The Scottish Government has confirmed it will scrap its annual and medium-term greenhouse gas reduction targets.
They will be replaced by a system that measures emissions every five years.
Ministers have announced a raft of measures to reduce planet-warming gases, including a national integrated ticketing system for public transport.
New legislation similar to the carbon budget used by the UK and Welsh governments will be introduced.
The Scottish Government insists it is “firm” in maintaining its long-term target of net zero emissions by 2045.
In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, Energy Secretary Mairi McAllan admitted that the 2030 net zero emissions target would not be achieved.
She said the government must act to set a course to 2045 at a pace and scale that is feasible, fair and just.
Ms McCarron confirmed the Scottish Government will bring forward fast-track legislation to address the issues raised by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) and ensure the legislative framework better reflects the realities of longer-term climate policymaking.
More than a dozen flagship policies were launched around this announcement.
Ms McCarron said the Scottish Government would help people reduce their reliance on cars and publish a “roadmap” to help reduce car use by 20 per cent.
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She said in a statement that “small businesses and independent traders” would be at the heart of reducing car use, and that the government would work with farming communities to continue producing food while reducing emissions.
She said the government would also work to more than quadruple the number of electric vehicle charging points across Scotland, with plans to add 24,000 new charging points by 2030.
A previous report from Transport Scotland quoted the CCC’s estimate that the UK would need around 280,000 public charging points by 2030, meaning the total in Scotland would be around 30,000.
She confirmed a consultation on the carbon land tax on the largest estates would launch in the summer.
The energy secretary ended his statement by blaming the UK’s budget constraints for forcing the Scottish government to “try to deliver social and economic transformation with one hand tied behind its back”.
‘Angry and disappointed’
In questions following the statement, Ms McCarron said she was “disappointed” by the news but said it represented a “minor” tweak to the government’s overall plans.
Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvey said he was “angry and disappointed that we are in this position” and that it must be a “turning point”.
“We cannot reverse decades of inaction and bad decisions,” he said.
“But what we can do is ensure Scotland goes further, faster, towards delivering the rapid and fundamental change that is vital.
“I have said since the first Climate Change Bill that world-leading targets are not enough, especially without a credible and robust plan to achieve them.
“We have a responsibility not only to advocate for accelerated action, but also to make it happen. Today’s announcement is a big step toward making that happen.”
So ministers have now confirmed what we have known since last night; the Scottish Government’s annual targets have been scrapped.
Net-zero emissions minister Myri McCarran called it a “minor legislative change”, but that’s not how it will be viewed.
It is unclear what the new targets will be, leaving huge questions about what the Scottish and UK governments will be able to achieve in the future.
The confirmation centers around a dozen flagship policies, the most notable of which is a national integrated ticketing system for public transport.
But the entire package will be seen as the start of a world-first green government-backed process to scrap emissions targets.
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