Greens: Ambitious climate action required
Scottish Greens Climate Spokesperson Mark Ruskell MSP has called on the Scottish Government to take ambitious action to tackle the climate emergency.
Mr Ruskell’s comments come in the wake of the publication of new advice by the Committee on Climate Change.
Mark Ruskell MSP said:
“Greens have built the case for a net-zero carbon target for Scotland by 2040, which reflects our fair share of what is necessary to avoid the climate catastrophe as well as the huge natural economic advantages we have in areas like renewables and forestry. Today’s advice, which the Scottish Government will accept, is getting closer to what is necessary and sets a strong and demanding long term goal.
"However the ‘make or break’ years in tackling the climate are between today and 2030, yet disappointingly the UK CCC has provided scant advice on what the critical 2030 target should be. Unless both the UK and Scottish Governments accelerate action today then longer term targets will be out of reach. I will now be moving an amendment to the Scottish Climate Bill to up the target to 80% by 2030 driving real transformative action during this critical window of transition.
"A Green New Deal for Scotland must now be put in place that would use the regulatory and fiscal powers available to the Scottish Parliament to deliver big emission reductions and create hundreds of thousands of lasting jobs in the low carbon economy. Last week the SNP and Scottish Labour voted for our proposal. We now need to make urgent progress towards delivering the deal.”