The problem with target dates is that they come around, sooner or later. This is not to say that targets are bad - they are not, and they can focus minds - but all the same the political imperative to set targets is often a recipe for trouble.

The target problem is being felt, this week, by the Scottish Government in relation to its climate change targets. On Wednesday, the Climate Change Committee eviscerated the Government over its failure to meet its target of reducing 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030.

Emissions are already down by around 50 per cent, so categorising the Government’s performance as an abject failure is harsh. But the Scottish Government is hoisted by its own petard; the driver behind the target appeared to be political, wanting to appear more ambitious than the rest of the UK, rather than about climate realism.

The positive headlines the Government generated by announcing its ambition have now been nullified by this alleged humiliation. Time to go back to the drawing board.

When they do, Scottish ministers should focus on two things. First, they should set dates which are entirely bespoke to the conditions and possibilities in Scotland, not politicised dates based on what our southern neighbours are up to.

Secondly, and more importantly, they should accept that when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, the politics of platitude must play second fiddle to the politics of pragmatism.

So, let’s focus on the two or three areas that really matter when it comes to reducing climate emissions. The first, and highest, is domestic transport (which, contrary to the presumptions of the rich socialists........

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