The Scottish Government is failing to make urgent progress to meet its goals on reducing emissions, an environmental watchdog has said.
Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), said ministers are not delivering on the “short-term stuff” needed to meet the 2045 net-zero target.
The intervention comes a year after the Scottish Government scrapped its legally-binding annual and interim targets for cutting carbon emissions after admitting they would not be met.
The overall goal of net zero by 2045 remains in place but experts have warned urgent progress is needed now if that is to be achieved.
Speaking to the Holyrood magazine a month before the CCC publishes its latest advice to the Scottish Government, Ms Pinchbeck said climate progress across the UK was stalling.
Asked whether getting 95% of the way towards net zero by 2045 could be considered a success, she said: “This is a politician’s answer, but I wouldn’t deal in a hypothetical like that.
“Our job is to advise them on the target … If you’re making really good progress on decarbonisation, that’s great.
“I don’t want to speculate on where (Scotland) may or may not get to. The much more important thing for the Scottish Government to focus on right now is progress right in front of their faces in the next five to 10 years.
“Long-term goals are important … but Scotland, as with Westminster, has not made progress on the short-term stuff to deliver on any targets.
“I don’t like entertaining hypothetical conversations about 2050 because we’ve got lots of short-term action to do, and that’s where the focus should be.”
Ms Pinchbeck also stressed the need for a net-zero strategy that ensures workers are not left behind.
Speaking about the closure of Grangemouth, where around 400 jobs are set to be lost this year, she said: “Deindustrialisation is not a successful decarbonisation strategy.
“Sensible governments move early to do something for those workers and those industries. Industrial strategy isn’t technically in the CCC’s mandate, but we’ve said that alongside a decarbonisation strategy you need a strategy for those industries and those communities that will need additional support.
© Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images“The public thinks the transition needs to be fair but they recognise there are communities that will not benefit from this transition. If you’re in Aberdeen, for example, the transition away from oil and gas feels very different than it will UK-wide.”
WWF Scotland said Ms Pinchbeck’s remarks were “further evidence” that climate action in Scotland was “slowly but surely slipping down the list of priorities of the Scottish Government”.
Io Hadjicosta, climate and energy policy manager at the environmental group, added: “The CCC’s comments echo our analysis, which, alongside Friends of the Earth Scotland, found that only three out of 19 climate policies promised by ministers last year were fully delivered.
“The Scottish Government is watering down or abandoning policies that would reverse the trend of our countryside burning, wildlife declining, and driving carbon emissions down.
“Examples include the recent Heat in Buildings Bill, which as it stands will fail to protect the poorest in society from volatile fossil fuel prices and help them insulate their homes.
“One year on from the scrapping of the 2030 climate target, countless climate policies remain on the shelf, when they should be implemented on the ground across Scotland, driving emissions and improving our everyday lives.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scotland is now halfway to net zero and continues to be ahead of the UK as a whole in delivering long-term emissions reductions.
“We remain fully committed to delivering net zero by 2045, with our upcoming carbon budgets and the next climate change plan setting out our approach to delivering on Scotland’s net zero targets in a way which is credible, just and fair for everyone.
“We are taking forward vital policy actions across Government which tackle the scale of the climate emergency. While all policies need to be judged on their merits, and indeed each have their own challenges, this Government won’t shy away from the scale of action needed.”
