CAMPAIGNERS have said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to declare a climate emergency must be backed up with action.
Speaking at SNP conference on Sunday, Sturgeon promised that the Scottish Government would “live up to our responsibility to tackle” climate change.
Declaring an emergency was one of the key demands of the young climate change campaigners who have gone on strike from school in recent weeks.
Gina Hanrahan, head of policy at WWF Scotland, welcomed the SNP leader’s speech, and said Sturgeon would have the chance this week to prove her commitment to the
environment. Hanrahan said: “A new expert report later this week is expected to advise a deadline year for ending Scotland’s contribution to
climate change.
“This will need political support for ambitious new targets and accelerated actions to make homes warmer and renewable-powered, to support sustainable farming, and to help get polluting fossil fuel vehicles off the roads.”
Friends of the Earth Scotland director Dr Richard Dixon said the First Minister’s declaration was “very
welcome”.
He added: “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 under way.”
Yesterday morning, the Scottish Government’s former environment minister, Stewart Stevenson, admitted that there were “issues” with the SNP’s commitment to tackling climate change while also promising to cut aviation tax.
Green MSP Ross Greer said: “It speaks volumes that a former environment minister and loyal SNP MSP recognises the issues with his party’s contradictory environmental policies.”
He said Sturgeon needed to keep the promise made at conference and “ditch the climate-wrecking policies the SNP have pushed during their decade in government”.
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