Tuesday 29 January 2008

The Bill is welcomed as a pioneering opportunity to develop a legal framework for managing carbon emissions. However, SCCS believe the Bill must be strong if Scotland is to be effective in combating climate change.

Mike Robinson, Chair, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland said:

"This landmark Bill is a great opportunity for Scotland to become a world leader in tackling climate change – more than 30 of Scotland's most respected organisations campaigning on climate change greet it with enthusiasm.

The consultation is a good start; we are encouraged by the Scottish Government's acknowledgement of the 2º C global warming danger threshold and the need for policy to reflect the most recent science.

However, in order to meet overall targets it is essential that there is a commitment to annual reductions of at least 3% per year in statute. Without it, this is a departure from the SNP manifesto commitment.

This broad coalition will also be hugely disappointed if the Scottish Government rules out the inclusion of emissions from international aviation in its targets.
"It is vital that the Scottish Climate Change Bill is seen in a global context; we need to acknowledge that poor people around the world are already feeling the real impacts of climate change – changing weather patterns undermine their ways of life while increased disasters threaten their lives.
"Scotland has had huge benefit from fossil-fuel based energy, we can and should be leading efforts to shift to a low-carbon economy."