The Scottish Government have proposed a new climate change law, enabling them to remove Scotland’s legally binding target of reducing emissions by 75% by 2030.
The new law will also replace annual targets with five-yearly ‘carbon budgets’ and enable the key Climate Change Plan to drive forward delivery to be pushed back. This is not now expected until at least Summer 2025.
Oxfam Scotland says the legal changes are symptomatic of the lack of robust climate action since revised emission reduction targets were set in 2019.
Scotland has missed nine of the last 13 annual targets and while annual reporting will continue, Oxfam Scotland says the removal of yearly targets must not diminish scrutiny.
While the Programme for Government included positive commitments to switch Scotland’s homes to clean heat sources and to set targets to restore and protect nature, worryingly the Scottish Government has raided this year’s active and sustainable travel budget and £460m of Scot Winds revenues that were earmarked to support the renewable energy sector in the future.
Every day we delay meaningful climate action, more lives are lost and communities are devastated by the growing climate crisis.
Responding to the new legislation, Lewis Ryder-Jones, Oxfam Scotland Advocacy Adviser, said: “This bill shouldn’t be needed, but it’s the price of past failures.
“Instead of being entirely focused on fairly cutting emissions, the Scottish Government is cutting green budgets and moving the climate goalposts because of its own inadequate climate action.
“These depressing distractions cannot result in yet more delays to the real, urgent task at hand: fairly raising the funds necessary from big polluters and the better off to enable significant investment in the solutions that will protect people and planet.”
/ENDS
For more information please contact: Rebecca Lozza, Oxfam Media and Communications Adviser, Scotland and Wales: rlozza1@oxfam.org.uk / 07917738450