Scottish Government Rural Secretary Gillian Martin has suggested that "difficult decisions" may need to be made regarding Scotland's livestock industry to help meet climate targets. This marks a potential shift from the government's previous assurances to farmers and comes amid concerns that any weakening of the UK's ban on new petrol and diesel cars by 2035 could leave a shortfall in Scotland's carbon budget. Opposition politicians have warned that such a move could "decimate" rural communities.

Scotland's livestock industry is worth £4.5 billion and supports tens of thousands of jobs. The Scottish Government is committed to reaching Net Zero by 2045, five years ahead of the rest of the UK. Martin's comments about "very difficult decisions" regarding livestock directly contradict her predecessor Mairi Gougeon's assurance to farmers only six months earlier that there would be "no policy to reduce livestock numbers". The Committee for Climate Change previously advised reducing livestock numbers, but the government had rejected this recommendation.