Cleaner air. Better public services. Wealth staying in communities. These are some benefits of, fast, funded, fair climate policies.
In this summer of wildfires, drought, crop failure, extreme heat and thousands of people dying from it across the UK, it’s clear to many that Governments must do more to tackle climate change.
And yet, we are also seeing disinformation and a backlash against the very policies that would reduce climate-wrecking emissions and help protect people and lives on our shared planet.
To overcome this, we need to build a broader base of public support for climate policies. And we can only build that public support if climate policies actually improve people’s lives. Lower energy bills. Less traffic. Cleaner air. Better public services. Wealth staying in communities. These are some benefits of fair, fast, funded climate policies.
In early September, the new Scottish Government will unveil their 5-year plan: the Programme for Government. We have written to them, recommending they include policies in these 4 key areas. Several of the main political parties are also calling for action in these areas, as noted below.
1. Warmer Homes
We are calling for an emergency insulation programme to help everyone stay warm at home. This funded scheme should prioritise people experiencing fuel poverty. By keeping heat in homes for longer, this will reduce energy needed to maintain a comfortable and healthy temperature, saving people money and cutting carbon in the process.
The Scottish Government has promised new legislation called the ‘Heat in Buildings Bill’. This must speed up the switch to cleaner, healthier heating systems with more stable bills, and there must be sufficient financial support for everyone to have these installed. It also needs to be easier for people in shared buildings to agree to such changes. Finally, we need a Warm Homes Guarantee to ensure that every household that receives support for insulation actually sees their bills reduce.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats, the Scottish Greens and Scottish Labour have several manifesto policies on making homes warmer and reducing their climate impact.
Our members working in this area include the Poverty Alliance, WWF, Fuel Poverty Action, Changeworks and Clean Heat Edinburgh Forum. We also support calls from the Existing Homes Alliance and CEMVO (Council for Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations).
2. Better Buses
People on low incomes, people of colour and disabled people are less likely than others to own a car. So making sure there are good, affordable bus services in all parts of Scotland is a social justice issue. It’s also a no-regrets way to reduce our collective impact on the climate and local air pollution, because if it’s easier to get a bus there will be fewer cars on the road, less traffic and cleaner air for us all.
We are urging the Scottish Government to extend the £2 bus fare cap across the whole of Scotland in Year 1 of this Parliament. They should also use the promised Better Buses Bill to fast-track the bus franchising process, allowing buses to be brought back into local public control. Regional Transport Authorities could then set fares, routes and timetables, improving services and affordability for passengers, and expand services in rural areas.
These are the ‘first stops’ on a longer journey to free bus travel for all, with public control, public ownership or community ownership across the board.
Scottish Labour have called for fast-tracking of bus franchising, the Scottish Lib Dems call for a Transport for London-like model (which is franchised), and the Scottish Greens have called for free bus travel and bringing buses back under local control with more community input. The Scottish Conservatives propose a fund to help councils keep rural bus routes operating.
We are part of the Scotland Demands Better Buses campaign, and are working directly on this with Better Buses for Strathclyde, Friends of the Earth Scotland and the Poverty Alliance. STUC, Living Rent and Scottish Pensioner’s Forum also support the campaign.
3. Make it Scotland’s Energy
The SNP say that “It’s Scotland’s Energy”, but not everyone is feeling the benefit. Scotland is world-leading in offshore wind, and has abundant renewable energy resources. Our recommendations would maximise the benefits for communities, workers, and local economies.
The Scottish Government plan to create a Wealth Fund using offshore wind revenue, akin to Norway’s sovereign oil wealth fund. We fully support this, and recommend that it provide funds to local communities to boost community ownership, like community-owned wind turbines, bus services or buildings, which all plough profits back into their villages, towns or cities.
There are great examples of these across the country, but more funding is needed to turbocharge this community wealth building.
To create more green jobs with good conditions in Scotland, we urge the Scottish Government to take public stakes in all future offshore wind projects, and invest in key manufacturers for offshore wind, helping establish supply chains in Scotland.
And if it’s really Scotland’s Energy, why would we let foreign-owned big tech companies use huge quantities of energy for AI data centres that provide very little real benefit for anyone, except wealthy investors? We are calling for an immediate moratorium on hyperscale data centres.
The SNP, Scottish Greens, Scottish Labour and Scottish Liberal Democrats all have strong policies on community ownership of energy and building renewables supply chains in Scotland. MSPs from all parties in the Scottish Parliament have raised strong concerns about hyperscale data centres.
We are part of the Our Power campaign that is calling for more public and community ownership of Scotland’s renewables. We are working with APRS, ERCS, Global Justice Now, Friends of the Earth Scotland and others on hyperscale data centres.
4. Private Jet Tax
While many people can’t afford to heat or insulate their homes, the super rich are criss-crossing the globe in private jets. It’s not just distribution of wealth that is unequal, it’s also the amount of climate pollution.
The richest 1% pollute as much in minutes as two‑thirds of humanity does in a year.
Private jets are a clear example of climate injustice. They are high emissions, low taxation, and used by a tiny ultra‑rich minority.
This tax should begin in 2027, and the tax rate should be high: at least 10 times higher than the current highest rate for Air Passenger Duty. By making these choices, this tax could raise up to £392 million more during the lifetime of the current Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish Government has recognised this inequality and pledged to bring in a private jet tax to help make Scotland a fairer nation. The money raised from this tax should be spent on tackling both climate change and poverty; for example it could fund the emergency insulation programme we’ve recommended above. This would be a strong example of climate justice: requiring those who contribute the most to climate change to fund our collective efforts to tackle it and protect the most vulnerable.
The Scottish Government has pledged to bring in this tax, but they must make the right choices about when it begins and the rate it’s set at. The Scottish Greens have called for a ‘super tax’ on private jet users, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats want the tax to reflect the price of these flights on the environment.
Our member Oxfam Scotland is leading our coalition’s work on a private jet tax. Possible, Safe Landing, the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland and Patriotic Millionaires are also campaigning for this.
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Our full list of proposals for the Programme for Government is available on our website.
