Scottish government accused of environment 'u-turn'

Targets made by the Scottish government for cutting traffic growth have been dropped, raising further health concerns after recent results showed larger cities in the country have breached EU safety limits.

The government is now planning for up to 20 per cent more journeys on Scotland's roads by 2020, with more rush-hour bottlenecks expected, it has been reported by The Herald.

Environmental groups have accused the government of 'watering down' its commitment to reduce harmful greenhouse gasses.

Dan Barlow, head of policy at WWF, said: "It is very disappointing that the SNP government seems to have abandoned a previous government commitment to stabilise traffic levels and instead is planning for traffic growth of up to 20 per cent.

"Increasing the number of cars on Scotland's roads will jeopardise our ability to meet the 2020 climate emissions target and only add to our air pollution problem."

The expansion of Scotland's motorway network has been blamed for the vast increase in traffic, with the recent completion of the M74 and upgrades on the M80 likely to have contributed significantly. The Scottish government has denied it has made a u-turn, claiming that a more 'sophisticated' approach will be required in tackling the demands of a global economy.