Scottish carbon budgets “slow down” climate action

Environmental campaigners have said new, weaker carbon budgets published today are “reflective of climate action being sidelined” by Scottish Government Ministers. 
 
Last year the Scottish Government scrapped annual climate targets, including the critical 75% by 2030 target which had been set in law just five years earlier, after repeated government failure to act. 

Today new legislation shows that the Scottish Government could now not reach a 75% cut in emissions until 2036 – 6 years later than originally planned. 

The Scottish Government would have missed ten of the previous 14 annual climate targets – including the 2023 figures published earlier this month. Recent analysis by environmental groups showed that ten major climate policies were “scrapped or vanished” in the last year since John Swinney became First Minister. 

The Scottish Government no longer has any Ministers with climate or just transition in their Ministerial role titles. 

Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaigns Caroline Rance commented, 
 
“The climate crisis is intensifying but these carbon budgets see Scotland slowing down on action at precisely the moment we should be speeding up. Farmers and firefighters are dealing with drought and fires following the driest spring in Scotland for 60 years. 

“The Scottish Government is in this dire position because of years of insufficient action by Ministers to tackle the climate crisis. The original climate targets could and should have been met. This lack of political will continues in Cabinet with a host of key plans and policies sidelined in the past year and now there’s not even a Minister with climate in their job title.


 
“It’s time for Swinney to get on with action that will rapidly reduce climate pollution and improve the lives of people across Scotland – warm homes, reliable public transport, and a fair and fast transition away from expensive, polluting fossil fuels.”
 
On carbon capture, Rance continued: 

“The Scottish Government should wake up to the fact that carbon capture has 50 years of failure, with the only success of the industry being its lobbying operation convincing pliant politicians that next time it will be different.
  
“SSE was forced to admit its plans for new gas burning at Peterhead would be a climate disaster for decades to come, so Ministers must now reject it completely. 

“Shrinking climate budgets must be met by rapidly and fairly cutting the amount of climate pollution released into the atmosphere, not by relying on the pipe dreams of oil lobbyists.” 
ENDS