Scotland’s third Just Transition Commission has been established.
The Scottish Government announced the body on 26 August 2026. It will run until 2031 and brings together 15 experts in public health, economics and community engagement.
The Government says the Commission will focus on adaptation, reflecting the effects of extreme weather on daily life. It will also support work on the transition to net zero, including the effect of decarbonisation on jobs and industry, with reference to Scotland’s offshore energy sector.
The Commission will engage with workers, rural communities and vulnerable groups to shape costed recommendations for government.
The Previous Commission Record
The first Just Transition Commission was established by Scottish Ministers in 2019.
The Commission’s interim report recorded that its remit was to prepare practical recommendations on how just transition principles could be applied to climate change action in Scotland.
A call for evidence analysis was published in 2020. That process invited views from individuals, representative bodies, public bodies and businesses before the Commission’s final report.
The second Just Transition Commission was appointed in December 2021. Its final report, No Time to Lose, was published in February 2026.
The Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan material records that the first Commission was established in 2019 and that the second Commission’s 2026 report assessed Scotland’s progress toward a just transition.
The third Commission is therefore part of a continuing advisory structure rather than a new policy term.
Adaptation Added To The Work
The 2026 announcement places adaptation at the centre of the third Commission’s remit.
Adaptation covers preparation for the effects of climate change already under way or expected in future. In the Scottish Government announcement, the examples given are wildfires, flooding and drought.
Scotland’s National Adaptation Plan for 2024 to 2029 was published in September 2024. It sets out Scotland’s approach to adapting to climate change across communities, public services, economy, infrastructure, nature and place.
The annual report for 2025 to 2026 records progress under that adaptation plan. It includes work on communities, public services, environment, business and infrastructure resilience.
The Climate Change Committee is expected to publish an independent assessment of Scotland’s adaptation progress by the end of 2026.
Wildfire In The 2026 Record
The Commission was established in the same summer as the Cairngorms wildfire response.
On 6 August 2026, the Scottish Government announced support for businesses affected by the Cairngorms wildfire. Highland Council later published information on a Cairngorms Fire Recovery Fund.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service published updates on the Glenmore area reopening after multi-agency assessment and later issued an incident timeline overview.
The wildfire record sits inside the adaptation context named by the Scottish Government’s announcement. It shows the type of event now appearing in public, business and emergency-service records.
Climate Change Plan And Just Transition Indicators
The Scottish Government’s climate change plan material for 2026 to 2040 places just transition principles within emissions-reduction policy and public assessment.
The Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment for the plan states that the 2024 Act amended climate change legislation to establish a carbon-budget approach to emissions reduction target setting. It also records the creation of the first Just Transition Commission in 2019 and the second Commission’s final report in 2026.
The Government’s announcement for the third Commission states that previous commissions helped shape policy on Grangemouth and informed creation of just transition indicators within Scotland’s Climate Change Plan.
The new Commission therefore begins work inside a policy framework that now includes carbon budgets, adaptation planning, previous commission reports and indicator development.
What The New Commission Has Been Asked To Produce
The Government says the Commission will provide advice and costed recommendations.
Its stated engagement groups include workers, rural communities and vulnerable groups. Its subject areas include adaptation, net zero, jobs, industry and offshore energy.
The Commission will run to 2031. That timescale extends beyond the current 2024 to 2029 adaptation plan and sits inside the 2026 to 2040 Climate Change Plan period.
Documents still to come include the Commission’s work programme, membership details, minutes or evidence sessions, interim outputs, recommendations, government responses and any monitoring of implementation.
The dated record now consists of the first Commission from 2019, the second Commission and its 2026 final report, the 2024 adaptation plan, the 2025-26 adaptation annual report, the 2026 Climate Change Plan material and the third Commission announcement.
Sources
Third Just Transition Commission established, 26 August 2026
https://www.gov.scot/news/third-just-transition-commission-established/
Just Transition Commission, accessed 27 August 2026
https://www.gov.scot/groups/just-transition-commission/
No Time to Lose: Final Report of the 2nd Just Transition Commission, 19 February 2026
https://www.justtransition.scot/publication/no-time-to-lose-final-report-of-the-2nd-just-transition-commission-2026/
Just Transition Commission — Publications, accessed 27 August 2026
https://www.justtransition.scot/publications/
Just Transition Commission Interim Report, February 2020
https://www.gov.scot/publications/transition-commission-interim-report/pages/4/
Just Transition Commission call for evidence: analysis report, 2020
https://www.gov.scot/publications/transition-commission-call-evidence-analysis-report/
Climate change: Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024-2029, 25 September 2024
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-national-adaptation-plan-2024-2029-2/
Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024-2029 — Our Vision For A Well-Adapted Scotland, 25 September 2024
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-national-adaptation-plan-2024-2029-2/pages/4/
Scottish National Adaptation Plan: annual report 2025 to 2026, June 2026
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-national-adaptation-plan-annual-report-2025-2026/
Support for Cairngorms businesses, 6 August 2026
https://www.gov.scot/news/support-for-cairngorms-businesses/
Cairngorms Fire Recovery Fund, August 2026
https://www.highland.gov.uk/news/article/17410/cairngorms-fire-recovery-fund
Glenmore area to reopen after multi-agency assessment of Cairngorms wildfire, 6 August 2026
https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/news/glenmore-area-to-reopen-after-multi-agency-assessment-of-cairngorms-wildfire/
Cairngorms wildfire: incident timeline overview, 14 August 2026
https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/news/cairngorms-wildfire-incident-timeline-overview/
Scotland’s Climate Change Plan 2026-2040 — Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment, March 2026
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-climate-change-plan-2026-2040-fsda/
Scottish Government Response to the Climate Change Committee’s Scottish Progress Report 2025, March 2026
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-response-climate-change-committees-scottish-progress-report-2025/
