Climate Bill debate deemed ‘shameful moment’ after emissions target ditched

A Holyrood debate on legislation introduced after ministers were forced to abandon a key climate change target is a “shameful moment”, environmental campaigners have said.

Friends of the Earth Scotland made the comment as MSPs are expected to back the general principles of a Bill introduced after the Scottish Government announced it was ditching a target of reducing emissions by 75% by 2030.

The Government accepted in April that the target was “out of reach”, but as it was included in climate change legislation, ministers have had to bring forward a Bill to amend it.

MSPs will debate the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets)(Scotland) Bill – with Friends of the Earth saying the Government is having to undergo the “humiliating process of scrapping its critical climate commitments”.

Speaking ahead of Thursday’s Holyrood debate, the group’s head of campaigns Imogen Dow also claimed the Government is “not interested in getting its climate action back on track”.

She said: “The Scottish Government today begins the humiliating process of scrapping its critical climate commitments.

“Fifteen years of insufficient action from Scottish ministers has brought us to this shameful moment which breaks a promise to the Scottish public and to people on the frontlines of climate breakdown.

“This abdication of responsibility comes despite the ever-worsening evidence of extreme weather and climate breakdown that is endangering lives on every continent.

“Scotland is a nation who has become wealthy from fossil fuels and that has both the resources and capability to go further and faster than other countries in cutting climate pollution.”

Adding that “political time and energy is being wasted on changing the law instead of implementing the transformative changes so desperately needed”, she insisted: “The record of cuts and backsliding on climate action we’ve witnessed in recent months under John Swinney and Kate Forbes show that this Government is not interested in getting its climate action back on track.”

The Bill will amend the 2019 legislation and see Scotland move to a five-yearly cycle of carbon budgeting instead of aiming to reduce emissions by a certain proportion by a set time. It will still retain the ultimate target of reaching net zero by 2045.

MSPs on Holyrood’s Net Zero Committee have already said they “regretfully accept that the Scottish Government were left with no alternative but to amend interim emission reduction targets, especially the 2030 target”.

Scottish Green Party co-leader Patrick Harvie said ministers must also “urgently upscale and accelerate the action” being taken to meet climate change targets.

He told the Government: “Business as usual isn’t good enough, we cannot continue as we are, not if we want to have any kind of liveable future.

“The reality is that we are years behind where we need to be. The collective failure to hit our targets must be a source of shame for all parties, but it must also be a wake-up call.”

Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin stressed the government’s “unwavering” commitment to achieving net zero by 2045.

But she said: “It is crucial that our path to net zero is set at a pace and scale that is feasible and reflects the latest independent advice.”

With expert advisers at the Climate Change Committee (CCC) having made clear the 2030 target was “beyond what can be achieved”, she said as a result of that the Government needed to change its targets.

She said without this action Scotland would “be in a situation where we have targets which are out of reach and are therefore unable to publish a legally compliant Climate Change Plan”.

Ms Martin said: “The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill will introduce multi-year carbon budgets to replace linear annual targets which will better reflect how emissions change over time.

“This is an established model for assessment used by other nations including Japan, France, Wales and the UK, and reflects advice from the CCC.

“Scotland is now halfway to net zero and continues to be ahead of the UK as a whole in delivering long term emissions reductions.”