HUNDREDS of people in Scotland have signed up to join the "largest ever" mass lobby on climate action which is being staged in Edinburgh this week.
Stop Climate Chaos Scotland has confirmed more than 500 people from around the country have registered to meet their MSPs at an event near the Scottish Parliament on September 18.
The event is being held at Dynamic Earth museum, next to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood and is organised by Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS), a coalition of more than 70 charities and organisations that work to tackle climate change and social injustice.
Their aim is to speak to MSPs face-to-face about climate and nature crises and how they can be tackled.
It is set to be the largest lobby on climate change to take place in Scotland if all those who registered attend. All MSPs have been invited to participate in the climate lobby.
This mass lobby event comes ahead of the publication of Scotland’s vital new Climate Change Plan, which is due to be released by the Scottish Government later this year.
The plan will set out how ministers intend to meet climate obligations and will be published just months before the Scottish election.
Emilia Hanna, mass lobby co-ordinator for SCCS, said: “This event is about showing the breadth and strength of public demand for urgent, fair climate action in Scotland, ahead of a new Climate Change Plan, and as political parties prepare their manifestos for the 2026 election."
She added: “Scotland is at a turning point and needs bolder climate leadership. Our climate plans are off track, and communities are already feeling the effects.
“We’ll be meeting MSPs face-to-face to demand real, practical action on climate change that supports people and nature to thrive, with warm homes, clean air, secure jobs and a safe climate future for all.”
SCCS say the event coincides with new research from Climate Outreach which reveals that three-quarters of people in Scotland worry about climate change and more than two-thirds want to see ambitious action.
Hanna added: “People in Scotland continue to back climate action but this data strongly reinforces the need for strong and consistent political leadership.
“By showing that climate action can be delivered fairly as well as quickly, we can simultaneously reduce emissions and unlock the benefits of warmer homes, better health and long-term sustainable jobs.”
Adrian Shaw, a PhD student at the University of Glasgow, is travelling to Holyrood from Dalavich in Argyll.
He is bringing a draft parliamentary motion he hopes an MSP will take on, raising issues about the high cost of electricity, a problem he says is becoming increasingly important across the Highlands and Islands.
He said: “We need to convince MSPs that they have support, to give them confidence to take on these challenges, and a personal approach is best.
“I hope to get MSPs to sign up to the motion and deliver real benefits for the climate and people in Argyll.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Ministers remain fully committed to reach net zero by 2045, and the new carbon budget framework will put the Scottish Government on course to achieve this. Scotland is now more than halfway to net zero and continues to be ahead of the UK as a whole in delivering long term emissions reductions.
“Through practical measures like growing our offshore wind sector, creating over 15,000 hectares of new woodland, and removing peak fears on ScotRail services, Scotland is well positioned to continue leading on climate action that is fair, ambitious and capable of rising to the emergency before us.”
