Scottish Government on road to climate chaos by scrapping car journey targets
If we are to reduce car use we need to make public transport affordable, accessible and available for all, says Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell.
Mr Ruskell's comments come as the Scottish government has dropped a nationwide target to cut the number of car journeys taken in Scotland by 20 per cent by 2030.
Transport is Scotland’s largest carbon emitter, accounting for 29% of total greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.
Scottish Greens Transport Spokesperson Mark Ruskell MSP said:
“The lack of ambition from the Scottish Government is disappointing. Dropping this target won’t change the fact that, since the target was set, there has been a serious lack of action from SNP ministers to meet it.
“Emissions from transport remain the largest source of pollution in Scotland, and private car use makes up a huge share of that. We’ve known for decades that to tackle the climate emergency, we need to cut car use, and while the Scottish Government has been strong with words, their actions have been lacking.
“We are on the road to climate chaos. We need to make public transport affordable, accessible and available to all if we are to start cutting emissions.
“The action we need to be taking is exactly what the Scottish Greens have been pushing to introduce for years: cheaper trains and buses, better connections for rural communities and an end to spending on new unnecessary road building schemes.
“Making public transport cheaper and more accessible makes the choice to leave the car at home easier for many people. Many commuters want to play their part in reducing our carbon emissions but the cost is simply too high for some. It’s time to make trains and buses cheaper across Scotland.”
Mr Ruskell added:
“Whilst in Government, the Scottish Greens introduced the free bus pass for young people, which has been used over 200 million times, we scrapped peak rail fares for a period, which led to 10 million more commuter journeys, and we delivered record investment in active travel infrastructure allowing more people than ever to walk, wheel or cycle.
“This is the kind of ambition needed to reduce carbon emissions in Scotland, but we need to go further. With more Scottish Green MSPs in Holyrood, we can push for real change to tackle the climate emergency and save commuters money, such as a permanent removal of peak rail fares, a nationwide bus fare cap, and radical investment in Scotland’s railways.”