‘Rotten foundations’ undermine Climate Plan

Reacting to Climate Change Plan, Friends of the Earth Scotland campaigns manager Rosie Hampton commented,  

“Despite the warnings, independent advice and numerous examples of its failure, Scottish Government Ministers have built their entire Climate Plan on the rotten foundations of dodgy carbon capture technology.   

“Ministers have been fooled by industry lobbyists into unquestioning political and financial support for carbon capture despite the main developer of the flagship Acorn project pulling out of the scheme between the draft and final versions of this strategy.  

“It is frankly delusional for Ministers to think that carbon capture technology, which has no working plant and no planning application can deliver the level of emissions cuts required in Scotland within a decade.  When they’re not sitting on their hands waiting on a technology that will never deliver, Scottish Ministers are trying to pass the buck to Westminster for the lack of action.  

“This plan sees the Government spurn another opportunity to make transformative investment in climate solutions that will improve people’s lives such as warm homes, better public transport and decent green jobs. Warm words won’t deliver warm homes.” 

“Electric cars are far out of reach to most Scots so Ministers should instead be prioritising public transport by bringing buses back under public control and running them for the benefit of people on the bus, rather than the owners of the companies.  

“It’s symptomatic of the Scottish Government deprioritising of climate action that so many key environmental documents are being rushed out in what feels like a closing down sale of policies just before the end of Parliament.