The SNP government is on track to suffer an embarrassing defeat in the Scottish Parliament this week unless it toughens up its targets for cutting pollution.
Labour, LibDems and the Greens are threatening to combine to throw out ministers’ latest plans to reduce the country’s carbon emissions by just 0.5% in 2011 and 1% in 2012.
The opposition parties all point out that the government’s targets are way below the 3% a year promised in the SNP’s 2007 manifesto for Holyrood. Ministers’ targets are “woefully inadequate”, they say, and in breach of their election promises.
“The SNP’s failure to set meaningful targets for reducing carbon emissions shows they cannot be trusted on this important issue,” Labour’s environment spokeswoman, Sarah Boyack MSP said. “The SNP’s own manifesto promised mandatory carbon reductions of 3% per annum, but ministers now say this won’t be achieved until 2018.”