Delays to the updated climate change plan and further slippage in promised climate policies mean that the Climate Change Committee (CCC) no longer believes that the Scottish Government will meet its statutory 2030 goal to reduce emissions by 75 per cent.

The Scottish Government delayed its draft Climate Change Plan last year despite the 2030 target only being six years away. This has left a significant period without sufficient actions or policies to reach the target; the required acceleration in emissions reduction in Scotland is now beyond what is credible.

Scotland missed its annual target for 2021, the eighth time in the past 12 years that it has missed a target. The only sectors to reduce emissions in 2021 were electricity supply and industry. Most key indicators of delivery progress, such as tree planting, peatland restoration rates and heat pump installations are off track.

The CCC notes that there is still a “path” to Scotland’s post 2030 targets, but stronger action would be needed to reduce emissions across the economy. The transport and buildings sectors will require a particularly rapid increase in the rate of emissions reduction to meet the targets set out in the last Climate Change Plan update (2020 CCPu).

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