Nature charities have warned John Swinney he is running out of time to introduce a key delayed eco law to save Scotland’s wildlife.

The Scottish Environment LINK coalition has written to SNP ministers urging them to deliver the Natural Environment Bill which had been promised last year.

The planned Bill would create ambitious legal targets to halt the loss of nature by 2030 and restore Scotland’s natural environment by 2045.

Campaigners said any further delay of the legislation would risk accelerating the decline of species – with a shocking one in nine at risk of extinction in Scotland.

Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with iconic Scots creatures like red squirrels, wildcats, otters and grouse under threat of wipeout.

The Scottish Government had initially committed to deliver the Natural Environment Bill in the 2023/24 parliamentary year but failed to meet this deadline.

It comes as the European Parliament this week officially adopted a historic Nature Restoration Law across the continent.

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