Emission impossible
‘Beyond credible’ for Scotland to hit green targets
The level of emissions reductions needed for Scotland to reach its 2030 climate targets is “beyond what is credible”, experts claim.
A report highlighted the rate reduction in most sectors would need to increase by a factor of nine in the years up to the end of the decade.
The Climate Change Committee document, referring to the goal of cutting emissions by 75 per cent, said: “The acceleration required to meet the 2030 target is now beyond what is credible.”
In its damning report to the Scottish Parliament, the CCC noted annual targets for reducing emissions had “repeatedly been missed”.
A rise in emissions in 2021 – linked to colder weather that year and an increase in transport emissions post-Covid – was the eighth time in 12 years that targets had not been met.
The CCC also said the publication of the draft climate change plan, which was due late last year, had been “delayed”.
And it claimed there was “no comprehensive delivery strategy for meeting future emissions targets”. The independent body, which advises governments across the UK on climate change, wrote: “By the end of this decade, Scotland will need to treble the pace of roll-out of public electric vehicle charge points, reduce car traffic by 20 per cent, increase heat pump installation rates by a factor of at least 13 and double onshore wind capacity.
“Woodland creation will need to more than double by the mid-2020s and peatland restoration rates need to increase significantly.”
Looking at transport, the CCC said sales of EVs were lower than in the UK – with two per cent of new vans sold in 2022 being electric.
While there is an “ambitious” target to reduce the number of miles driven by motorists by 20 per cent of 2019 levels by 2030, the CCC added “a clear strategy on how this will be achieved is still missing”.
The report also said there was “no strategy for decarbonising aviation in Scotland”.
It added there had been “some progress in delivering renewable electricity generation” but while the Scottish Government was on track to meet its targets for offshore wind capacity in 2030, it was “slightly off track” for onshore wind.
The CCC’s Professor Piers Forster said: “Scotland’s climate change plan needs to be published urgently, so we can assess it. We need to see actions that will deliver on its targets.”
The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.