Climate change: Scottish government needs to be bold as time is running out – Fabrice Leveque

Next month the Scottish Government will publish an update to its Climate Change Plan.

Covid-19 has turned the transport sector upside down, highlighting the emissions, noise and air pollution impacts of traffic congestion, says Fabrice Leveque (Picture: Ian Rutherford)

The importance of this cannot be overstated as this is the plan that lays out Scotland’s path to net-zero emissions, and the actions we will take to meet the targets in the Climate Change Act. Scotland’s new, tougher targets, set in response to the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, mean the plan needs to be updated with new actions.

There’s no doubt much of the focus of this year has rightly been on tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, but the climate and nature emergencies have not gone away and bold new initiatives are needed if we’re to meet our net-zero target and reap the economic, environmental and social rewards of a green recovery.

Johnson narrows Scotland’s climate lead

The Scottish government has upped its game since the First Minister declared a climate emergency in 2019, with funding to restore our carbon-rich habitats and to cut emissions from our homes and buildings the most significant amongst a number of new initiatives. The government’s approach still falls short of what is needed and its official advisor, the Climate Change Committee, said last month that the upcoming plan “should set the foundations for a new era of climate change action in Scotland”.

With all eyes on Glasgow in 2021 as the next UN Climate Conference, Cop26, comes to town, it’s all the more crucial that Scotland gets this right. A strong Climate Change Plan is how we do that.

The update to Scotland’s plan follows last week’s announcement of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ten-point plan for climate change. This was badly needed, with the UK government arguably playing catch up after recent action north of the border.

Boris Johnson's new ten-point plan for climate change has narrowed Scotland's lead on climate change policy (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Johnson’s plan has narrowed Scotland’s climate lead, by bringing forward to 2030 the end date for sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles, matching Scotland’s ambitions for electric heat pump deployment and boosting funding to clean up heavy industry. But the actions of the governments north and south of the border remain far behind what we need to get to zero emissions.

A toolkit of measures

So, what does the Scottish government need to do to regain the initiative and show the world how climate action should be done? WWF has identified a toolkit of measures that could be implemented as part of the Climate Change Plan, that would cut emissions and boost the economy as the further impacts of Covid-19 are felt.

Scotland’s agriculture sector is about to embark on a period of significant change as we leave the EU’s system of rural subsidies, providing an opportunity to reset and encourage more climate and nature-friendly practices.

The sector’s climate emissions are not falling, and it urgently needs clarity on how those who receive public funding will be rewarded for delivering public goods like flood protection, better soil, nature restoration and carbon sequestration.

More action is also needed to complement recent Scottish government moves to accelerate the green retrofit of our homes and buildings. This will get much more public cash over the next five years, but we need a bold plan of action, with a legally binding target to bring all homes to a ‘C’ energy performance rating by 2030 and at least £500m invested in low-carbon heat networks over the next five years.

Trees can lock away carbon and can create new spaces for nature, particularly if we plant native species. Recent increases to planting targets are welcome, but clarity is needed on the proportion that comprise of native species – ideally half, to ensure maximum carbon and biodiversity gain. We also need to reduce activities that damage our precious carbon and nature-rich peatlands – this means an end to commercial extraction and the regulation of muirburn.

Zero-emission zones

Covid-19 has turned the transport sector upside down, highlighting both the emissions, noise and air pollution impacts of traffic congestion, but also creating challenges, particularly for public transport.

The UK government’s 2030 announcement is a clear vote of confidence in the transition to electric vehicles, whose costs are expected to fall rapidly over the coming years.

But government action is still needed to kickstart the change, however, and we’d like to see the Scottish government commit to creating zero-emission zones in our busiest city and town centres by 2030, to send a strong signal to vehicle owners alongside the incentives that are already available.

These actions can boost the economy at a vital time, sowing the seeds for a green recovery. A programme to retrofit Scotland’s homes could generate 6,000 jobs at the peak, alongside the thousands of construction jobs supported by an ambitious heat network delivery programme. Reforms to rural subsidies will require hundreds of new farm advisors across the country and several thousand jobs could be created in rural areas through native tree planting schemes.

This is Scotland’s contribution to keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a vital goal if we are to play our fair part. The world has already warmed by one degree, and 1.5C will be exceeded this decade without greater urgency and action.

Earlier this year, polling carried out on behalf of WWF Scotland showed almost three-quarters of those asked believed the Scottish government should treat the climate and nature emergencies with the same urgency as the current Covid-19 response.

This should give ministers the confidence to take the bold action needed. We don’t have the luxury of time.

Fabrice Leveque is head of policy at WWF Scotland

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