Green light for change
Climate change central to government policy making this year
2021 WAS ANOTHER hard year for a lot of us. Many lost friends and family to the pandemic, we were in and out of lockdown, and the rise of a new Covid variant made it a particularly difficult holiday period.
It was also a year of political challenges. It saw the COP26 climate conference, which, despite the hype, ended with the world’s biggest polluters caving to the interests of the fossil fuel industry. It was a disappointing end to an event that promised the earth, and a betrayal of young people and activists who are doing all they can to prevent climate catastrophe.
Despite the challenging backdrop, I remain stubbornly optimistic that 2022 can be a year when we can make real, positive change in Scotland and beyond.
Last May, my Scottish Greens colleagues and I entered into a co-operation agreement with the Scottish Government. We are putting people and the climate at the heart of policymaking, and, over the course of 2022, you will begin to see many of the positive changes that we are influencing and introducing.
One of the biggest changes that I’m most proud of will come at the end of January, when everyone aged 21 and under will have access to free bus travel. This is a big step in our efforts to tackle the climate emergency. It is a policy which will open up Scotland and improve the lives of the many young people who need to travel for education, leisure and work.
As of April, we will also be doubling the Scottish Child Payment, which will be worth an additional £500 a year to parents and will help to mitigate some of the damage done by Boris Johnson’s cruel Universal Credit cut.
Tackling poverty and Scotland’s role in the climate crisis are our priorities nationally, but my Green colleagues and I also want to do it here in our communities.
This May we will be standing more Green candidates than ever in the local elections. In Edinburgh we are hoping to win a record number of councillors. We have a great team of candidates, including more women and disabled people. It is a chance for Edinburgh to lead the way in establishing the kind of green change that benefits people and the planet.
After the last two years, we need to make sure that the society we build is a fairer, greener and better one than what came before. We can’t go back to an unsustainable status quo. I hope that 2022 will see us transitioning away from the pandemic and towards a future that is better for everyone.