TIME is running out for the Scottish Government to deliver on a series of critical commitments to mitigate against climate change, campaigners have warned.
The warning comes as legal action against the UK Government’s “inadequate” climate adaption programme is being taken to Europe’s top human rights court.
Backed by the charity Friends of the Earth, two men who believe their lives have been “ruined” by extreme weather events and rising temperatures caused by the climate crisis are going to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the grounds that the UK response is failing to recognise their human rights.
Kevin Jordan, whose seaside home was demolished after being hit by severe storms and rising sea levels, and Doug Paulley, whose multiple disabilities are worsened by rising temperatures, say the UK’s approach to the changing climate is “flawed”.
The Scottish Government has also come under fire from climate campaigners who say last week’s Programme for Government did not go far enough to mitigate against climate change.
While welcoming the move to reverse the “misguided” decision to reimpose peak rail fares, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland said time was rapidly running out to deliver on a series of other critical commitments which have been promised for some time, including increasing native woodland creation and restoring peatlands.
The group also said questions remained over how the Heat In Buildings Bill’s “overdue” and “watered-down” targets for installing clean heating systems will accelerate the positive impacts on health, bills and planet that are urgently needed.
“Ultimately, the time for promises of action is past,” said Mike Robinson, chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS). “We urgently need to accelerate the speed of delivery, including by doing more to ensure we make polluters – like those who choose to travel by private jets – pay for their climate damage.
“We are also very concerned that the First Minister is putting increasing reliance and public funds towards unproven carbon capture and hydrogen technologies, instead of cutting emissions and moving away from our dependence on volatile fossil fuels markets.
“All MSPs must now heed the calls of the many people who have signed our recent petition urging faster climate action and the majority of the public that we know support this.”
Rosie Heptonstall, a mother of two who works with Parents for Future Scotland, one of SCCS’s 73 members, added: “We need to improve standards of living for everyone, whether that’s by reducing the bills families pay or by improving the air our children breathe. And we can’t do this without moving away from fossil fuels.
“It’s absolutely essential to have ambitious climate targets and to be working towards them, not just for our future but for the future of our children as well.”
Liz Murray, head of Scottish campaigns at Global Justice Now, said it was “strikingly noticeable” that the Programme for Government made no mention of fossil fuels, the root cause of the climate crisis.
“Public polling shows that most voters want to see leadership from politicians on climate change, so between now and the Holyrood elections, the Scottish Government must accelerate Scotland’s move away from climate-wrecking fossil fuels and towards clean energy to strengthen our energy security, lower our bills and create new green jobs,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Rewilding Alliance (SRA) said nature was once again the Scottish Government’s “blind spot”, undermining John Swinney’s promises to make Scots healthier and wealthier.
“The Programme for Government is a missed opportunity for transforming Scotland from one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries to a forward-looking Rewilding Nation with 30% nature recovery across land and sea,” said Karen Blackport, co-convenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance and chief executive of Bright Green Nature.
“Rewilding boosts health, jobs and local economies and helps tackle climate breakdown – but the Government still lacks a nature minister or a plan for the large-scale recovery of Scotland’s ecosystems. Instead, ministers are backtracking on beavers, stalling on real protections for marine areas and showing a loss of nerve on lynx reintroduction by dodging reasoned debate on this crucial issue.
“We want to see a Programme for Government that makes Scotland healthier, wealthier – and wilder.”
Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin said: “This Government is taking forward vital climate measures such as abolishing peak rail fares for good to encourage people to use public transport, facilitating onshore and offshore wind projects to decarbonise electricity, investing in decarbonisation of heat for our homes and investing in peatland restoration to sequester carbon.
“And last week, the First Minister attended an event with climate activists and entrepreneurs to discuss, alongside other matters, climate debt for developing nations. We will not shy away from the vital action needed to reach net-zero by 2045.”
