the necessary level of clarity can be achieved at this time.We will continue to engage with and monitor developments on the right to a healthy environment through the Council of Europe and other international institutions to ensure that Scotland’s approach is informed by emerging international law and practice. Scotland already benefits from important environmental protections through domestic human rights law, environmental legislation, and our wider environmental policy and regulatory framework. The Bill will add to this by bringing economic, social and cultural rights into domestic law, helping to reinforce protections that are closely linked to environmental conditions.In the meantime, we are assessing how existing and planned government activity may contribute to the advancement of the substantive elements of the right. The Programme for Government sets out relevant commitments addressing climate change and resilience, biodiversity and nature restoration, air pollution, water quality and availability, sustainable food production, and pollution and waste. Across the substantive elements of the right, our approach combines working towards long-term environmental objectives with specific measures. It also supports investment intended to improve environmental protection and conditions, climate action, pollution reduction, sustainable resource management and measures intended to protect human health and wellbeing. We will continue to assess how existing and future policy and legislative activity can further contribute to the advancement of these substantive elements, and to identify opportunities to strengthen progress over time.