Greens: IPCC report is stark warning to governments
The stark and urgent warning in a new report by UN climate scientists makes the UK and Scottish governments’ support for the expansion of oil and gas ‘obscene’ as they prepare to host the COP26 climate summit, the Scottish Greens have said.
A new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows accelerating heatwaves and extreme weather events are unequivocally the result of human behaviour like burning fossil fuels, and that the consequences will continue to get worse.
The AR6 report has been described by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres as a ‘code red for humanity’.
Responding, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “This report confirms what the Scottish Greens put front and centre of our campaign: that the time to act is now. With wildfires and floods sweeping the world, for governments to be considering further expansion of fossil fuel extraction is obscene.
“Alok Sharma himself describes this as a ‘catastrophe’ yet his government continues to plough millions into the causes of this crisis, while cutting aid to the countries who are most impacted. It’s a disgusting gap between rhetoric and reality, compounded by the apparent willingness to open a vast new oil field off the coast of Shetland. It's also time for the Scottish Government to finally recognise that business as usual for the oil and gas industry can't go on."
“The stakes could not be higher, and we cannot wait another decade for oil giants to maximise their profits before we act. COP 26 must be the summit where world leaders finally accept their responsibility to secure a future for humanity and make the urgent changes needed for a just transition.”