Scotland misses emissions target despite energy progress
Published 21 June 2023
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A rise in overall emissions in Scotland in 2021, despite a decline in energy’s contribution, meant the country missed its government’s greenhouse gas target, according to new official statistics.
The Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics for 2021, published yesterday (20 June), show emissions of 41.6MtCO2e in 2021.
This marked a 1.0MtCO2e increase, equivalent to 2.4%, on the 2020 figure of 40.6MtCO2e.
The latest figures also show that emissions north of the border were 49.9% below 1990 levels, which means the target of a 51.1% reduction set in the Scottish government’s own 2019 emissions reduction legislation has been missed.
The main contributors to the year-on-year rise in 2021 were a 1.1MtCO2e of increased emissions from domestic transport, which rebounded following 2020’s Covid lockdown, and a 0.4MtCO2e rise in the residential sector.
The biggest emissions reduction was seen in energy, which was down by 0.5MtCO2e.
Domestic transport was the biggest overall contributor to emissions at 10.9MtCO2e with energy in fifth place behind agriculture, business and residential.
Overall GWhrs of electricity generated in Scotland decreased by 7% between 2020 and 2021. Renewables made up the single largest source of generation in 2021 at 57% followed by nuclear at 29.8% with fossil fuels making up only 10.9%.
The reduction in emissions from energy, which the document says was “historically the biggest contribution to emissions”, was driven by decreased CO2 emissions from power stations.
The increase in residential emissions was blamed in the release on relatively colder temperatures in the first three month of 2021, which resulted in more fuel being used for domestic heating.
Morag Watson, director of policy at Scottish Renewables, said the figures were “another wake up call for the Scottish government”.
“We are in a climate emergency but the pace of decision making and action is falling short of what is needed. Time is running out for the government to put in place a proper plan for how we accelerate our nation’s ambitions for transitioning to net-zero.
“The renewable energy industry is already meeting most of Scotland’s electricity demand and we know we can do so much more to help reduce emissions.
“We are ready to work with the Scottish government to ensure that the right conditions are put in place now in order to deliver a cleaner, greener nation.”
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