Campaigners welcome the news that the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will be speaking at the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice (COP24) today and say Scotland must up its ambition to meet crucial Paris Agreement commitments.
Chris Hegarty, Senior Advisor at Christian Aid and SCCS spokesperson said:
“Just weeks after being warned in the recent report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that we only have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, government representatives from around the world should be arriving in Katowice with a commitment to urgently increase their ambition and action.
“The Paris Agreement puts equity at the heart of global efforts to tackle climate change, yet this principle is under threat with richer countries unwilling to do their fair share. Countries most impacted by climate change yet least responsible for causing it are calling on big historical polluters to come to the table with both increased emissions reductions and finance pledges to have any hope of averting climate catastrophe.
“Scotland has taken some great strides on climate change in recent years and has so much to offer in terms of renewables and innovation. The Climate Change Bill currently going through the Scottish Parliament is a real opportunity to commit Scotland to the urgent action required by the Paris Agreement and the IPCC report, but so far it fails to do so. As much as we welcome the progress made so far, this new Climate Bill will not deliver the policies or ambition needed.
“Therefore, we urge the First Minister to return from Katowice with a commitment to ensure the Scottish Government strengthens the Climate Bill, setting targets to further cut emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. The need for international climate leadership has never been more urgent and Scotland has a huge opportunity to step up to the mark.”
