Scottish government drops target to cut car use by 20%

The Scottish government is dropping a key climate change target to cut car use in Scotland by 20% by the end of the decade.

The aim - which was a previous SNP manifesto commitment - was to reduce the amount of kilometres travelled by car across the country in order to cut harmful emissions.

But car usage in Scotland has only fallen by 3.6% since before the Covid pandemic.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop told MSPs that the goal was "not realistic and will need to be changed".

In January Audit Scotland, which oversees Scottish government spending, and the Accounts Commission, which oversees local government spending, said there was a lack of leadership and "no clear plan" for reducing car usage.

The watchdogs concluded Scotland was "unlikely" to meet the 2030 target.

In the wake of that report, Hyslop appeared before Holyrood's Public Audit Committee, telling MSPs the 20% target was being reviewed.

The transport secretary said ministers would take advice from experts at the Climate Change Committee on what it should be - with this expected in May.

But Hyslop told MSPs: "We will have more realistic targets.

"I'm reviewing the target, we won't be able to deliver 20% car kilometre reductions.

"We are reappraising what we are doing."

Hyslop was asked directly by Scottish Conservative MSP Graham Simpson if the Scottish government - which previously ditched its 2030 emissions reduction target - had "dropped the target" for cutting car kilometres.

The transport secretary said: "We will need to drop the target, or change the target from 20%."

She stressed the Scottish government will "still want to support car use reduction", but added: "I think the figure of 20% is not realistic and will need to be changed."

She accepted "car use in Scotland is currently contributing significantly to carbon emissions, and that must change".

Caroline Rance, Friends of the Earth Scotland's head of campaigns, called the development "shameful".

She said: "One third of households in Scotland don't have access to a car, in our cities it's closer to a half. These are typically the poorest households, and poor public transport options means they are cut off from school, work and health appointments.

"Meanwhile, 2,700 people die every year from toxic air pollution and many more suffer from poor health because of it. Ministers failing to get a grip on car dominance means failing to protect these people."

Scottish Greens' transport spokesperson Mark Ruskell MSP added: "Emissions from transport remain the largest source of pollution in Scotland, and private car use makes up a huge share of that.

"We've known for decades that to tackle the climate emergency, we need to cut car use, and while the Scottish government has been strong with words, their actions have been lacking."

Scottish ministers are now working with local government body Cosla and regional transport partnerships to take forward the recommendations made by Audit Scotland, Ms Hyslop said.

She stressed "this is not something national government can do alone", adding a renewed policy statement on car use reduction would be published jointly with Cosla later this spring.

Cosla environment spokeswoman Gail Macgregor accepted authorities "haven't done as much as we should have done".

She told the MSPs: "We know we're behind, there has been many factors to that but what is key now is to look forward and ensure our route map is as it should be.

"We're looking at a more phased approach now, so we probably won't be delivering as ambitiously as we originally would have intended, but I think that is a reality check that we have to do that."