Scotland will not reach net zero until 2080
Scotland will not reach its net zero emissions target until 2080, according to a new analysis that prompted calls for SNP ministers to 'wake up and accept reality'.
The SNP government has boasted of setting a world-leading target of achieving net zero in Scotland by 2045, five years earlier than the UK as a whole.
However, an analysis of official figures published by the Tories found that the target would not be reached until 2080 at the current rate of progress, 35 years after the SNP's deadline.
Over the five years between 2019 and 2024 - which included lockdown - Scotland's emissions fell by an annual average of around 0.75 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e).
At that rate, it would take a further 56 years of reductions for Scotland's total emissions of 42.1MtCO2e to be reduced to zero.
Net zero means that Scotland's greenhouse gases would be equal to the emissions removed from the atmosphere.
The Tories said the figures showed the SNP's 2045 target was 'little more than a pipe dream' and urged ministers to forget about meeting 'arbitrary deadlines.'
They warned ministers against imposing on families policies with 'eye-watering costs' forcing them to replace their boilers with heat pumps, buy electric cars or cut their meat consumption.
The analysis was published after the Climate Change Committee (CCC) estimated earlier this week that hitting the 2045 target could cost 'around £750 million per year'.
The official government advisory body told ministers that meeting the deadline would mean a 'rapid increase' in the number of electric vehicles and installed heat pumps.
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