SNP ministers are poised to further delay Scotland’s flagship climate change plan with the strategy not set to be published until next year - a move branded “hugely concerning” by their former coalition partners. The next statutory climate change plan was initially promised in draft form by November 2023 and must be published in three months time, under law. But the Scottish Government is now set to use legislation that will water down legal climate targets to push the legal deadline into 2025, adding to concerns that Scotland’s climate change strategy is stalling.
In April, SNP Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan confirmed Scotland’s 2030 legally-binding target to cut emissions by 75 per cent could not be achieved and legislation would be used to scrap the aim - replaced with five-year carbon budgets, subject to approval of MSPs. The Scottish Government has now signalled it will use the coming legislation to allow the crucial document to be published after the carbon budget levels are set, potentially delaying the draft blueprint into the summer of 2025. The move is a further blow to Scotland’s stuttering climate strategy after nine of the last 13 annual targets have been missed.
The Scottish and UK governments’ statutory advisers, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has starkly warned “there is still no comprehensive delivery strategy for meeting future emissions targets and actions continue to fall far short of what is legally required”. The move to water down Scotland’s climate targets angered grassroots members of the Scottish Greens, who threatened to pull the plug on the Bute House Agreement - prompting Mr Yousaf’s disastrous decision to tear up the deal, which ended his leadership. For the legislation to pass and both the targets to be watered down and the climate change plan to be delayed, the Scottish Government, which is now a minority administration, will need the support of opposition parties.
Greens environment spokesperson Mark Ruskell has warned against further delays to Scotland’s climate strategy. Speaking to The Scotsman, he said: “Any further delays to the bill and the climate plan would be hugely concerning at a time when action needs to be urgently accelerated. "There is so much action needed from delivering warmer homes to transforming the way we manage land and rebuilding public transport to get cars off our roads.
We simply don't have time to waste. "When the Scottish Greens were in government, we were frustrated by the lack of urgency when it came to climate action. The SNP Government now need to rebuild trust that the new climate Bill will drive the action that has so far failed to materialise.
” Douglas Lumsden, Conservative shadow net zero, energy and transport secretary, said: "This looks set to be the latest in a litany of broken promises when it comes to climate change policy from the SNP. "We are still waiting on ministers publishing their updated climate change plan after they had to humiliatingly scrap their own targets earlier this year. "SNP ministers are all talk and no action when it comes to delivering on achieving net zero and scrapping this next deadline would be another sign they have thrown in the towel on this issue.
" Sarah Boyack, Scottish Labour net zero spokesperson, said: "This attempt to delay the deadlines to tackle our climate emergency is the latest evidence that the SNP's environmental record is nothing, but hot air. "The UK Labour government has been clear about its plans to tackle climate change, starting with GB Energy, a publicly-owned energy company headquartered in Scotland. "But if we are to unleash Scotland's potential as a clean energy superpower, then the SNP must up its game too.
We’ve seen delay after delay when it comes to the action we urgently need. This lack of progress is not only an environmental travesty, but an economic one too, with jobs and communities being put at risk by a clueless government with no strategy." In a new paper on the proposed legislation, the Scottish Government said: “The Bill will amend the current deadline to finalise the next CCP [climate change plan] in order to align with the timescale for carbon budgets.
“This alignment will provide a direct relationship between the five-year periods of the carbon budgets and CCP so that policies and actions are informed by the emissions reductions targets set through each carbon budget. “The CCC have indicated that they will provide advice on carbon budgets levels in spring 2025. The Bill will therefore require that the CCP is brought forward as soon as practicable after the carbon budget levels are set through secondary legislation.
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