Scotland is likely to miss climate target by up to 20 million tonnes (MT) of CO2 equivalent (MTCO2e), according to The Guardian. The Scottish government has set a target date for net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045.
The Guardian reported that successive first ministers including Nicola Sturgeon and the incumbent first minister, John Swinney, have described Scotland as a world leader on the climate and expressed their commitment to achieving the net zero target. However, internal official assessments said that it is highly unlikely to do so without a massive increase in spending on new forests and peatland restoration, farming reforms and dependence of untested or very expensive machinery to take CO2 out of the air.
In 2021, Scotland emitted 41.6MtCO2e. The latest assessments imply that the country will only be able to reduce this total by only about half over the next 20 year, making it unlikely that Scotland will meet its 2045 target. Senior officials and climate policy experts now believe past delays in reducing emissions have made the goal nearly impossible to achieve.
In April 2024, climate campaigners criticised Scottish ministers for being “inept” and “short-termist” after they scrapped Scotland’s target to cut carbon emissions by 75% by 2030. The UK Climate Change Committee (CCC), the official advisory body, called the target “beyond what is credible”, leading to its removal, reported The Guardian.
Before Scotland scrapped that target in 2024, the country had missed eight out of its 12 annual emissions reduction targets and had failed to meet its targets on tree planting, peatland restoration, cutting car use and installing low-carbon heating in homes.
Missed NDC Deadline
It's important to note that several of the world’s largest economies missed a UN deadline to submit their national climate targets outlining how they plan to cut emissions by 2035, by February 10, except for a handful of countries including the UK and Brazil, presented strategies for the next decade aligned with the Paris Agreement.
According to World Economic Forum, only 11 of the 195 parties signed up to the Paris Agreement submitted their NDCs before the deadline. This raises serious questions about the future of global climate efforts.
