![Scotland drafts climate change bill with 90 percent emission reduction goal by 2050](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/05/Scotland.jpg)
Scotland’s government introduced [legislative history] a climate change bill [text, PDF] in the Scottish Parliament [official website] on Wednesday that sets greenhouse gas emissions targets at a 90 percent reduction by 2050.
This is currently the “limit of feasibility” [press release] set forth by the UK Committee on Climate Change [official website]. The eventual goal is a 100 percent reduction, also known as “net-zero emissions.” As currently drafted, the bill will allow the Scottish Parliament members to set a year for the net-zero emissions target.
According to Climate Change Secretary Roseanna Cunningham, “Our Climate Change Bill sets out our commitment to reduce emissions by 100% with ambitious interim targets which strengthen Scotland’s world-leading position on climate change.” The first target is a 42 percent emissions reduction by 2020. Cunningham says Scotland will be one of the first countries to meet the net-zero emissions target.
However, some climate change activists were disappointed by the 90 percent target. Stop Climate Change Scotland [advocacy site] said [Twitter], “The Climate Change Bill published today lacks the ambition and action needed…”
Last June US President Donald Trump announced he would withdraw [JURIST report] from the Paris climate accord. In November Syria agreed [JURIST report] to join the accord.