SNP pays price for over-promising on climate target – Scotsman comment

The suggestion by SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn that his party could reverse its policy of a presumption against new oil and gas licences is the latest sign of several that the nationalists are abandoning their previous stance on climate change. Once the SNP boasted of Scotland's world-leading targets, now they appear to be trying to blame Labour for them.

Net-Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan told MSPs that, in her opinion, the legally binding climate targets set by the Scottish Government were “always beyond what was possible”. Of course, that wasn’t the SNP’s fault, nothing ever is. Instead, she claimed, “… my predecessor Roseanna Cunningham, I understand, recommended 70 per cent, it was then a Scottish Labour party amendment” that resulted in the emissions-reduction target of 75 per cent by 2030 – which McAllan recently ditched. Admittedly, blaming the opposition for Scottish Government policy makes a change from blaming Westminster, but still requires an excess of chutzpah.

The target was either a false promise that could never be fulfilled or a broken one. And, regardless of that, the failure is owned by no one but the SNP government. The suspicion is that proclaiming Scottish superiority – in the service of independence – was more important than anything else. Likewise, tough but necessary decisions that might alienate some voters were dodged, again in the service of the nationalist cause.

Net-Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan sought to blame Labour for Scotland's 2030 climate target being set supposedly too high (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

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These broken promises, along with the party’s other problems and failings, have seen the SNP lose political capital. However, far more importantly, they have also seen Scotland’s economy lose actual capital. In order to prosper in the modern age, it is necessary to transition to net zero.

The US Government has subsidised green industries to the tune of hundreds of billions of pounds – prompting complaints from the EU about anti-competitive practices – but still there are fears America could be left far behind by China’s efforts to capture the electric car market, among others. With the SNP and Conservatives backpedalling – because they are weak and hunting for votes where they can find them – Scotland may find its not even in the same race.