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Responding to a statement by climate change Minister, Dr Aileen McLeod MSP,  in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon, Tom Ballantine, Chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland said:

“Apart from the new energy efficiency commitment, the Scottish Government has yet again failed to commit to the transformative policies needed to build a better, low carbon Scotland.  Defining energy efficiency as a National Infrastructure Priority is promising and, if done right, could make a big difference in helping cut emissions, reduce fuel poverty and create jobs. 

“However, the Scottish Government’s plans for the transport sector remain depressingly stagnant and have fallen well short of the level required to significantly reduce emissions and create a fairer, healthier Scotland. Climate emissions from transport continue to languish at 1990 levels, and it seems like the Scottish Government’s transport policies are stuck in the last century too.

“The climate change Minister has taken responsibility for presenting today’s statement, however achieving the full benefits for Scotland of tackling climate change requires action in every part of the Scottish Government. This time last year the climate change Minister announced a new Cabinet Sub Committee on Climate Change to address that challenge, and it is disappointing that sub-committee hasn’t delivered more.

“While acknowledging changes to how we measure greenhouse gas emissions has on this occasion made the targets harder to meet, this shouldn’t distract from future efforts to develop a low carbon economy, and the Scottish Government is still a long way away from having exhausted all of their policy options.”