Gina Hanrahan, acting head of policy at WWF Scotland: We’ve been rightly proud of the world leading climate legislation unanimously passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2009, but time has moved on and other countries are going even further in order to meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement. An ambitious Climate Change Bill is a great opportunity to create jobs, improve health and reduce poverty at home, while also ensuring Scotland plays its part in helping the poorest people in the world cope with the effects of climate change. However, the proposals the Scottish Government have put on the table fall well short of delivering the low carbon future we not only deserve, but that repeated surveys show the majority of Scots want. Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) is urging members of the public to get involved and to act for our future by sending a message to the First Minister that they want more ambition in areas such as homes, transport and agriculture which are failing badly to play their part in cutting our emissions. It’s time for Scotland to follow the ambition of other nations such as Sweden, which recently adopted a target to be carbon neutral by 2045, and France recently announced a 2050 carbon neutral target.
Scotsman 11th Aug 2017 read more »
Analysis from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) shows that an estimated 3,910,000 Scots live in areas of the country where companies could bid for licences to explore for onshore oil and gas. Released by the Labour Party, MSP Claudia Beamish, who is the party’s Environment spokesman, said: “The places most at risk from fracking are highly populated parts of urban central Scotland. “Given those figures, SNP ministers should back my bid to change the law and ban fracking in Scotland. “The climate science behind fracking is clear – Scotland does not need a new fossil fuel as we shift towards a low carbon economy and people do not want companies drilling under their homes for gas. “That’s why an overwhelming percentage of people who responded to my consultation backed a ban.” But her views have met strong opposition from a former Labour MP in Scotland. Brian Wilson, who was also a UK Energy Minister, explained: “When the Scottish Government established a panel of experts four years ago to investigate arguments for and against developing unconventional oil and gas < ‘fracking’> they were – quite specifically -asked not to make recommendations “But even without recommendations, there was little doubt about which way the report pointed. Scotland’s geology suggested ‘significant reserves’ of unconventional oil and gas while “the regulatory impact is largely in place to control the potential environmental impacts”.
Scottish Energy News 11th Aug 2017 read more »