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Scotland’s ‘climate emergency’ demands urgent action

Environmental campaigners have reacted to First Minister’s declaration of a ‘climate emergency’ at the SNP Conference. Friends of the Earth Scotland welcomed the declaration but made clear that it must be backed by urgent action to cut climate pollution immediately.

Friends of the Earth Scotland Director Dr Richard Dixon commented,

“We have known for years that there is a climate emergency, what we need now is an emergency response.

“The declaration of a Climate Emergency is very welcome. People are dying and livelihoods are being destroyed, and the world is heading for catastrophe if we do not get a grip on climate emissions. Emergency is exactly the right word.

“In an emergency you need to take urgent action on fixing the problem, to bring together the people who can make a difference and to immediately stop doing the things that make the crisis worse. The Scottish Government have yet to spell out how they will behave differently now that they acknowledge that there is a Climate Emergency underway.

“With new advice or targets coming this week, agreement to create a Green New Deal for Scotland last week and the potential of the new National Investment Bank, there are plenty of things coming into place which will help us address this emergency.

“But we also need to stop doing the things which are ploughing us ever further into crisis. That means an end to new oil exploration and a plan to replace North Sea oil jobs with clean energy jobs, it means investment to make our energy-wasting homes more efficient and it means spending transport money on walking, cycling and public transport instead of things which encourage people to drive even more.”

ENDS

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

  1. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s speech to SNP Conference https://www.snp.org/nicola-sturgeons-address-to-conference/
  2. The UK Committee on Climate Change will provide new advice to the UK Government and the devolved administrations on the UK’s long-term climate change targets. It will be published on Thursday 2 May https://www.theccc.org.uk/comingup/uks-long-term-climate-targets/
  3. Friends of the Earth Scotland is:
    * Scotland’s leading environmental campaigning organisation
    * An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland
    * Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 75 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups.
    www.foe.scot