THE SNP look set to back an import ban on products manufactured using fossil fuels.
The motion does not list the goods which could be banned but with most of the world’s coal powered power plants in China, India and the United States, it is likely that some items made in those countries would be banned from coming into Scotland.
China is currently the world’s largest exporter of toys, with many of the items manufactured in factories using energy from fossil fuels.
It is one of a series of proposals put forward to the party’s conference at the end of this month in a bid to step up the fight on climate change. A motion on the final agenda for the online event also calls for the party to draw up a roadmap outlining a series of ambitions it wants to reach by 2025.
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The conference is due to take place at the end of this month just weeks after the eyes of the world were on Scotland when COP26 took place in Glasgow.
It also comes after the First Minister has shifted the SNP away from a party which has historically supported the oil and gas sector. Last month, she said that she would unveil a new energy strategy next year which will set out how the country can make the “fastest possible transition” from oil and gas to green resources.
She said the new strategy will be based on the understanding that “unlimited extraction of fossil fuels … is not consistent with our climate obligations”.
The motion, to be debated at the SNP’s conference, calls for a green energy run and state-owned and run integrated transportation system linking all forms of public transport as well as a ban on cars which use fossil fuels.
“Conference recognises that we are in the midst of a climate and ecological emergency that presents an existential threat to life on this planet,” says the resolution.
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“Since the last conference the IPCC report indicates that we are now on ‘code red’. This is happening here and now.
“The scientific evidence is irrefutable. Conference believes we must face up to the climate and ecological reality if we are to safeguard the planet for the immediate future, for the generations to come and for all life on Earth.
“Conference resolves to stop prevaricating about what is practical or affordable and do whatever it takes to avert this existential threat.”
It goes on to call for a road map to be published to include reaching following aims by 2025:
- We must implement the recommendations of the IPCC report in full l Eradicate all imports made with energy from fossil fuel-fired power plants including intermediaries (no loopholes)
- There must be a state-owned and run integrated transportation system linking all forms of public transport, all propelled only by renewables
- We must speed up the transition to zero-emission vehicles for private use and bring forward the deadline to stop production and sale of vehicles propelled by fossil fuels l Drastically reduce meat, dairy and fossil fuels
- Contribute to a worldwide effort to tackle forest fires effectively
- Work in global partnership to reforest the Amazon Basin and Indonesian provinces. Do as much of this as we can within our existing powers right here and right now and all of it when we achieve independence.
The resolution was submitted by the party’s West Fife and Coastal Villages branch with two amendments also listed for debate.
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One amendment, lodged by the Edinburgh city council SNP group, calls for the road map to include plans to speed up and cost measures to reduce emissions from buildings with a focus on the challenges for private homeowners on low incomes.
This move follows junior minister Patrick Harvie announcing to Holyrood last month that new regulations will be rolled out in four years’ time for homeowners to meet tough energy-efficiency standards. Harvie said the total costs of ending Scotland’s contribution to climate change from buildings’ emissions will be more than £33 billion and warned that the Government cannot foot the entire bill. This could mean many homeowners will have to meet the costs.
A second amendment calls for the removal of the sentence “Conference resolves to stop prevaricating about what is practical or affordable and do whatever it takes to avert this existential threat”, and the insertion of “Conference resolves to support all positions on this issue agreed by the General Assembly of the United Nations.”
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