SNP ministers are to rethink plans to cut Air Passenger Duty, Nicola Sturgeon has revealed.
It follows the First Minister’s decision to declare a “climate emergency” over the weekend.
Yesterday, during FMQs in Holyrood, Sturgeon admitted that her commitment to reducing carbon emissions to zero in the next 25 years would need the Government “to reconsider policies across the whole range of our responsibilities”.
Though the Scottish Government won praise from opposition parties for adopting the new targets, recommended in a report by the independent UK Committee on Climate Change (CCC), Labour, the Greens and the LibDems all tackled Sturgeon on her plans to scrap the tax paid by air passengers.
Last month, the Scottish Government said the proposal had been pushed back until after April 2020.
The First Minister, in return, asked the opposition parties to stop their “knee-jerk opposition” to the workforce parking levy.
“Those parties cannot have it both ways,” she said. “They cannot call for the Government to set world-leading targets and introduce policies but then simply oppose everything that the Government comes forward with, for knee-jerk reasons.
“The responsibility is on all of us, so let us see whether the other parties are willing to rise to the challenge.”
Labour leader Richard Leonard praised the First Minister’s “bold” climate change target but said the SNP’s “boldest climate change policy is a £150 million tax cut that benefits the richest people the most and actually drives up emissions”.
He added: “If the First Minister is serious about the climate emergency will she once and for all drop her continued commitment to cut the air departure tax?”
Sturgeon said: “We will look right across our range of responsibilities to make sure we are continuing the policies we have under way just now but also increasing where that is necessary.”
“Setting targets is one thing, having the policy programme in place to meet them is what matters.”
Sturgeon told MSPs that if Leonard wanted to be “taken seriously on climate change then he has to rethink some of his positions as well”.
She added: “If we are all prepared to do that then not only will be a world leader in setting targets, over the next few years Scotland will be a world leader in meeting those targets as well.”
Scottish Greens’ parliamentary co-leader Alison Johnstone, pictured, said the Scottish Government was pursuing pursue “a climate-busting tax cut worth £160 billion that would benefit wealthy frequent flyers the most. Young climate campaigners will not understand how the First Minister can support that.”
In their report, the CCC said the UK needed to cut greenhouse gases to nearly zero by 2050, adding that if all other countries follow then there’s a 50-50 chance of staying below the 1.5C temperature-rise threshold by 2100.
Not all environmental campaigners believe the target is ambitious.
Extinction Rebellion campaigner John Hardy said: “The Committee on Climate Change report gives us only a 50% chance of staying within 1.5C degrees even if we follow all its recommendations.
“This is reckless. Because of the colossal shift in public attitudes within the last fortnight, it is now politically realistic to push much harder towards a date far closer to 2025, than to 2045.
Roseanna Cunningham, Scotland’s Environment Secretary, said getting to net zero was the priority. She said: “Yes this is challenging but there’s no alternative.” But, she added, “we live in a democracy, and we have to be able to persuade people that this is the right thing to do”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel