The Scottish Government has announced that it is introducing a host of new policies that will step up its action on climate change.
Focusing mainly on transport, the measures will support the Scottish Government’s ‘unwavering’ commitment to reaching net zero by 2045, with legislation being brought forward to bring in multi-year carbon budgets, rather than annual targets.
Màiri McAllan, Scottish Net Zero Secretary, made a statement to the Scottish Parliament, saying:
“The race to net zero is one that we must all win and I want to begin by affirming this government’s unwavering commitment to ending our contribution to global emissions by 2045 at the latest, as agreed by Parliament on a cross-party basis.
“I was grateful for the latest report from the Climate Change Committee on our progress in reducing emissions. The CCC are a key partner in our net zero journey and their insights are essential.
“Their report recognised much to be proud of, including this government’s provision of free bus travel to all under 22s, our work delivering more woodland in Scotland in a year than any other UK nations combined and our work on decarbonising heat in buildings, noting that it could become a template for the rest of the UK.”
The actions that are being taken by the Scottish Government to drive net zero progress include:
- Publishing a new route map for the delivery of around 24,000 more electric vehicle charge points by 2030
- Delivering an integrated ticketing system to work across all public transport
- Supporting the roll out of methane suppressing food products, reducing livestock emissions
- Consulting on a new carbon tax on large estates, with the aim of encouraging peatland restoration, tree planting and renewable energy generation
- Supporting people to decrease their reliance on cars, aiming for a 20% reduction in use by 2030
- Creating a Just Transition plan for the Mossmorran industrial site, which will be developed alongside the plant, its workforce, and the local community.
Scottish Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, Patrick Harvie, added:
“Only by working together across the political divide and with all levels of government, the public sector and the business community can we tackle the climate crisis with the pace and urgency required.
“We are making progress towards our goal of net zero by 2045 – as demonstrated by our recent consultation on proposals for the Heat in Buildings Bill which the climate change committee described as a potential template for the rest of the UK.
“We will now carry on working with stakeholders and communities to ensure progress is delivered fairly and in the right way, recognising the different needs of rural, island and urban areas.”
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