Climate target change is admission of years of failure
Scottish Green MSPs were the only ones not to back the Scottish Government’s Climate Bill, citing a lack of urgent policy action from the government.
The bill, which was passed this afternoon, has downgraded Scotland’s 2030 climate targets following warnings from the UK Climate Change Committee that they were unachievable.
The Party’s co-leader, Patrick Harvie, called for all parties and MSPs to own the collective failure for Scotland to meet its targets.
Speaking in the Chamber, Mr Harvie said:
“We should be a bit embarrassed by the need for this bill. The first two climate acts were statements of bold ambition, and this one is an admission of failure, and I think we need to own up to that, and I think we need to own that collectively.”
Mr Harvie continued:
“The problem isn't what's in this bill. The problem is what's missing at the moment, and that is urgent policy action.
“I don't expect a full climate change plan right now, but I do expect urgency. Yet we see the climate assessment of the A96 sitting on ministers desks unpublished, and the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan stalled, and when it comes to the 20 per cent car kilometre reduction target there is nothing happening. Progress on rail fares and on nature restoration is in reverse.”
In outlining why the Scottish Greens could not support the Bill, Mr Harvie concluded:
“The question fundamentally is if we are to have any confidence in a new framework.
“It's not enough just to pass that framework. Just as it was not enough to pass the original framework and the original climate targets.
“We need to have confidence. It's only the context of immediate action now that would give us that confidence: not waiting for climate change committee advice, not waiting for the carbon budgets, not waiting for the climate change plan but taking action now on the issues that are already stalled.
“It's only that which would give us confidence that there's a new framework that will actually be effective. And if it isn't, I fear that we'll be in a repeating cycle. And we simply don't have time to waste on that.”
