To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is regarding any potential risk to the environment of excessive removal of peat during excavation projects. (S6F-03603)

Scotland’s peatlands are critical to mitigating and adapting to the climate and nature emergencies. They store carbon, support biodiversity, control flooding and improve river quality. Excavation of peat during development can increase emissions and damage nature. Our fourth national planning framework includes policies to protect carbon-rich soils, restore peatlands and minimise disturbance to soils from development.

We pay grants for peatland restoration but, at the same time, allow peatland to be ripped up. Constituents at Barrhill in South Ayrshire are concerned about the significant removal of peat to make way for the construction of a battery storage facility. They are concerned about lorries making hundreds of journeys along dangerous and unsuitable roads to facilitate that. Currently, there are 50 lorry loads a day, but it has been suggested to Barrhill and Pinwherry villagers that that number would rise to 200 per day from January.

South Scotland residents are worried about the overindustrialisation of their part of the countryside. What guarantees can the First Minister give to people in South Ayrshire that their lives will not be adversely impacted by another controversial energy project?

The development that Sharon Dowey raises with me is a live planning application, so I cannot make any specific comment about it. What I can say, however—[Interruption.] I am simply pointing out that I would be breaching the ministerial code if I commented on a live planning application. [Interruption.]

Let us hear the First Minister.

Where development is proposed on peatland and carbon-rich soils or on priority peatland habitat, a detailed, site-specific assessment will be required to identify effects on peatland quality, habitats and emissions, so that mitigation can be built into project design and subsequent management. That is the obligation contained within national planning framework 4, and I would expect that to be applied by all planning authorities.

The Scottish Government has invested heavily in nature-based solutions to climate change, including by doubling the rate of peatland restoration over the past two years to reach record levels. Can the First Minister outline how yesterday’s Scottish budget will continue to support our efforts to reduce emissions and tackle the climate crisis?

Please respond with reference to the substantive question, First Minister.

On the question of peatland restoration, which is implicit in the question that has been raised, the Government allocated additional resources to strengthen the work that is being undertaken to improve the quality of Scotland’s peatland resource. It is a huge asset for Scotland in dealing with the climate and nature emergencies, and I am glad that we are able to secure the necessary investment to support that development within the Scottish Government’s budget that was announced yesterday.