The Scottish government has ditched its flagship target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 after accepting that it is now “out of reach”.

However, a commitment to achieve net zero by 2045 will remain.

Mairi McAllan, minister for wellbeing economy, net zero and energy, announced the move in an update to Holyrood on Thursday as she set out the government’s next steps on tackling climate change.

The decision comes following a damning report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) last month which said the 2030 target was now “beyond what is credible”.

Ms McAllan said: “In this challenging context of cuts and UK backtracking, we accept the CCCs recent re-articulation that this parliament’s interim 2030 target is out of reach.

“We must now act to chart a course to 2045 at a pace and scale that is feasible, fair and just.”

Scotland has missed eight of the past 12 annual targets for cutting planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

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The CCC said in order for Scotland to achieve its goal of cutting harmful emissions by 75% by 2030, the rate of emission reduction in most sectors would need to increase by a factor of nine in the years up to the end of the decade.

The Scottish government was the first in the world to declare a climate emergency.

Read more:
An uncomfortable truth about climate targets – with people already struggling to pay bills

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