Stewart Hosie, Shona Robison and Joe FitzPatrick with Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
With the Copenhagen Climate Summit now only 12 days away, SNP politicians Shona Robison MSP, Joe FitzPatrick MSP and Stewart Hosie MP joined with the Scottish Government’s Environmental Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead to urge negotiators at the summit to follow Scotland’s lead on greenhouse gas targets.
The summit, which runs from 7-18 December will host more than 8000 representatives from 170 countries, and their deliberations will lead to the Copenhagen Protocol, which will set the direction for the world’s actions to tackle climate change over the next few years.
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie said: “This is the most important international meeting on climate change ever and Scotland could really help make a difference. Previous summits have seen deadlocked talks resulting in watered-down proposals.
“It is unfair and unfortunate that no representative from the Scottish Government will be allowed to attend, to promote Scotland’s climate legislation as a great example at a time when the world desperately needs good examples.”
“The Vote Earth campaign calls on rich countries to set a target of reducing their emissions by at least 40% by 2020. Scotland has already committed to a 42% cut by that date with the Climate Change (Scotland) Act, passed by Holyrood in June.”
Shona Robison said: “Scotland is leading the world on setting ambitious targets for reductions in emissions. Our Climate Change legislation has set an interim target of 42% reduction by 2020 and an 80% reduction by 2050. This sends a message that we are serious about tackling this urgent issue, a message which we hope that other countries will emulate.”
Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick added: “Scientists say a reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions of industrialised countries of at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2020 is vital in order to keep global temperature rise below 2°C.
“It is crucial that the Copenhagen talks agree new and predictable public financing to ensure developing countries can develop cleanly while dealing with the impact of climate change. The summit must unite both the developed and developing world behind a set of achievable proposals, but these need to be ambitious, otherwise we will not effectively tackle the problem.”
Dr Richard Dixon, Director of WWF Scotland said: “WWF’s Vote Earth campaign is a great way for the general public to send a strong message to world leaders that they care about tackling climate change. The Copenhagen meeting is the most important discussion of climate change ever.”
