NICOLA Sturgeon has reportedly cancelled a planned climate trip to New York due to take place next week.
The First Minister was expected to take part in the Under2 Coalition general assembly – with Scotland one of five co-chairs.
The event is taking place on the sidelines of climate week, when the United Nations general assembly is held in New York.
Subnational governments such as the Scottish Government has join the Under2 Coalition by signing the Under2 Coalition memorandum of understanding which pledges to becomes a ‘net zero coalition' by 2050.
A source told the Times that the decision for Ms Sturgeon not to travel to the week-long event was taken before the death of the Queen.
Ms Sturgeon will attend the Queen’s funeral in London on the opening day of the summit on Monday.
The Under2 Coalition programme states it will include addresses “from our five co-chairs for 2022-2024 as well as governors, premiers and first ministers from across our global membership”.
It adds: “We look at what it means to ‘get it done’ as a state or regional government and how our networks can build reach and impact as we work towards a net-zero world.”
MSPs have committed to Scotland becoming net zero by 2045, five year’s ahead of the UK-wide target – while a pledge has been made to cut 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 75 per cent by 2030.
According to the latest data for 2020, Scotland has cut emissions by 58.7% from 1990 - with the pandemic ending three years in a row of failing to meet annual targets.
But SNP Net Zero Secretary Michael Matheson has warned that it is likely the progress will “significantly rebound” due to the impact of pandemic restrictions being lifted in 2021 an this year.
Ms Sturgeon travelled to Washington in May, where in a speech to the Brookings Institution she called on global leaders to keep promises made at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow to cut emissions.
Earlier this week UN secretary general Antonio Guterres called on world leaders not to “double down on this fossil fuel addiction” after a stark report by leading scientists warned that rhetoric at COP26 was not being backed up with action, particularly around phasing out fossil fuels.
Mr Guterres said the new report showed the world was “way off track”, with climate action stalling, a failure to help the vulnerable adapt to a changing world and losses from climate disasters of 200 million dollars (£170m) a day.
“Floods, droughts, heatwaves, extreme storms and wildfires are going from bad to worse, breaking records with ever alarming frequency,” he warned.
According to the Times, it is believed the First Minister still plans to travel to Egypt for the COP27 summit in Cairo in November.
Referring to the New York trip plans, a Scottish Government spokesman told the Times that “no such visit has ever been confirmed.”
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