SNP’s targets were hot air... co-operation is key to tackling climate change

THE claim that Scotland had the best climate change targets in the world was, at best, an unsubstantiated assertion, at worst, a deliberate attempt at covering up our own shortcomings.

Our Scottish future does not depend on what we are doing compared to other countries, our future does depend on whether we exploit our own potential to the full, along with all the other nations of the world.

The present storm is the result of a pervasive attitude that colours Scottish politics at every turn. Like attention-seeking children, we seek public approval by tugging at the nation’s sleeve at every opportunity to show off how good we are, especially compared to the others in our class.

The SNP and the Greens have been caught out this time, and are having to readjust their targets and actions. Now we know that the targets announced a few years back were hopelessly unachievable.

It is clear that we really need to put our thinking caps on. Dropping targets is not the best thing to do, but not taking a good hard look at what we are doing now, and looking actively for as many new ideas as possible, is worse.

They say doing what has not worked better is never the answer. We need new ideas. Start with co-operation in politics and business management. In parallel, calculate what our own natural capital can give in return for care and attention.

At a governance level, take a look at cooperation as a motto, starting with the devolved administrations, and open up a new conversation on the way forward for a united United Kingdom exploiting its own full potential. Where to now? At first thought, it seemed too good to be true that they had decided to pay attention to the Cass report on child gender services, which was a bit of a climbdown.

BUT now they are prepared to get realistic about their climate change agenda too. Three cheers! Well, at least two, let’s keep real. The reality is that climbdowns in politics are rare, but they really shouldn’t always be derided. It takes courage to back off, and there have been many occasions in politics where it has been the best thing to do. It now seems that they are sticking with the grand 2045 target, but skipping the yearly targets.

Now, if these yearly targets are realistic they would serve two important objectives: one, to keep us well informed as to whether we are indeed performing to potential, and two, to encourage everyone in their efforts. To abandon these targets would provide cover for under-performance and leave a final reckoning too late to be of use to anyone.

Take wind power. The success of the rollout is a shining example of what can be achieved through co-operation in this world. Government assistance, international finance, international engineering expertise and manufacturing all combine to create this success story. It is far from being a solely Scottish effort, and it is to be admired and emulated. It is when we decide not to rely on anyone other than ourselves that problems arise.

Take ferries. Well, if there are any in working order. The Norwegians operate more ferry routes than any other country in Europe. This is geography at work. Did we take any lessons, even just one, from them?

ALMOST certainly not. If we had, if we stuck with our own rules on due diligence, if we had an ounce of modesty in our political ethos, we would have saved ourselves nearly half a billion pounds, and made our island communities much happier than they are at present.

Recycling, or ‘the circular economy’. It is essentially a very good idea to take a holistic view of recycling as part of a no-waste economy, where everything is reused, repaired, or, last option, recycled. This idea is worth looking at in detail, but our Green team decided to go it on their own with the Deposit Return Scheme.

The market for recyclates is disparate, spread over the whole country, and a lot goes abroad. Much paper used to go to China, for instance, and aluminium had to go to the Midlands as the closest to us.

Did we consult with firms south of Scotland on DRS? Did we think even of the difficulties of having a completely different scheme in Scotland, and the problems this would raise south of the Border? Did we co-operate with anyone? Clearly not.

What could have been a ground-breaking venture collapsed and left all concerned with debts of at least £80million. And now we are walking away from it.

What other lessons can we learn from this? First, the decision does not alter anything; the same problems remain. If we continue down the political road in the face of the challenges ahead we are likely to fail. The road itself needs to be cleared of obstructions, bends, misdirections, and there needs to be thinking attached to reality. Our Scottish future could be good, especially within a UK co-operative.