By Gabrielle Wade
17 November 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Scotland announced a bill on Monday with ambitious targets to tackle climate change.
The Scottish Government Communications Officer Andrew McIntyre told MediaGlobal, “By including emissions from all six greenhouse gases, international aviation and shipping, and annual targets, we will have a bill which will lead international action.”
The Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney laid out the plan to strengthen the climate change bill at the recent Scottish National Party (SNP) conference, where the proposal was commended as the most ambitious bill on climate change in the world. The bill not only sets a target of an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions, but it is also the first bill to include targets on all six greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide, as well as emissions from international flights and shipping.
At the announcement of the bill, Chief Executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland Duncan McLaren said, “The global community will only succeed in preventing dangerous climate change if richer nations demonstrate ambitious steps to cut emissions swiftly,” and that is exactly what Scotland is attempting to do with its proposal.
Because climate change is a global issue, the Scottish Government hopes to encourage other countries with its new bill. Friends of the Earth Scotland Representative Owen Davis told MediaGlobal, “A lot of campaigning both in the UK and Scotland is aimed around producing climate change laws that set a high standard, so that the rest of the world can see this is possible.” He further explained, “We’re hoping that the Scottish Bill will inspire a massive expansion in industries relating to the use of energy efficient and renewable technologies,” because such industries will be valuable in the international community.
The Scottish Government realizes that long-term emissions targets are not enough to drastically reduce emissions, so the bill will establish a strong framework with annual targets to be met until 2050. To ensure that such targets are effective, Davis said there should be tough financial sanctions and incentives on government departments to meet their goals.
The Scottish Government hopes others will follow in its footsteps. Last week, the UK Government moved to match the Scottish Government’s target of an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions.
According to the SNP news, its Energy Spokesperson Mike Weir said Monday, “While it is welcome that the UK Government matched the Scottish Government’s target of an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions, it is unfortunate that they do not appear ready to match the initiative of including aviation and shipping emissions as part of those targets.”
In addition to developed countries, the Government also hopes to encourage developing countries to get involved in efforts to reduce climate change. McIntyre said, “The Scottish Government recognizes the importance of international leadership and engagement on climate change and is an active participant in the Climate Group’s Climate Leaders Programme. This program provides opportunities to engage with sub-national governments to exchange best practices and to foster new linkages and climate change partnerships with regions across the world, including China and India.”
The new bill will be brought before Parliament later this year.