Scotland to outline ‘sure and steady, if a bit slow’ routemap from lockdown
Scotland’s route out of lockdown restrictions “will not be identical” to England.
Speaking at the Scottish Government daily briefing, the First Minister confirmed that current lockdown restrictions across Scotland would be lifted “gradually”, before the nation returned to the geographic “levels” system originally imposed in autumn last year.
She said: “This will be a cautious way forward because it's really important that, as we come out of this lockdown, we do so sustainably.
“We've got every reason to be very optimistic right now that the lockdown is working, and all of the indications are that vaccination is having an impact as well.
“But we don't want to set back our progress...we don't want, if we can avoid it, to face another lockdown.”
She insisted that she planned to go “sure and steady, even if it is a bit slow”.
Ms Sturgeon said her administration would “make our own judgments” on when it would reopen the economy, but added that there would still be “broad similarities”
Local authority pensions have more than £1.2 billion invested in fossil fuel companies, new analysis by environmental campaigners has found.
Friends of the Earth Scotland said that many councils that have declared a climate emergency have not taken action to end their investments in coal, oil and gas firms. It said that the Strathclyde Pension Fund was the "worst offender" in Scotland with more than £508 million invested in a number of companies such as Shell, BP and Exxon.
The fund is operated by Glasgow City Council for its own council area and on behalf of East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire.
With Glasgow due to host the Cop26 UN climate conference later this year environmental campaigners are calling on local authorities to divest from fossil fuels.
Ric Lander, divestment campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "With the world coming to Scotland this autumn to negotiate action on the climate crisis, pension funds now have a clear deadline for addressing their polluting investments.
"Local councillors have the opportunity to show leadership on climate action by telling fund managers to divest from fossil fuels.
"Many local authorities have declared a climate emergency and have plans in place to bring down emissions from transport, buildings and waste. Pension fund investments are currently working against this progress by continuing to back the ageing fossil fuel economy.
"Scottish council pensions are directly invested in the continued search for new fossil fuels through their ownership of companies like Shell and BP. This drive is undermining efforts to curb the climate emergency here in Scotland and doing untold damage to vulnerable communities around the world.
"Local authorities have the power and duty to ensure local workers have a pension for their retirement, but also a future worth retiring into. Instead of stubbornly sticking with old systems of investment that worsen climate breakdown, councils should boost investment in renewable energy and social housing."