[1/11] As the UK prepares to host COP in Glasgow in 2020, with the right policies and the committed support of Westminster, Scotland can lead the way in ending the UK’s contribution to global warming for good. #ScottishProgressReport #thread 
[2/11] Scotland reduced its emissions by 3% in 2017, mainly due to the power sector. Increasing low-carbon generation will be crucial to enable other sectors of the economy to decarbonise, but there is now very little scope to reduce direct emissions from electricity generation.
[3/11] Unless emissions are reduced in sectors other than electricity generation, Scotland is at risk of missing its interim target of a 56% reduction in emissions by 2020, as set out in the 2019 Act.
[4/11] Surface transport emissions rose for the fourth consecutive year to 10.4 MtCO₂e (+3%), and have increased by 8% since 2012. When including aviation and shipping, transport is the highest emitting sector in Scotland, at 37% of total emissions.
[5/11] A target for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 represents a step change in ambition for Scotland, and means that all sectors will need to contribute fully to reduce emissions.
[6/11] Reaching net-zero emissions will require extensive changes across the Scottish economy, with complete switchovers of several sectors to low-carbon technologies and development of new industries for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and low-carbon hydrogen production.
[7/11] The adoption of such a stringent economy-wide target makes it imperative that the highest possible ambition is adopted in all sectors. Challenges that have not yet been confronted must now be addressed.
[8/11] Scotland’s Programme for Government 2019-20, alongside other recent policies, has sent a clear signal that the Scottish Government is taking the more ambitious targets seriously, but there is much more still to be done.
[9/11] Promising new policies for green finance, buildings and transport have been put in place – now they must start delivering emissions reductions in the real world.
[10/11] Emissions from agriculture have fallen by just 2% since 2008, and the Scottish Government’s plans for a long-term agriculture policy framework are lagging behind both England and Wales. We must see a plan to significantly reduce emissions on farms and transform land use.
[11/11] Scotland’s ability to deliver its net-zero target is contingent on action taken in the UK, and vice versa. Westminster must match Scottish policy ambition if Scotland - and the whole of the UK - is to make progress in key sectors where powers are reserved.
