Finnie: ‘Scottish Climate Change Bill represents progress but at an alarmingly slow pace’

Highlands and Islands MSP John Finnie has criticised the Scottish Climate Change bill, calling it “timid” and saying it represents progress but at an “alarmingly slow pace.”

The bill was passed, with 113 votes to zero, in parliament last week. However Scottish Green MSPs, Mr Finnie included, abstained from the vote after MSPs rejected proposals from the party to target an 80 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030.

In his monthly column for The Orcadian, Mr Finnie writes: “For all the Environment Secretary and First Minister’s talk about setting world-leading targets the fact remains that if they’re not good enough then they’re not good enough.

“In a race against time there are no prizes for falling before the finish line, even if you are at the front of the pack when you come down.

“As things stand the Scottish Government have their targets but absolutely nothing like a viable road map which will take us to net zero carbon. Fundamentally targets are meaningless without a plan on how to deliver them, simply a means of appearing ambitious without taking any action.”

“The recent Programme for Government offers little cause for optimism. It’s more tinkering round the edges basing its limited ambition on technology that doesn’t yet exist while pointedly refusing to properly address fossil fuel extraction.

“By co-opting the language of climate emergency while failing to put in place any kind of concrete plan to address it the Scottish Government have paid lip service to the climate strikers while ignoring the substance of their demands.”

Mr Finnie’s full column will be featured in this coming Thursday’s edition of The Orcadian.