Meeting 2020 goals reliant on EU moving to 30% target
An independent UK watchdog has today recognised the Scottish Government has made progress in meeting the targets set out in the Scottish Climate Change Act, but warns further challenges lie ahead.
Responding to the publication of the UK Committee on Climate Change (UKCCC) second assessment of the progress Scotland has made towards reaching its emission targets, since passing the Scottish Climate Change Act, Tom Ballantine, Chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland said:
“While we welcome the areas where progress to meet targets has been made, we share the concerns that the UK CCC latest report flags up of ‘considerable uncertainty’ in the Scottish Government’s draft climate plan, and the need to increase the rate of policy implementation if we are to deliver our climate targets.
“The independent watchdog emphasises the continued reliance Ministers place on the EU increasing its climate ambition, following previous warnings that the government needs to come up with more action here in Scotland.
“The report echoes the strong evidence heard by four committees in the Scottish Parliament that the Government’s draft plan does not provide the step change in effort the Climate Change Committee has previously called for and is too reliant on weak proposals, rather than strong commitments to action. We look forward to seeing the full UK CCC report and studying in detail.”
