Election: Delivering a Green Jobs Recovery

This Scottish Parliament election is crucial for both recovering from the pandemic and delivering the action needed to meet our climate commitments.

MSPs elected in May will be tasked with rebuilding from the impacts of COVID-19, whilst sitting for five of the nine years we have left to achieve our crucial 2030 climate change goals.

All political parties and candidates must commit to tackling these crises in tandem – in a way that enhances our wellbeing and creates quality new green jobs. Delivering the pace and scale of change required will need a complete reprogramming of our economy, we can’t go back to the thinking and policies that got us into this mess.

Friends of the Earth Scotland sent a full ‘manifesto’ of policies to parties ahead of the election, but here we highlight four actions which show the kind of change which we need:

• Launching a publicly-owned renewable energy company, generating power
• Time for Scotland to go fossil fuel free
• Free bus travel, on publicly owned buses
• Putting people and climate action at the heart of decisions about the economy

Click here to read more about these demands

Want to get more involved in the elections?

Election debates can be a great way to find out what your local candidates think on climate issues, and give local voters a chance to hear from the people bidding to be their MSP.

This guide will help you set up a debate in your area, including tips on sticking to election rules, and holding events online.

Or you might be going to an election debate but aren’t quite sure what to ask candidates. It’s important to remember that candidates are the ones trying to get your vote – they should be the nervous ones not you!

If you are struggling to think of the right question or how exactly to phrase your question, check out our guide to questions you could ask candidates.

Are there election debates?

Lots of different groups are organising online debates known as hustings.

We are supporting a small selection of debates which can you can see listed on this page.

There is also this website which is updated with lots of different election debates across many sectors and locations.

What have parties promised on climate and environmental issues?

As a charity, we can’t and we won’t tell you who to vote for. But we will be watching closely and reading party manifestos to weigh up their promises on climate action.

You can view our analysis of key promises in the manifestos by visiting this page