New emissions data exposes Government inaction on transportPublished 13 June 2017 by Transform Scotland
Transport has today become the largest source of emissions in Scotland, government data has revealed.
The data for greenhouse gas emissions in 2015, published by the Scottish Government this morning, shows that transport has overtaken energy production as the biggest contributor to climate change.
The data shows that Scotland has met its target for emissions reductions, in line with the targets set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act. However, emissions increased by 1.8% compared to 2014.
Commenting on the announcement, Jamie Wylie, spokesperson with Transform Scotland, said:
“The statistics released today show that the years of inaction on reducing emissions from transport have finally caught up with the Scottish Government. It’s been clear for a long time that not enough action has been taken to cut carbon from transport, and the Government are now faced with a serious challenge if they are to meet their targets on time.
“Despite positive messages on sustainable transport, the Scottish Government continues to prioritise spending on the most carbon-intensive forms of transport. Indeed, in just a week’s time the Government will bring forward proposals to hand a further tax cut to the aviation industry, making flying even cheaper at the expense of UK rail services. Meanwhile, sustainable transport continues to be considered as an afterthought, with funding for buses, walking and cycling falling well short of where it needs to be to get people out of cars and make serious reductions in carbon emissions from transport.
“Whilst we welcome the overall progress on reducing emissions, it is clear that the Government is still ignoring the root causes of carbon emissions from transport.”