Scottish government targets 66% emissions cut by 2032
Climate Change Secretary Roseanna Cunningham set out the government’s draft climate change plan for the next 15 years at Holyrood.
She also targeted a fully-decarbonised electricity sector and 80% of domestic heat coming from low-carbon sources.
Reduction targets are measured against a baseline set of figures from 1990.
Ministers committed last year to cut harmful CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050, with a new interim target of 50% by 2020.
The previous interim target of 42% was met in 2014 – six years early. However, the independent Committee on Climate Change said the decrease was largely down to a warmer than average winter reducing the demand for heating.
Ms Cunningham said the new targets demonstrated “a new level of ambition” to build a low-carbon economy and a healthier Scotland.
Goals to be achieved by 2032 include:
- Cutting greenhouse emissions by 66%
- A fully-decarbonised electricity sector
- 80% of domestic heat to come from low-carbon heat technologies
- Proportion of ultra-low emission new cars and vans registered in Scotland annually to hit 40%
- 250,000 hectares of degraded peatlands restored
- Annual woodland creation target increased to at least 15,000 hectares per year
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