a government spokesperson said the uk was the first major economy to halve greenhouse gas emissions since 1990 and said that record speaks for itself. mr stark was critical of other parties, too. he told the sunday with laura kuenssberg programme that politicians, across the political spectrum, have a collective fear of talking about climate. and he said he was disappointed by the snp government in edinburgh's decision to drop a key carbon reduction target this week, saying the targets had been overambitious from the start. the scottish government chose to choose an even more ambitious path than the one that we'd advised. and that's fine — i mean, i love ambition — but it only matters if you actually deliver against that. a scottish government spokesperson said the country remains steadfast in its commitment to reaching net zero by 2045. the interview with mr stark comes as marine experts warn the world's coral reefs are experiencing their fourth mass bleaching event —