Scotland must take radical action on climate
Scotland must take radical action on climate such as banning domestic flights and looking at fresh ways to reduce congestion on the roads to achieve global targets on reducing emissions, say the Scottish Greens.
Environment spokesperson Mark Ruskell MSP said Scotland’s current climate plan is already out of date and that work on a legally required update early next year will provide a vital opportunity to set a clear pathway to net zero.
He said a report today from the Climate Change Committee which is critical in parts over how the Scottish Government achieves what it described as “extraordinary ambition” was correct to highlight areas of concern over delivery.
However he cautioned that it was based on an existing climate strategy drawn up before the Scottish Greens joined government, and before Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater took up their ministerial posts.
He said:
“Lord Deben, Chairman of the Climate Change Committee, is right to say we must keep all our focus and energies on tackling the climate crisis.
“It is quite clear that the climate plan to which this report refers is way out of date, and doesn’t reflect the ambitions of the Scottish Greens in government, which is why it will be significantly updated next year to include the kinds of transformative actions we need.
“That gives us a real opportunity to look at the kind of fundamental changes that politicians have never thought possible before, because the climate crisis now demands this kind of urgent and radical decision making.
“Look at France where they have just banned domestic flights when there is a rail alternative - we should absolutely be looking at the impacts of that and restructuring aviation here too.
“The Scottish Greens have also long argued for air passenger duty to be increased to pay for the climate damage created by the richest frequent fliers, we will continue to do this in our conversations with our Scottish Government colleagues.
“We also need to look again at demand management of our roads, and at more fundamental changes such as congestion charges which can raise revenue to re-invest directly into public transport.
“In the space of only a few months there has been a massive generational shift in thinking over oil and gas and we have to look at the best ways of a rapid transition away from the industry and into renewables.”
He added:
“We have already started the groundwork for some of this. There is a lot that we can do to put us on a faster route to net zero, but it will take time to build up supply chains, to recruit the army of skilled workers we need to insulate homes and green energy systems.
“This is why having Scottish Greens in government is so important to make sure the right choices are made now to take Scotland through to 2030 and beyond.
“We have already introduced a ban on new incinerators, while the rejection of new fracking and coal is now in place. We have created a new £500m Just Transition fund to supercharge the vital shift away from oil and gas, smashed our targets on tree planting and delivered free bus travel to well over half a million young Scots. ScotRail has now been nationalised, with £5 billion to decarbonise and improve our railways alongside an unprecedented shift in transport budgets towards active travel.
“Our plans for warmer and greener homes are advancing, as is our work on the national energy strategy. We have already called for nationalisation of the big five energy companies and further investment in renewable technology.
“Next year we will also see a focus on the circular economy, with the Deposit Return Scheme and other generationally defining policies introduced. These are big, pivotal changes that should have been made years ago. But I am confident that they can and will benefit people across Scotland for years to come.”