EU exit will hold back our climate change fight, warns SNP minister
BREXIT WILL “hold back” efforts in Scotland to tackle the global climate emergency, the country’s Environment Secretary said.
Roseanna Cunningham announced new measures to help in the fight against global warming – but warned of the impact leaving the European Union could have on the environment.
Speaking at the SNP annual conference in Aberdeen yesterday, she said: “Brexit will hold back Scotland’s environmental ambitions.
“We cannot allow Brexit to happen. Scotland voted to remain in the EU and we must do all we can to keep Scotland in the EU.
“But if it does happen – I promise this – we will protect Scotland’s environmental standards, we will never engage in a race to the bottom and we will not sell out Scotland’s environment to dodgy Tory trade deals.”
Ms Cunningham used her speech to the conference to announce that the Scottish Government will back the setting up of a Scotland office for the Committee on Climate Change – the expert body which advises ministers on environmental issues.
The new Scotland office will have a “team of people to focus purely on advice and analysis for Scotland,” the Environment Secretary said. She also announced £1m to help small towns introduce measures to tackle climate change.
She hailed Scottish Government efforts to curb environmentally damaging emissions after Holyrood passed legislation committing the
Roseanna Cunningham, Scotland’s Environment Secretary.
country to achieving a net-zero target by 2045.
With the six Scottish Green MSPs having refused to back this, Ms Cunningham launched a fierce attack on them, saying “people can’t trust the Greens”.
Later, Boris Johnson was branded a “muckle glaikit numpty” by an SNP activist leading a debate on the Scots language. Jack Capener said as many as one in three people identified as speaking Scots.
And he told the gathering in Aberdeen: “If you consider Boris Johnson a muckle glaikit numpty ye ken some Scots.” Muckle means large, big or a great size, according to the Dictionary of the Scottish Language.
We cannot allow Brexit to happen. Scotland voted to stay in the EU.