FM warned three in four say climate action must be priority
NEW First Minister John Swinney has been warned nearly three in four of SNP voters want climate change to remain high on the agenda for the Scottish Government, says a new study.
The findings come just weeks after the Scottish Government announced that it would roll back on key climate targets and ended its power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens.
Ministers had been committed to reducing greenhouse gases by 75% by 2030.
But they have scrapped their annual and interim targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
They insist the long-term target to reach net zero by 2045 remains.
But Scotland has missed eight of its annual targets, making the legal obligation for the 2030 goal unachievable.
The climbdown from a government which was one of the first in the world to declare a climate emergency came on the back of a damning report from the government’s independent climate advisors the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which warned that the region’s 2030 target was “no longer credible.”
Reaching net zero means no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases – such as carbon dioxide and methane – in the atmosphere. The Scottish and UK governments are bound to this target by law.
A poll of 2,600 Scottish adults, conducted by Edinburgh-based research house Diffley Partnership for Uplift – an organisation campaigning for a fair transition away from oil and gas – found 71% of SNP voters want climate change to remain a key focus of Scottish ministers.
And two thirds (61%) of all Scots want the issue of dealing with climate change to remain a top priority for this government.
Imogen Dow, Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaigns said: “Failing to take action on climate change was instrumental in the downfall of Humza Yousaf, so John Swinney’s team must listen to what the public want and get Scotland back on track to meet our climate commitments and bring down pollution in this crucial decade.
“The public recognise that oil and gas companies are only interested in their profits and, unless they are stopped, will destroy our only home by continuing to drill for new fossil fuels. Oil industry bosses have proved that they cannot be trusted, whether that is in delaying the energy transition, ripping off households on their energy bills or lying about climate breakdown.”