SCOTLAND’S targets for cutting emissions are “fantastic” but the Government’s current policies mean the country is likely to fall short in achieving them, the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned. The Scottish Government’s climate change plan aims for net-zero emissions by 2045, with interim targets that include a 75% reduction from 1990s emissions levels by the end of this decade. Giving evidence to Holyrood’s Rural Economy Committee about the strategy, the CCC’s chief executive Chris Stark said the 2030 target would be “very, very difficult to meet” with the current policies. While he expressed confidence that net zero could be achieved by 2045, Stark argued the Scottish Government needs more “tough” policies rather than relying on positive incentives to encourage people and businesses to change their behaviour. Witnesses from the Independent Advisory Group to the UK and devolved Governments also bemoaned the lack of an effective strategy within the Scottish Government’s plan to tackle emissions from the agriculture and farming sectors. Citing the Government’s policies for improving infrastructure, such as electric car charging points and the stated ambition of reducing the distances travelled in cars by 20% by 2030, Stark said: “These are the right kinds of targets to drive progress.
The National 21st Jan 2021 read more »