Becky Kenton-Lake, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland
In early September the First Minister will announce his Programme for Government, confirming the new legislation and policies that will be delivered in the coming year. This is a key moment to set out his priorities and a critical test of whether his government will turn a failing record on climate into commitments to take meaningful action that will make our homes warmer, air cleaner and properly protect our land and seas.
That failing record has led to a particularly turbulent and damaging 2024 so far for Scottish climate policy – in March the government’s official advisors deemed our once world leading legal target to reduce climate emissions by 75% by 2030 ‘no longer credible’, which was closely followed by the Cabinet Secretary announcing an intention to change the laws around Scotland’s climate targets as they could no longer meet these legal requirements.
Years of inaction and delay to climate policies have led to this point, when instead people in Scotland could have been benefiting from improved health, better jobs and the fairer society that the low carbon transition would bring. As well as missing out on these opportunities at home, a lack of action to reduce emissions also means we are failing to meet our international moral responsibility to do all we can to limit the impacts.
The Programme for Government must set out how climate action will be urgently accelerated, and fairly funded. Members of Scotland’s climate coalition, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, explain what those actions need to include:
More efficient transport systems, cleaner air and safer streets – Scott Runciman, Cycling UK
Transport is still the most polluting sector in Scotland, responsible for over 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, and private car use accounts for the largest share. Stopping climate chaos will require bold action from all levels of government on transport, and we urgently need to see how the Scottish Government will meet their welcome commitment to reduce car km’s driven by 20% by 2030.
Getting people out of their cars needs a two-pronged ‘carrot and stick’ approach – providing viable transport alternatives to using the car, but also introducing measures which make driving a slower, less attractive and costlier option. Better bus and train services and redesigned roads to enable walking and cycling provide better transport options for people so they’re not forced to use a car. These also benefit our health and wellbeing, and local economies.
The Scottish Government must make funding available to pay for improved public transport and active travel schemes – perhaps by cutting road dualling schemes that will only increase car use. Equally, it’s time to make the hard decisions needed if Scotland is to see more ‘pay if you want to drive’ schemes, for example, expanded Low Emission Zones, congestion charging, or fair road pricing.
Most of all, the Scottish Government must refocus our transport system around people, not cars – introducing measures which reduce emissions, but also end our reliance on car use and empower Scots to live happier, healthier lives.
Warmer homes and lower energy bills – Fabrice Leveque, WWF Scotland
Homes and buildings account for 20% of Scotland’s annual climate emissions, and with sky high energy prices we’ve all been counting the financial cost of our continued reliance on gas and oil boilers to keep warm. The opportunity that changes bring is vast. We can harness Scotland’s abundant renewable energy using electric heat pumps and heat networks to provide climate friendly heating, also ending our exposure to unstable fossil fuel prices. We can also guarantee long-term, green jobs for the existing workforce through retraining, and create new jobs through a nationwide insulation programme.
Housing is an area that Scotland’s devolved government has most of the powers at its disposal to make a difference. Last year it consulted on proposals to get more people and businesses to invest in insulation and clean heating for their homes, such as deadlines for ending the use of fossil fuel boilers and minimum energy efficiency standards for all homes. These are vital to give people the confidence to invest, which is why it’s essential that the Programme for Government confirm that a Heat in Buildings Bill will happen this year to put these into law.
Looking after our land and nature – Andrew Midgley, RSPB
Scotland’s net zero target will not be met without a big reduction in emissions from farming and damaged peatlands, and a big increase in the amount of carbon locked up in things like new woodlands. Although the Scottish Government says the right things about reforming agricultural policy and boosting tree planting and peatland restoration, it has not yet followed this up with meaningful action or at sufficient scale. Radical reform of the broken farming subsidy system is needed, but the government is proposing only a very gradual shift from the status quo. A huge increase in tree planting is needed, yet the government has cut the forestry budget, and we have something like 1.4 million hectares of degraded peatland and the government is aiming to restore only 250,000 hectares.
Our land managers – farmers and crofters – have a vital role to play in helping us reach net zero, but the Scottish Government and the next Programme for Government must be much more ambitious and include enhanced measures and funding to help them boost woodland creation and peatland restoration and it should speed up reform of agricultural policy.
Delivering a just transition for the North Sea – Isobel Mercer, Uplift
The imperative for a rapid and just phase out of fossil fuel production is clear. In Scotland, the geological reality of the North Sea basin, which is mature and declining, means the transition is not only necessary in light of climate science, but unavoidable. In fact, it is already underway: jobs supported by the oil and gas industry have more than halved over the past decade, despite hundreds of new licences being issued. The Scottish Government and UK Government must work together to maximise the opportunities of the green transition for Scotland and deliver the urgent priority of a just transition for affected workers and communities.
Whilst offshore oil and gas is a policy area reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government’s position on new oil and gas remains highly significant. The new UK Government has committed to issue no new licences and the Scottish Government should unequivocally support this position and encourage further ambition on oil and gas phase out and on developing a coherent and credible plan for the energy transition in light of both climate science and the necessity of providing certainty on the path forward for workers, businesses and communities. Further, many of the levers for delivering a just transition are devolved, but action is seriously lagging behind.
It is therefore vital that the forthcoming Programme for Government includes an ambitious package of measures to deliver a just transition, starting with a commitment to bring forward a number of key strategies that have been delayed, including Scotland’s Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan – complete with a presumption against new oil and gas licences – and the Grangemouth Just Transition Plan, before the end of 2024.
