Health crisis calls for radical new solutions
Plans to create low carbon communities to offset alarming levels of air pollution took centre stage at this year’s Low Carbon Scotland event in Edinburgh
THE statistics are sobering. Consider the following: air pollution kills more people worldwide per year than Aids, malaria, diabetes or TB. And equally as disturbing: breathing the air while walking around Paris for a day equals smoking 4.1 cigarettes – while in the Chinese city of Shenyang this rises to the staggering equivalent of 63 cigarettes.
These figures were presented by Alan Asbury, director of CLS Energy Ltd and chairman of the Low Carbon club, to 280 delegates at the fifth Low Carbon Scotland conference held last week at Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth.
Low Carbon Scotland 2018 is a unique annual conference that addresses Scotland’s current carbon position and facilitates input from and discussion among those leading and driving the policies and proposals. This year posed the question: “Smart, connected, ‘low carbon’ communities – what are they and how are they created?”
Lee Etchells, founder and chief executive at 3ppp (Public-private-partnerships) which organises Low Carbon Scotland and Low Carbon Britain explains: “A main focus of the conference was to discuss how the public sector can reduce their carbon emissions, looking at the third report on proposals and policies for the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan (RPP3) which was introduced in in February this year and which stimulated discussion as to how this could be improved and delivered”.
The sense of urgency at Dynamic Earth was palpable – and for good reason. The consensus among scientists and economists regarding the social and economic cost of carbon is that the damage done by carbon dioxide emissions will become critically detrimental by 2050 – unless we effect fundamental behavioural change.
Scotland is tackling the challenge with impressive vigour. As long ago as 2009 the Scottish Government passed the most ambitious legislation anywhere in the world to address this problem, with its Climate Change plan planning a reduction in emissions of 66 per cent by 2032.
Low Carbon Scotland addressed many of the crucial components that would drive this transition to a low carbon Scotland with speakers representing solar power; grid facilitation; smart cities; sustainable housing and sustainable transport among them. And Paul Wheelhouse, the Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy did not duck the challenges – but emphasised the opportunities.
“As we are all too aware, the problems are too big to be addressed by government alone,” he emphasised. “That the solution relies on a partnership with individuals, businesses and third sector organisations and the wider public sector cannot be overstated.”
Scotland, he added, is in the top three out of the 28 EU countries in the reduction of emissions. The Climate Change Plan, he admitted, is an ambitious one.
“Using 1990 as a baseline we will reduce our emissions by two thirds by 2032 with a commitment to report on our progress every year. Scotland has shown great leadership and our electricity system continues to shine a light for other sectors to follow”.
Addressing transport, Wheelhouse said there was a determination to transform the way that we travel, with Scotland becoming a safer and friendlier place for pedestrians and cyclists. “Our plans for electric vehicles and infrastructure mean that we will phase out the need to buy petrol and diesel a full eight years ahead of the UK.
The minister pointed to significant investment in key areas: “Earlier this month the First Minister launched the Energy Efficient Scotland Route Map and Transition Programme and not only will this help to eradicate fuel poverty but will encourage an entire low carbon services sector and we are investing at least £500 million in that programme between now and 2021”.
In the current year, he added, the Scottish Government will invest £146.1 million in energy efficiency. “In terms of Scotland’s homes and buildings, by the end of 2021 we will have allocated more than £1bn since 2009 to tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency in more than one million homes throughout Scotland.”
The Government has also invested more than £85 million since 2007 in loans supporting Scottish households, businesses and organisations finance the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable measures and the development of district heating schemes, supporting more than 5,200 applicants.
The transition to an environmentally and socially sustainable economy may look daunting, he added, but also represents a huge opportunity for a healthier fairer and more prosperous country and society.
“The low carbon sector in Scotland employs almost 50,000 people. The whole economy cost of our energy efficient Scotland programmes is between £10-£12bn and will generate thousands of jobs,” he said.