Sturgeon climate claim slammed as ‘hypocrisy’

NICOLA Sturgeon has been accused of falling ‘woefully short’ on green targets despite claiming Scotland is a ‘world leader’ on climate change.

The SNP leader was branded a hypocrite for challenging world leaders to ‘increase their scale of ambition’ at the Cop26 summit when she has failed to deliver on her own pledges.

Labour yesterday published a dossier of SNP environment failings, including missed targets on emissions, renewable heat, green jobs and biodiversity.

It also exposed cuts to rail services, mixed messages on new oilfields and the failure to deliver on a pledge to set up a public energy company. It comes as Miss Sturgeon’s environmental advisers yesterday called for Scotland to become a ‘global pioneer’.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: ‘We strive to be world leaders on the environment, but too often the reality falls short... It is rank hypocrisy for her [Nicola Sturgeon] to demand action from others when her own Government is falling so woefully short.’

Among the missed targets highlighted in Labour’s dossier are:

The Scottish Government failed to hit its plan to reduce annual emissions by 55 per cent for three years in a row;

The proportion of non-electrical heat demand from renewables, such as heat pumps, fell to 6.4 per cent in 2020, nearly half of the SNP’s 11 per cent target;

Only 21,400 renewables jobs were created by 2020, compared to an SNP promise of 130,000;

A missed ten-year target to prevent damage to marine wilding life. The dossier also highlighted that the SNP backtracked on a 2017 commitment by Miss Sturgeon to establish a public energy company, and gives mixed messages on oil and gas.

This week, Net Zero Secretary Michael Matheson said new drillwould be allowed in an independent Scotland, and ScotRail has plans to cut 100,000 train services a year.

At the Cop26 summit yesterday, Miss Sturgeon met members of her environmental council as they published their first report.

It said: ‘Scotland has potential to be a global pioneer in tackling these crises and hence a model to other nations. Despite progress, a significant acceleration in action is required.’

The Government yesterday launched a website for tracking progress towards achieving its environmental targets.

Miss Sturgeon said: ‘Our environment strategy already sets out our long-term, guiding vision. We know where our efforts must be focused.’

‘Reality falls short too often’