Plan made to tackle climate emergency

Business leaders and environmentalists have created a 12 point plan of steps it says the Scottish Government should take to tackle climate change.

The Climate Emergency Response Group (CERG) said action was needed to ensure temperatures did not rise 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, with experts warning there were just 12 years left to avoid breaching that.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon declared a climate emergency in April and Scottish ministers have set the goal of achieving “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

The CERG proposes steps such as signalling that every one of Scotland’s city centres will be vehicle emission free by 2030 and enhancing building standards to deliver zerocarbon homes and buildings.

It also suggests producing advice for the public on sustainable, climate-friendly, healthy diets and mobilising the £11 billion of annual public procurement to “support the product and service innovation the climate emergency response needs”.

Claire Mack, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “We are already witnessing the effects of climate change, and now is the moment when we must accelerate our response if we are to avoid the worst effects and secure the many social and economic benefits of moving to a climate neutral economy.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government is a world leader in tackling climate change and we are committed to ending Scotland’s contribution to this, definitively, within a generation.

“As part of our response to the global climate emergency, we are putting climate change at the heart of our Programme for Government and will be announcing details of this shortly.”

Nicola Sturgeon.