MORE than half of Scotland's major public sector organisations have no plans to reduce their use of transport, including air travel, a new report has found.
The study by sustainable transport campaigners, Transform Scotland, found that more than 60% of Scotland's main public sector bodies had no intention to implement travel plans, which would result in a reduction of their staff's overall carbon footprint.
They also remain hugely dependent on air travel for journeys between the Central Belt and London, with three in every four employees who make they trip doing it by plane rather than train. The findings are published today in the report Doing their Duty?.
Phil Matthews, chair of Transform Scotland, said: "We need to see concerted action by the Scottish public sector to cut emissions and deliver sustainable transport. Transport is one of the key sources of greenhouse gases and public bodies have a vital role to play in cutting emissions. It is therefore surprising that the wider public sector appears to be taking so little action to help deliver Scotland's legally binding climate change targets.
Some organisations were singled out for praise, however, including the National Library of Scotland for their efforts on travel planning, West Lothian Council for their use of low-emission vehicles, and SEPA for reducing their mainland UK flights by 96%.
Report author Aoife Parker-Hedderman added: "Given that transport is the second-largest source of emissions, and given the scale of the Scottish public sector, significant progress is unlikely to be made in reducing emissions unless there is evidence public bodies are taking action."
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