05.06.2019
Clearer plans are needed on how climate change will be addressed according to a new report issued today by Holyrood’s Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee.
The report considers the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill following the report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). It welcomes the Scottish Government’s quick and positive response to the advice of setting a 2045 target date for net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases. This target will be the most ambitious of any nation and follows the First Minister declaring a climate emergency in April.
Increasing Scotland’s climate change ambitions offers clear potential for jobs and the economy and the Committee has asked the Government for clear plans for all sectors, in order to meet the targets.
A focus on innovation and behavioural change is also raised in the report, with the Committee highlighting the need for well-defined plans to make the changes needed.
The report has been published ahead of the Committee’s consideration of Stage 2 of the Bill.
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee Convener, Gillian Martin MSP said:
“The climate emergency is real and the stark fact is that we have to take urgent action in the short term in order to address global warming.
Our Committee welcomes the Scottish Government’s swift response to the CCC’s report and the commitment that Scotland will play its part in tackling it. While the targets are challenging we need to focus on the opportunities and benefits of early action and we need to support those most impacted in making the transition.
“This is why we have called for a higher level of ambition across all sectors and for clearer plans to be put in place for every sector so we ensure that our generation can address the catastrophic harm being done to our natural environment.”
Background
Before moving to the amending stage of the Bill at Stage 2, the Committee agreed to consider and report on the advice of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) on the climate change targets for Scotland.
Since the Committee’s stage 1 report, the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, declared a “climate emergency” and announced that Scotland would “live up to our responsibility to tackle it."
The CCC published its advice on Scottish, Welsh and UK targets in light of the Paris Agreement and the IPCC Special Report on 2 May 2019. This advice details how Scotland can credibly adopt a more ambitious target of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.