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Huge majority of respondents call for zero emissions target

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland Press Statement 

The Scottish Government has today published its analysis of over 19,000 responses received to its consultation on the new Scottish Climate Change Bill.

Gail Wilson, Campaigns Manager of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS), said:

“Over 19,000 people, as well as hundreds of companies, local authorities and civil society organisations have responded to this consultation. It shows, yet again, that the range and depth of concern about the impact of climate change is far-reaching and diverse.

“The analysis confirms that the overwhelming majority of respondents believe the Scottish Government’s proposed emissions targets are not ambitious enough. 99% of people who responded to the consultation want the Government to commit to net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, and increased action in the next decade with a stronger 2030 target.

“SCCS believes net zero emissions by 2050 is essential if Scotland is to play its fair part in delivering on the international agreement on climate change reached in Paris in 2015.

“Across the globe, the effects of climate change are becoming ever more apparent. In her speech at the UN climate conference in Bonn last month, the First Minister said urgent action was needed to live up to commitments made in the Paris Agreement and for Scotland to lead by example.

“The Scottish Government is currently proposing 90% cut in emissions by 2050 with no major new policies within the Climate Change Bill. However, it is clear from the response to the consultation, that the majority want political leaders to go further and to introduce strong policies on housing, transport and agriculture, to secure a zero-emissions future by 2050 at the latest.”

Many respondents to the consultation noted that ambitious targets and action on climate change would help create jobs as well as improve air quality, tackle fuel poverty and achieve better health outcomes.

NOTES TO EDITORS
***Friends of the Earth Scotland is a member of the SCCS coalition and supports these aims. However, FoES has built more consideration of global equity into our campaign target and believes that Scotland should reduce emissions to zero by 2040. ***

  1. Analysis of Climate Bill consultation responses: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0052/00529342.pdf 
  2. The Scottish Government announced that it would bring forward a Climate Change Bill to increase the ambition of the targets in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 in response to the Paris Agreement. The consultation on the new Climate Change Bill began on 30 June and closed on 22 September 2017. A total of 19,365 responses to the consultation were received.
  3. Over 19,000 people joined with SCCS and our members to respond the Scottish Government on their Climate Bill. These respondents urged the Government to set a target date by which Scotland would have zero emissions. The Scottish Government is currently proposing only a 90% cut in emissions by 2050.  SCCS briefing on emissions targets for the new Bill: http://bit.ly/2gZDSs1
  4. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change was agreed through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris in 2015. All countries in the world, bar the US, have signed up to the agreement which commits to ‘holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C’.
  5. Internationally-renowned scientific institute, the Stockholm Resilience Centre, has confirmed that, in order to deliver on the Paris Agreement, fossil-fuel emissions should peak by 2020 at the latest and fall to around zero by 2050 to meet the UN’s Paris Agreement’s climate goal of limiting the global temperature rise to “well below 2°C”.
  6. Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, took part in a High Level Plenary at the UN climate talks in Bonn in November 2017. She said: “Our obligation now is to turn the ambitions of Paris into reality…We must urgently make the specific pledges…to limit global temperature increases to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and preferably below 1.5 degrees Celsius.”  http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/news/2017/11/15/first-minister-calls-urgent-and-early-action-climate-change
  7. Stop Climate Chaos Scotland is a diverse coalition of organisations campaigning on climate change, including environment, active travel, faith and development organisations, trade and student unions and community groups: http://www.stopclimatechaos.org