Annual Report 2024/25 - Monitoring Progress

THe latest Carbon Emissions figures, released in July 2025, relate to the year 2023.

In 2023:

• Carbon emissions in Shetland Islands Council area were 14.1 tonnes per capita compared to 4.6 for Scotland;
• Carbon emissions directly impacted by the Council in Shetland were 4.8 tonnes per capita compared to 4.0 for Scotland.

Shetland’s carbon emissions directly impacted by the Council are higher than Scotland’s average, though not to the same extent as for the Council area as a whole. Shetland’s emissions per capita are significantly higher than Scotland’s average due to remote location, population distribution, economy and geology.

The Shetland Climate Change Strategy includes a series of short-, medium- and long-term goals. One such short-term goal is:

Clear Data – We monitor the impact of climate conscious activity, using our specialist knowledge and data

As part of the Shetland Climate Change Strategy Implementation Plan, there is a commitment to develop a mechanism for collecting, analysing and reporting on data annually. This builds on the Net Zero Route Map works and will help to show progress of climate action in Shetland. This includes inputting key Shetland climate data into the ClimateView platform, working with the Scottish Climate Intelligence Service, to make Shetland superusers. The platform will allow for monitoring and reporting on emissions annually. It is planned that this platform and data will be available from 2026, with a framework set up to allow data to be updated efficiently annually.