SNP Ministers fail crucial climate test

The Green MSPs today slammed SNP Ministers for their plans, published today, to implement the Climate Change Act passed last year. The Scottish Government have proposed annual targets of just 0.5% for the next two years, far below the 3-4.5% required by the science. The 2020 target of 42% reductions remains, but Ministers have decided not to act to achieve this legal target, instead just making it the responsibility of the next Scottish Government.

Patrick Harvie MSP said:

"Parliament unanimously passed tough climate change legislation just last year, but the SNP have wasted no time in trying to undermine it. SNP Ministers have today clearly failed this crucial climate test. The opposition parties must now come together again and reject these hopeless proposals.

"This administration talks a lot about tackling climate change, but their policies across the board could have been explicitly designed to make things worse. Their plans for new coal power were rejected by Parliament last month, and their motorway plans would put the Thatcher administration to shame. What they forget is that early action on climate change will also cut household bills, improve people's journeys to work and boost jobs.

"Approving their proposals would allow this Scottish Government to make virtually no change whatsoever, with all the work postponed for the next administration to deal with. As things stand, anyone who wants real action on climate change must therefore also want a change of Government next year."