The Climate Change Act was passed in 2009 and it held Scotland liable to a 42% reduction in emissions by 2020 and an 80% reduction by 2050.  The act also states that annually there should be reductions between 2010 and 2050. When talking about “emissions”, they relate to greenhouse gases. These are gases in the atmosphere that are attributable to human activity. Scotland has already surpassed the goverments first target of a 42% reduction far earlier than expected. So far our countries emissions have fallen by nearly 46% between 1990 and 2014. Although this is a great start to reducing emissions, it was only in 2014 that the annual emissions target was met for the first time since the targets were introduced.

However Scotland could still take many actions to reduce emissions. One of the most important being individual action. If everyone made a conscious effort to reduce their own emissions this could make a big impact collectively. However the Government still needs to take action. One of the main focuses for the government should be transport. Emissions in this area have stayed high since the 1990’s. Another area with room for emission reduction is housing. Overall emission levels have only reduced by 1% in this area since the passing of the Act in 2009.

Delving into the reading of this act and learning more on the subject made me think about the fact that our emissions have still to be reduced by 40% to reach the next target in 2050. This made me understand how many changes are necessary in order to reach this and to do so we have to take action now. Before this session I was naive and didn’t think about how this could affect me, but now I realise how big the issue actually is and what action needs to be taken to solve it.