Variable scope within .gitlab-ci.yml

How do i define a variable environment scope, but within the .gitlab-ci.yml file itself, not in the GitLab web GUI?

Within the .gitlab-ci.yml i need to have something like:

variables:
  ENV_POTATOE: tomatoe
    scope: development
  ENV_POTATOE: carrot
    scope: production
...

This is possible only with workflow. You cannot set scope on global variables in .gitlab-ci.yml.