PM challeneged to visit scorched Cairngorms site
The Scottish Greens are challenging Prime Minister Andy Burnham to pay a visit to the scorched sites of the Cairngorms wildfire when he is in Scotland this week. This would allow him to witness the lasting impact of environmental breakdown which will only become worse with climate change.
The call comes from Green MSP for Highlands and Islands, Ariane Burgess, just months after local communities were evacuated due to blazes lasting more than a week and destroying swathes of the landscape.
The wildfire was one of the most significant and intense wildfires in recent years, with 25 square kilometres - an area around the size of 3,500 football pitches - impacted.
Just one of many extreme weather events Scotland has dealt with in the past year, Ariane says the future we are heading towards guarantees many more, if targeted climate action and resources to manage disasters are not prioritised by UK and Scottish Governments.
Ariane said:
“We need to get serious about tackling climate change now, or we will face a repeat of devastating events like we saw in the Cairngorms back in July on an even bigger scale across our country. That's why I want the Prime Minister to see the scale of the damage for himself and to speak to those who were impacted by it.
“People across Scotland should not live in fear that they will lose their homes, their livelihoods or the landscape that they love due to wildfires and flooding, but without targeted climate action from governments, the risk of that happening increases tenfold.
“There cannot be delays to prioritising our climate, when climate change isn’t waiting around for us to start caring. These extreme weather events are happening now, and they must be tackled to ease the pressures and the worries they cause.
“Andy Burnham has said in the past month that the UK must reach Net Zero by 2050, while this week he also says a decision on drilling the North Sea is coming ‘shortly’.
“Any decisions made must put climate efforts at the heart to see some stability returned. That’s why I’m challenging him to pay a visit to the Cairngorms and witness for himself what climate change looks like on this island we share.”