Plans to reduce air pollution in Glasgow have caused an almighty backlash from businesses and motorists – but the low emission zones (LEZ) roll-out is just the beginning of behavioural change that will be expected in the fight against the climate crisis in the coming years.

The Scottish Government has given four cities – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen – the permission to roll out LEZs to keep air pollution levels at safe limits by essentially banning the most polluting vehicles from city centres.

After a last-gasp legal bid to halt the plans in Glasgow failed, petrol vehicles that are not compliant with Euro4 standards, generally those registered before 2006, will not be allowed to enter the zone.

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For diesel vehicles it is Euro6 which is mostly before 2015.

Tackling the climate emergency is also a public health issue.

Joseph Carter, head of Asthma and Lung Scotland, today stressed that LEZs and other measures to improve air pollution “requires bold political leadership”.

Plans in Edinburgh have been scaled back with the designated LEZ reduced in size despite concerns from climate campaigners that the original measures were giving tourists in the city centre better air quality instead of residents.

The LEZ proposals have been coming for some time.

But they will result in huge costs to some businesses, which is where the anger lies.

The Scottish Government has been open about the lack of public funding available to tackle climate change – the bulk of it will need to come from the private sector.

SNP Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan has insisted she believes in the “polluter pays principle”, and the LEZ plans are no different – fork out cash to upgrade your vehicle to a cleaner model or face hefty fines.

Both Glasgow and Edinburgh have hugely-ambitious targets to become net zero cities, ending their contribution to the climate crisis, by 2030.

Given that is just seven years away, that ambition appears impossible without billions of pounds of investment to replace gas boilers and insulate homes.

Even if the funding was in place, it’s unlikely all the invasive work could be carried out in the two cities’ tenemented flats in just seven years.

But one of the biggest headaches for city bosses intent on cutting emissions is transport.

Edinburgh City Council has plans to extend its tram network further, with the Newhaven extension opening to passengers next week.

Similarly in Glasgow, much of the council’s clean transport strategy hinges on the much-talked-about metro system.

Both these mass transit schemes have been prioritised by the Scottish Government for investment funding, without which they will never see the light of day.

The delivery plan was supposed to accompany the projects being announced before Christmas. It was delayed until the New Year, and we are still waiting for SNP ministers to publish it.

The Herald:

Earlier this month, SNP Transport Minister Kevin Stewart told MSPs that work on the delivery plan remained “ongoing”.

Setting out big clean public transport investment is not just in councils’ interests – but one of the Scottish Government’s big policy commitments also relies on it.

SNP ministers have pledged to cut car journeys by 20 per cent, again by 2030 – but no joined-up strategy has been drawn up by the government as to how this will be achieved.

But one thing we know is that the public will be expected to change their behaviour in order for legal climate targets to be met – not limited to being asked to leave the car at home.

It is quite possible that motorists could eventually have to pay to drive on certain roads while Edinburgh City Council could revive congestion charge proposals. Parking fees have soared in city centres with a push to get more people to use public transport – essentially by being priced out of using a car.

Almost two years ago, then transport minister Graeme Dey insisted that “radical behavioural change” to transport choices will be required, but we are still waiting for a complete vision on how this will happen.

It won’t just be transport that Scots will be told to act differently.

Statutory advisers, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), has called on both the Scottish and UK governments to encourage the public to eat less red meat and dairy.

It’s not difficult to see why ministers are yet to pass this message onto the public, given they have...

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