THE Scottish Government has set itself the ambitious target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. The much-anticipated Climate Change Bill will be crucial in reaching this goal.
Environmental pressure groups are worried the Scottish Government will "fudge" its efforts. They want Holyrood to commit to annual targets of 3 per cent emission reductions, rather than just an overall target of 80 per cent by 2050.
But one
environmental campaigner told me he is convinced the Scottish Government will not stick to its manifesto commitment to bring in annual emission reduction targets.
"I'm sure there will be a fudge," he said. "The civil servants advise them against annual targets because it creates a rod for their own back if they don't achieve them. But this is what we need. We need to make it painful for decision-makers not to do the right thing."
Other ways campaigners are concerned the Climate Change Bill could be a fudge is if emissions from aviation are not included, which is one possibility left open in the consultation document.
And there are worries the bill will only include cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent, excluding other harmful greenhouse gases such as methane, which is far more potent than .
Further concerns are that there will not be strong enough incentives to reach the targets unless there are tough sanctions. Some campaigning groups think there should be a climate fund set up, whereby departments that fail to meet their targets pay money into the fund to help achieve the ultimate reduction on time.
More than 20,000 people wrote to the Scottish Government in response to a consultation on the Climate Change Bill, which closed on 23 April.
This shows the level of interest and concern among the public. Over the next few months the Scottish Government will analyse the responses before putting together a draft bill.
The Scottish Government is aiming to introduce this to parliament by the end of this year.
This will be eagerly awaited by environment groups and the Scottish public, to see if the government fulfils its manifesto commitments.
The full article contains 360 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
