FMQs: Polluters must pay to prevent climate breakdown
Climate inaction will cost Scottish households and the economy unless big polluters are made to pay, says Scottish Greens Co-Leader Lorna Slater MSP at First Minister's Questions.
Research by Global Witness has revealed that the costs of climate breakdown in the UK amount to an estimated £3,000 per household over the course of 2025.
The cost of wildfires, flooding, crop losses, and more, means higher bills for households, such as insurance and everyday essentials, warns Tax Justice UK.
Scottish Greens have long called for a windfall tax on the fossil fuel sector to pay for a Just Transition for North East workers, and to fund urgent climate action.
In the Holyrood chamber, Ms Slater asked the First Minister:
“Your Government has spent the last year ripping up policies designed to tackle the climate emergency. And I know the First Minister knows that delaying action on climate, actually costs a lot more in the long run.
“Analysis from Global Witness shows that climate damage is already costing Scottish households £3,000 every year, on average, while multinational fossil fuel giants are still raking in billions of pounds of profit.
“Unless polluters pay, communities will be worse off and the super rich will keep getting richer.
“So that we can invest more now, not only to save money later, but to create green jobs and opportunities that we know will benefit Scotland, will the First Minister support policies to tax polluters?”
Responding to Ms Slater, the First Minister did not set out any clear examples of climate action or attempts to make polluters pay his government would take.