In reaction to the news reports that the Scottish government is planning to ‘ditch its flagship target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030’, Greenpeace UK’s political campaigner, Ami McCarthy, said:

“Legislating to reduce Scotland’s climate ambition, fresh off the back of the planet’s hottest ever recorded 12-month period, is like striking a match in a petrol station. It might not set the whole thing ablaze immediately but it’s clearly a dangerous step to take.

“The problem was not the ambition of Scotland’s 2030 emissions reduction goal – it was entirely achievable when set five years ago – but the failure of the Scottish government to deliver the policies required to meet it.

“Lessons must be learned from this shameful backtrack, both in Holyrood and in Westminster.  High ambition and bold targets are needed. But to actually tackle the greatest threat humanity has ever faced, they must come with equally ambitious policies and political will.”