SNP-Green Scottish Government to scrap key 2030 legal climate change target

Mairi McAllan is set to confirm her government landmark 2030 climate target is to be scrapped, The Scotsman understands.

Ministers will scrap a key legal climate change target and bring forward a host of key measures to ramp up action in a significant climbdown by the SNP-Green government at Holyrood.

SNP Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan will confirm tomorrow that a commitment to reduce 1990 levels of emissions by 75 per cent by 2030 will be removed from legislation, subject to the approval of MSPs.

An insider told The Scotsman that in order for the plan to be produced and legally-sound, the legislation will require “serious surgery”.

Mairi McAllan. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Ministers have been forced to act after a scathing report from the independent watchdog, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), last month concluded that the 75 per cent target being met in just six years time is no longer feasible.

The CCC raised concerns at the time of the target being embedded into law in 2019, but MSPs agreed to raise ambition with the legal ambition.

The Scotsman understands that tomorrow’s announcement will also “include a major focus on actions” to ramp up progress in reducing emissions - with transport and agriculture set for severe measures to kickstart improvements.

Ms McAllan delayed the publication of her updated climate change plan, which was promised by November last year, and is still yet to materialise.

The Scottish Government has a legal duty to produce a strategy that forms a path for meeting the 2030 target and the 2045 net zero target.

It is believed ministers are still confident the 2045 net zero target remains on track but issues have emerged over “the numbers stacking up in the real world”, according to a Scottish Government source.

It is now understood that the 2030 target will be essentially scrapped in order to allow ministers to bring forward an updated climate change plan and keep within their legal requirements.

Ms McAllan had previously suggested that legislative options were being considered by ministers, and that move is set to be confirmed tomorrow afternoon when she gives a statement to Holyrood.

Speaking in Holyrood following the publication of the CCC’s report, Ms McAllan said her government “will carefully consider the report’s recommendations” and was “actively considering the government’s next steps”.

She admitted that “all options, including legislative action, are part of active consideration by the government in how to respond”.

But Chris Stark, the CEO of the CCC and the former director of energy and climate change at the Scottish Government, has warned that altering the Climate Change Act is not a simple task.

He told The Scotsman that “loosening the targets is actually really challenging under the Climate Change Act”, deliberately “to bind, not the government of the day, but future governments continuing into the future to keep them on the path”.

Mr Stark also suggested that the Scottish Government’s delayed climate change plan, which was initially promised to be published by November last year, could be being held up due to making the numbers work around the 2030 target

Scotland has missed eight of the last 12 annual targets and a Scottish Government source told The Scotsman that after good progress was made on decarbonising the energy system, the “hard work” is still to do.

The insider admitted that the CCC’s report and assessment of the target was “very stark”.

It is understood that transport and agriculture could be set for tougher actions and policies, but one insider told The Scotsman that “nothing is off the table”.