THE public sector in Scotland is being urged to step up its efforts to tackle the climate emergency, after a survey by The Ferret revealed that most government bodies have done little or nothing in response. We asked 30 public bodies covering environment, education, transport, economy finance and other services how they had reacted to the climate emergency declared by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, in April. Eight said they were thinking about how to respond, 17 stressed that they were already working to meet government targets, and five didn’t say. “We will develop our thinking over the summer,” said the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, which represents 32 councils. Transport Scotland is commissioning independent research. Scottish Forestry said it was “working to develop” a response and Visit Scotland said it was “working through” government guidance. The five bodies who either said nothing or failed to respond were NHS National Services Scotland, NHS Health Scotland, Crown Estate Scotland, National Museums Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service. Campaigners have criticised the public sector for only paying “lip service” to the climate emergency by continuing with “business as usual”. They have called for Scottish ministers to show more leadership.
The National 21st July 2019 read more »
The Ferret 21st July 2019 read more »
THE launch of the Scottish Government’s public consultation on how to combat the global climate emergency has been condemned as “fiddling while the world burns”. The inaugural meeting of ministers’ much-vaunted “big climate conversation” in Glasgow on July 16 faced a tirade of public criticism from participants frustrated by its “closed questions and narrow focus”. When organisers, Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB), asked at the meeting whether the questions were too narrowly framed, almost all of the 65 people present put up their hands to agree. In response, KSB said it would review the format. The big climate conversation was announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on June 19 to discuss action “to tackle the global climate emergency”. After the event in Glasgow there are due to be meetings in Stirling, Aberdeen, Skye, Fort William and Orkney in July and August. Highlighting a string of complaints about the Glasgow meeting on social media, Green MSP Ross Greer argued that it was “structured to prevent anything useful coming out of it”. It was “fiddling while the world burns,” he said. Friends of the Earth Scotland’s climate campaigner, Caroline Rance, described the meeting as “very frustrating”. She said: “Governments don’t seem to realise the extent to which public concern and understanding about the climate crisis has grown in the last year.”
The National 21st July 2019 read more »
The Ferret 21st July 2019 read more »