SNP's track record on delivering flood protection schemes is as bad as we've come to expect – Scotsman comment

With increasingly extreme weather driving steady increases in insured losses, upgrading infrastructure is a vitally important task

As scientists have been warning for decades, the cost of allowing global warming to continue will become increasingly high as extreme weather becomes more common and more extreme. With the world having collectively decided to carry on producing greenhouse gas emissions in ever-higher amounts, there is, therefore, a need to take steps to protect ourselves against storms, floods and droughts that are only going to get worse.

This means upgrading infrastructure – railway lines, roads, homes, electricity supplies, the list goes on – designed for a more benign climate to ensure it is fit for purpose. It will be expensive, but if the work is not done, then the resulting damage could be worse.

According to reinsurer Swiss Re, insured losses stemming from natural catastrophes worldwide rose to $50 billion in the first six months of this year, with severe thunderstorms accounting for 70 per cent of the total. Insured losses have been growing at between five and seven per cent a year, the firm said, driven by the warming climate and higher economic values – of property, for example – in cities.

Storm Gerrit has provided Scotland with the latest wake-up call about the dangers of extreme weather, focussing attention on the state of our flood defences. According to the Scottish Liberal Democrats, just 15 out of 42 flood protection schemes identified for delivery between 2015 and 2021 have actually been completed. The delays and the fact that costs have soared by as much as 1,000 per cent will come as no surprise to those familiar with the SNP’s track record of delivery.

Liberal Democrat rural affairs spokeswoman Beatrice Wishart, who called for a “Climate Emergency Communities Fund” to upgrade homes, businesses and infrastructure, said: “When it comes to major storms, an ounce of prevention can be worth a pound of cure but dozens of prospective projects are unfinished and the costs are also going through the roof.”

Future-proofing Scotland against the growing storm is a vast and complicated task that requires competent, dedicated people in government. The consequences of bad spending decisions today may well be felt for generations to come.