Climate breakdown is talk of Oban

Oban has hosted a public meeting on climate breakdown and what it means for the town, writes Kathie Griffiths.

Highlands and Islands Green MSP John Finnie chaired the event at the Congregational Church Hall in Tweeddale Street on Saturday.

About 30 people turned up to the meeting organised by the Argyll and Bute Greens, sparking a lively debate about the need for community action versus apathy and waiting for government changes.

Highlands and Islands Green MSP John Finnie said climate crisis was the biggest threat facing humanity and that governments, including in Edinburgh and London, should take urgent action to address the serious situation.

But feeling from the floor was that communities need to ‘wake up’ and act now to make changes of their own.

In parliament, the Scottish Greens are calling for a climate emergency bill, which recognises the catastrophic consequences of climate breakdown and the costs of inaction.

Mr Finnie urged people at the meeting to grasp the opportunity to influence policies and write to their MPs and MSPs saying climate legislation needs to be more robust and ambitious. He also spoke about other action Oban could take by ‘keeping it local’.

Oban is already taking its own action.

The meeting heard from Jill Bowis, a farm producer for the growing Oban Food Hub project, and from Mairi Stones from Awakening Argyll, a Benderloch-based group already responding to the world crisis. Its actions so far have included a plastic attack at supermarkets in the town and organising a successful food festival.

There are also regular beachcleans and there is a separate group campaigning against single-use plastics.

The meeting also heard from a dad, who is new to Oban and has a solar-powered sound system, who is keen to put on climate change awareness events in the town to make sure his children have a future. He is involved in the Maya climate change awareness gathering, a free festival at Glasgow Green from May 5-7 this year.