NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY
Scotland's National Transport Strategy (2006) 1 made a commitment to conduct a comprehensive review of lifeline ferry services in Scotland. As a result, the Scottish Ferries Review is being undertaken which will define future investment into lifeline ferry services and infrastructure in Scotland.
As part of the Scottish Ferries Review and preparation of the draft Ferries Plan, the Scottish Government is carrying out a strategic environmental assessment ( SEA).
The purpose of the SEA is to integrate environmental factors into both the Review and the preparation of the plan, by identifying potential environmental effects and measures for their mitigation, and ensuring that this information is made available when decisions are made about the plan.
This Environmental Report details a high-level assessment which has considered the ways in which models for service delivery could contribute to reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases, in the light of targets arising from Scottish Climate Change legislation. The environmental baseline for this stage focussed on levels of greenhouse gas emissions from the Scottish Ferries sector. The most relevant environmental protection objective was to minimise emissions from the marine transport sector.
A second, more detailed assessment will be undertaken of the potential environmental effects of the routes and levels of service proposed in the draft Ferries Plan, as well as any proposals for new and/or amended infrastructure. This will be reported in an addendum to this Environmental Report, and will be consulted on at the same time as the draft Ferries Plan.
What would happen to the environment without the Scottish Ferries Review?
Without the Review and/or the plan, it is likely that CO 2 would continue to be emitted at current levels, or potentially increase. With the average age of the fleet continuing to rise, overall fuel efficiency will lower and a greater volume of fuel being required to maintain the current levels of service. As a result, emissions levels would increase.
Effects of the Review and/or Plan on the Environment
The environmental issues for this stage of the Scottish Ferries Review SEA focused on current and potential future emissions levels from the Scottish Ferries sector. Emissions of CO 2 from Scottish ferries have the potential to be significant in terms of their contribution to overall CO 2 emissions in Scotland The high-level assessment has therefore identified a range of measures by which CO 2 emissions from ferries could be reduced.. Mitigation measures which would result in emission reduction could therefore contribute to the achievement of the emissions reductions targets for Scotland.
Some of these involve the use of technologies which require further development and, while considered viable in the long-term, are not available for immediate implementation. Others may have implications for operation of the ferry network and therefore need to be considered more widely.
At this stage there appears to be two options for the reduction of CO 2 emissions: changes to vessel design and changes to vessel operation. The former primarily involves more fuel-efficient vessel design. This would most efficiently be undertaken when commissioning new vessels, rather than as retrofit. Operation of the vessel to reduce CO 2 emissions includes measures to increase fuel efficiency (e.g. reduce vessel speed) but also includes other measures such as use of alternative fuels. These have been considered as reasonable options rather than alternatives as they could both be implemented together. Accordingly, we have taken the opportunity to consult on these mitigation measures as part of the consultation.
Monitoring
The requirements for monitoring significant environmental effects will be considered during the SEA of the draft Ferries Plan.
Consultation
Views on the Scottish Ferries Review and the findings of the SEA are now being sought. Consultees are invited to consider the questions on the Scottish Ferries Review set out in the consultation document 2. These questions include views on meeting Scottish climate change objectives:
- Consultation Question 9: Should we specify climate change objectives within the tender and require the operator to specify how he intends to meet them? Do operators agree or have views on how emission reductions should be defined? How would they measure and monitor performance, and demonstrate delivery?
- Consultation Question 30: How could the reduction of CO 2 emissions from ferries be delivered to assist in meeting the potential emissions reductions set out in the Climate Change Delivery Plan?
- Consultation Question 31: Operators would likely appreciate the fuel-efficiency benefits of such a measure. Would operators be willing to implement such a measure on a voluntary basis? If not, can they provide suggestions for alternate methods of delivering speed reductions?
- Consultation Question 32: Would passengers support longer journey times as part of a CO 2 emissions reduction programme? If not, can they provide suggestions for alternate methods of delivering CO 2 reductions from ferries?
At the end of the consultation period, responses will be reviewed and used to inform the preparation of the draft Ferries Plan. The draft Ferries Plan will be subject to SEA, and the draft plan and the Environmental Report will then be published for consultation for a 6-week period.
Once the Ferries Plan has been adopted, a Post-Adoption SEA Statement will be produced which will set out the key findings from the SEA, consultees' views on the Environmental Report, and the Scottish Government's response(s) to the issues that have been raised.