Legislation changing Scotland‘s climate change targets has been passed by MSPs.
The new goals
The Climate Change Bill scraps annual targets and the 2030 and 2040 interim targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions but keeps the aim of reaching net-zero by 2045. It comes after the Scottish government accepted it could not reach its target of reducing emissions by 75% by 2030.
Moreover, the new law will see a move to a five-year cycle of carbon budgeting, instead of reducing gradually by a set time.
Conflicting opinions
Gillian Martin, the Nt Zero Secretary, said that the Scottish government was “unwavering” in its commitment to achieve net zero by 2045.
Instead, for the Scottish Conservatives the revised targets are “a humiliating climbdown”. Scottish Labour net zero spokesperson Sarah Boyack said it was a “day of shame” for the SNP with climate targets left “in tatters”. She added: “The SNP cannot make the same mistakes again – this Climate Change Bill must be backed up with a real plan to meet our remaining targets and ensure our homes, transport and communities can deliver the just transition we urgently need.”