Comply with Scottish law on climate change
Everyone recognises that climate change emissions must be reduced if Scotland, and the rest of the world, is not to see massive environmental and social damage. We want to see the Scottish transport sector play its proper part in delivering reductions in climate change emissions.
The Scottish Parliament has agreed a strong climate change act, stronger than the equivalent act passed by the UK Parliament, which means we need to reduce emissions by 42% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 (on a 1990 base).
Unfortunately, Scotland’s transport sector is currently failing to take serious action. Traffic levels are forecast to increase by a further 27% by 2021. With climate change taking hold, and with the prospect of global oil production peaking in the next few years, road traffic reduction must become a major policy aim.
However, current policy still continues to encourage car and air travel, with a multi-billion pound road-building programme and an active encouragement to wards airport expansion – the very things that will fuel further increases in greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector.
Transport is the second largest sector for emissions yet is the key sector where no progress has been made in reducing emissions. We need to ensure that the transport sector doesn't prevent the emission reduction targets set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 from being met.