Building the proposed Aberdeen bypass would result in the Scottish Government failing to meet its climate change targets, environmentalists have claimed.
Pressure groups Road Sense and Friends of the Earth Aberdeen say building the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route would scupper attempts to cut carbon emissions.
The claim was made as First Minister Alex Salmond returned from the international climate change talks in Copenhagen, where he pledged to cut Scotland’s greenhouse gases by 42% by the year 2020.
The government is expected to announce this week if the AWPR will be given the go-ahead.
Road Sense chairman William Walton said that the bypass would increase the north-east’s carbon footprint and money should instead be spent on developing the region’s public transport. He said: “If Scottish ministers make a decision in favour of the road, then they will be going completely in the wrong direction as regards greenhouse gas emissions.”
Martin Ford, Aberdeenshire councillor for East Garioch, added his weight to the claims, saying the bypass “makes no sense at all” in the context of the government’s climate change targets.
“At best, the road would be a huge waste of money in a future where traffic volumes have been drastically reduced by a combination of much improved public transport, better land use planning and travel alternatives,” he said.
“At worst, the road will increase car dependency and increase greenhouse gas emissions.”
Other Aberdeenshire councillors dismissed the claims.
Rob Merson, councillor for Ellon, described the suggestion that carbon emission targets will be compromised by the road as “arrant nonsense”. “It will result in 20% less traffic at the Haudagain Roundabout alone,” he said. “Having traffic idling at traffic lights or in congestion only leads to more emissions.”
Peterhead councillor Stephen Smith said: “Businesses in my ward have had to suffer too long with the bottleneck that is Aberdeen city centre when transporting their goods south.”
More than £90million has been spent so far on land, consultations, surveys and a lengthy local public inquiry last year. A government source said that no comment could be made, other than that a decision on the bypass will be announced soon.