Tag: Politics

First Minister reflects on COP26

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on the 16th November in the Scottish Parliament:

Presiding Officer,

On Saturday, COP26 concluded with 197 countries adopting the Glasgow Climate Pact.

Today, I will report briefly on the Scottish Government’s activities during COP and offer our preliminary view on the agreement.

Firstly though, I want to record my gratitude to all those who helped ensure that the hosting of the summit was a success.

COP26 was one of the most important events ever held in Scotland – and also one of the largest.

More than 40,000 people registered to attend – a higher number than for any of the previous 25 COPs.

In addition, tens of thousands of activists visited the city.

Some inconvenience was inevitable from an event of that scale and I know the city did experience disruption.

But the warmth and the enthusiasm of Glasgow’s welcome was praised by every international visitor I met.

So my first and very heartfelt thank you today is to the people of Glasgow.

I also want to thank the Scottish Events Campus, Glasgow City Council, all volunteers, and partners across the public and private sectors whose hard work made the event possible.

My thanks go also to the United Nations and in particular to the Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa.

The UK COP president, Alok Sharma, also deserves huge credit. He and his team worked tirelessly to secure the best possible outcome. I am also grateful to them for keeping me well briefed throughout the negotiations.

Finally, peaceful protest is vital at any COP. 

It keeps pressure on negotiators and reminds those inside the blue zone of the vital job they are there to do.

Over the course of the two week event, more than 400 protests were staged across Glasgow.

That there were fewer than 100 arrests in total is a real credit to protestors, but also to Police Scotland.

COP 26 has been the biggest policing operation ever undertaken in the UK and I want to pay tribute to the Chief Constable and to all officers, from forces across the UK, who worked under his command, for the highly professional manner in which that operation was conducted.

Over these past two weeks, the eyes of the world have been firmly on Scotland and we have shown the best of our country to the world.

Amongst the almost 500 meetings, events and other engagements undertaken by Ministers – including almost 100 that I undertook personally – many were with businesses and potential investors in green innovation.

We also took the opportunity to strengthen our bilateral relationships with a number of countries and regions across the world.

As well as showcasing the country, of course the Scottish Government also set clear objectives for our participation in COP itself.

Firstly, we aimed to amplify voices that are too rarely heard in discussions of these type – for example, of young people, women and those from the global south – and we sought to be a bridge between these groups and the decision makers around the negotiating table.

To that end, we funded the Conference of Youth when the UK government opted not to.

We supported the Glasgow Climate Dialogues to give a platform to voices from developing and vulnerable countries.

And, in partnership with UN Women, we launched the Glasgow Women’s Leadership Statement on gender equality and climate change.

I was joined for the launch of that statement by the leaders of Bangladesh, Tanzania and Estonia, and the statement has now already been signed by more than 20 countries.

We also endorsed the UNICEF declaration on children, youth and climate action.

Second, we worked hard to ensure that cities, states, regions and devolved governments played our full part in securing progress.

Scotland is currently the European co-chair of the Under2 Coalition, which held its General Assembly during COP.

More than 200 state, regional and devolved governments are now members of the Under 2 Coalition.

Collectively, and very significantly we represent almost 2 billion people and account for half of global GDP.

In the run up to COP, the Coalition sought to maximize that influence by launching a new memorandum of understanding, committing members to reach net zero by 2050 at the latest and for individual members to reach it earlier if possible. 28 governments have already signed up and we are actively encouraging others to do so.

Finally, more than 200 cities and states have now signed up to the Edinburgh declaration on biodiversity. That represents really welcome progress as we look ahead to the biodiversity COP next year.

Our third objective was to use COP to challenge ourselves to go further and faster in our own journey to net zero.

That is why I chose – as my first engagement at COP – to meet with climate activists Vanessa Nakate and Greta Thunberg.

It is also why we have moved away from our previous commitment to maximum economic recovery of oil and gas and have embarked on discussions with the new Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance.

We also published additional detail on our policy ambitions for onshore and offshore wind, and launched a new Hydrogen strategy, and a £55 million Nature Restoration Fund.

We published a new planning framework with climate action at its heart.

And we promoted our Green Investment portfolio to a range of businesses and investors.

We also launched the Blue Carbon International Policy Challenge; supported international agreements on low carbon transportation and reducing agricultural emissions; and signed new Memorandums of Understanding on heat with Denmark, and on peatlands with Chile.  A full list of these initiatives and of the ten international agreements we signed will be placed in SPICE later this week.

Of course, our most important objective was to use our engagement, influence and interaction to push for an international agreement that would live up to the urgency of the climate emergency.

We wanted to see action to limit global warning to 1.5°C – and, as a minimum, a tangible mechanism to keep 1.5 alive.

We wanted the $100 billion of finance, promised by the global north to developing nations 12 years ago, to be delivered.

And we wanted to see the developed world recognise its obligation to help developing countries pay for loss and damage they are already suffering as a result of the climate change they have done so little to cause.

The Glasgow Climate Pact does represent progress on many of these issues – but it must now be built on and built on quickly if climate catastrophe is to be avoided.

It is important that the necessity of capping temperature increases at 1.5 degrees is no longer questioned.

However, the world is still on a path to temperature increases of well over 2 degrees – a death sentence for many parts of the world. To keep 1.5 degrees in reach, global emissions must be almost halved by the end of this decade.

So the requirement for countries to come back next year with substantially increased nationally determined contributions is vital.

Finance is crucial to faster progress.

I welcome the aim of doubling finance for adaptation by 2025, and the commitment to a longer term finance goal. But it is utterly shameful that the developed world could not deliver the $100bn of funding promised in 2009, by the 2020 deadline – or even by 2021.

This COP also delivered significant commitments on methane and deforestation. And for the first time – albeit in language watered down in the final moments – a COP cover text has agreed the need to move away from fossil fuels.

In the run up to COP – and as a result of what we heard during the Glasgow Climate Dialogues – the Scottish Government decided to champion the issue of loss and damage.

Two weeks ago we became the first developed country in the world to make a commitment to support countries experiencing loss and damage. I’m delighted that our commitment has since been supplemented by Wallonia, and by a contribution from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation.

The final position agreed at Glasgow represents progress in recognizing the loss and damage that the climate crisis created by developed nations, is already causing in developing nations – but it does not go nearly far enough.

I particularly regret the decision by some developed nations to block the establishment of a Glasgow Financial Facility on Loss and Damage. 

Over the weekend I met with Dr Saleemul Huq, one of the leading campaigners on this issue and pledged that the Scottish Government will continue to work with him and others to build the case on loss and damage ahead of COP27 in Egypt.

Loss and damage was an example of Scotland’s leadership during this COP.

But ultimately Scotland can only lead and speak with credibility, if we deliver our own net zero targets.

As I reflect on the past two weeks, I feel pride in the leadership that Scotland has shown and been recognised for widely.

However, I also feel a renewed sense of responsibility to go further and faster, to face up to tough challenges as well as the relatively easy options, and to help raise the bar of world leadership more generally.

And so our focus in the months and years ahead will be firmly on delivery.

Presiding Officer,

This decade will be the most important in human history.

The actions we take between now and 2030 that will determine whether or not we bequeath a sustainable and habitable planet to those who come after us.

The stakes could not be higher – and so I absolutely understand why many are angry and frustrated that more progress was not made in Glasgow.

However the Glasgow Climate Pact does provide a basis for further action. The key test will be whether it is implemented fully and with the required urgency.

That is what all of us must focus our efforts on between now and COP27 and then beyond.

Scotland will continue, I’m sure, to play our full part.

While we can be proud of the part we played at COP26, our responsibility now is to ensure that future generations will look back and be proud of the actions we take in the months and years ahead.

“1.5 is still alive”: Prime Minister hails COP26 success

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement to the House of Commons on COP26

Mr Speaker before I begin today’s statement I would like to say a few words about the abhorrent attack that took place yesterday morning outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

On behalf of the whole House I want to pay tribute to the swift and professional response by the extraordinary men and women of the emergency services, who once again showed themselves to be the very best among us.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has today raised the nationwide threat level from substantial to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. The police are keeping both myself and the Home Secretary informed on developments and we will of course in turn keep the House updated on the investigation as it continues.

And now Mr Speaker with your permission I should like to make a statement on the United Nations Climate Change Conference better known as COP26 which took place in the magnificent city of Glasgow over the past two weeks.

It was the biggest political gathering of any kind ever held in the United Kingdom. 194 countries were represented.

We had around 120 heads of state or government. 38,000 accredited delegates. And there were countless tens of thousands more in the streets and parks and venues outside. It was a summit that many people predicted would fail.

A summit that I fear some quietly wanted to fail. Yet it was a summit that proved the doubters and the cynics wrong. Because COP26 did not just succeed in keeping 1.5 alive. It succeeded in doing something no UN climate conference has ever done before by uniting the world in calling time on coal. In 25 previous COPs, all the way back to Berlin in 1995, not one delivered a mandate to remove so much as a single lump of coal from one power station boiler.

For decades, tackling the single biggest cause of carbon emissions proved as challenging as eating the proverbial elephant. It was just so big that no one knew quite where to start. But in Glasgow, Mr Speaker, we took the first bite.

Because we have secured a global commitment to phasing down coal – and as John Kerry has pointed out, you can’t phase out coal without first phasing it down as we transition to other, cleaner energy sources – and we have, for the first time, a worldwide recognition that we’ll not get climate change under control as long as our power stations are consuming vast quantities of the sedimentary super-polluter that is coal.

That alone is a great achievement, but we haven’t just signalled the beginning of the end for coal. We’ve ticked our boxes on cars, cash and trees as well. The companies that build a quarter of the world’s automobiles have agreed to stop building carbon emission vehicles by 2035 – and cities from Sao Paulo to Seattle have pledged to ban them from their streets.

We’ve pioneered a whole new model, an intellectual breakthrough, that sees billions in climate finance, development bank investment and so forth being used to trigger trillions from the private sector to drive the big decarbonisation programmes in countries like South Africa.

And we’ve done something that absolutely none of the commentators saw coming by building a coalition of more than 130 countries to protect up to 90 per cent of our forests, those great natural soakers of carbon. Mr Speaker none of this was a happy accident or inevitability.

The fact that we were there at all, in the face of a global pandemic, is in itself the result of a vast and complex effort involving countless moving parts. Right until the very end there was a very real prospect that no agreement would be reached.

And what has been achieved has only come about thanks to month after month of concerted British diplomacy, the countless meetings, the innumerable phone calls. The banging of heads at UNGA, at the Petersberg Dialogue, at President Biden’s climate summit, the Security Council, the G7, the G20. And the setting of an example, several examples by the UK.

Because again and again the task of our negotiators was made easier by the fact that the UK wasn’t asking anyone to do anything we’re not doing ourselves. We’ve slashed our use of coal so much that our last two coal-fired power stations will go offline for good in 2024. We’ve more than doubled our climate finance, providing vital support for poor and vulnerable nations around the world.

We’ve made a legally binding commitment to reach net zero, the first of the major economies to do so. We’ve set a date at which hydrocarbon internal combustion engines will reach the end of the road. And we’ve shown the world that it’s possible to grow your economy while cutting carbon – creating markets for clean technology and delivering new green jobs that reduce emissions and increase prosperity.

Every one of those achievements was not just great news for our country and our planet but another arrow in the quiver of our fantastic team in Glasgow. A team led by COP president the Rt Hon Member for Reading West. From the moment he picked up the COP reins he has been absolutely tireless in his efforts to secure the change that we need. And while I’m pretty sure that what he really needs right now is a well-deserved break

I don’t think any of us here will be able to hold him back as he sets off pushing countries to go further still and making sure the promises made in Glasgow are delivered not diluted. But success has many parents and I want to say a huge thank you to the officials in our own COP unit, in Downing Street and across government in embassies around the world, and at the United Nations who pulled out all the stops to make the event work and shepherd through the agreements that have been reached.

I also want to thank everyone on the ground at the SEC in Glasgow – security, catering, transport, the relentlessly cheery volunteers, the police from across the country who kept us safe from harm, the public health authorities who kept us safe from Covid – and everyone in the Scottish Government.

And above all I want to say thank you to the people of Glasgow, who had to put up with so much disruption in their city and welcomed the world all the same. I say to the people of Glasgow – we couldn’t have done it without you.

Is there still more to do? Of course there is. I am not for one moment suggesting we can safely close the book on climate change.

In fact I can think of nothing more dangerous than patting ourselves on the back and telling ourselves that the job is done. Because this job will not be complete until the whole world has not only set off to reach net zero but arrived at the destination.

A goal that, even with the best of intentions from all actors, cannot be achieved overnight. While COP26 has filled me with optimism about our ability to get there I cannot now claim to be certain that we will, because we have seen countries that really should know better dragging their heels on their Paris commitments.

But if, and it is still an if, they make good on their pledges, then I believe Glasgow will be remembered as the place where we secured an historic agreement and the world began to turn the tide.

Before Paris we were on course for four degrees of warming. After Paris that number fell to a still catastrophically dangerous three. This afternoon, after Glasgow it stands close to two. Still too high, the numbers are still too hot, but closer than we have ever been to the relative safety of 1.5, and with an all-new roadmap that will lead us there.

Aristotle taught us that virtue comes not from reasoning and instruction but from habit and practice. And so the success of the Glasgow Climate Pact lies not just in the promises but in the move that the whole world has now made from setting abstract targets to adopting the nuts and bolts programme of work to meet those targets and to reduce CO2 emissions.

We are now talking about the how rather than the what and getting into a habit of cutting CO2 that is catching on not just with governments but with businesses and with billions of people around the world.

It is for that reason that I believe COP26 has been a success and 1.5 is still alive.

That is something in which every person in our United Kingdom can and should take pride, and I commend this statement to the House.

Scotland to boost climate funding

COP26: First Minister calls on leaders to step up and secure successful outcome

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that the Scottish Government will increase its fund for climate justice by a further 50% on top of the previous commitment to double the fund as part of Scotland’s response and contribution to the ongoing negotiations at COP26.

The doubling of the Climate Justice Fund was first announced on 21 September.

Calling on larger countries with more resources to recognise their moral responsibility and adopt a “can-do” attitude for the final days of COP26 to secure a successful outcome, the First Minister said: “It is clear that fair climate finance is the key to making real progress at COP26. 

“Every vulnerable or developing country I have spoken with has big ambitions for meeting the climate crisis but they do not have the funding for adaptation, for mitigation, or for tackling the loss and damage that is needed to deliver. 

“Twelve years on from the commitment by developed nations to provide funding of 100 billion dollars a year, that is simply not good enough. 

“It is time for leaders of developed countries, large and small, to do what is needed to bridge the remaining gap, and put on the table now the money that is needed to make good on past commitments and unlock progress in other areas. 

“Scotland is a relatively small country of just five million people, and we do not have substantial powers of borrowing. That means our contribution will always be relatively small in a global context. However, we can still lead by example and there has never been a more vital time to do so. 

“All of my conversations with delegates from the global south over these two weeks – and the obvious need to increase the overall ambition of the draft cover text published yesterday – have convinced me that rich countries must do more on finance in the final hours of COP if we are to secure the best possible outcome. That is not charity, it is our obligation.

“Accordingly, the Scottish Government – having already committed to doubling our climate justice fund to £24 million in this Parliament – has now decided to increase it by a further £12 million. That means since the fund opened in 2012, we will have trebled Scotland’s contribution to Climate Justice.

“This increased funding will also build on our ground breaking contribution to loss and damage, by doubling our contribution to addressing loss and damage to £2 million.

“My message today is simple. If Scotland can up its contribution, there is no good reason why the larger, developed countries around the negotiating table cannot do so too.

“I call on all leaders to step up and secure the outcome from this Glasgow COP that our planet needs.”

Prime Minister at COP26: “Still a huge amount to do”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a press conference at COP26 yesterday:

Before heading back to London last week, I warned of the need to guard against false optimism and to not allow ourselves to think that the progress we need would be easy.

And today, having spoken with the Secretary-General, and having met negotiating teams, heads of delegations and others here at COP, it’s clear that after the surge of really positive, game-changing announcements last week on methane, on finance, on forests in particular, we are now firmly in the hard yards, the nuts and bolts of international climate diplomacy.

And the negotiations are getting tough.

And with just a few days remaining, there is still a huge amount to do.

We’ve made a difference, we hope, for our planet and our people.

We’ve moved the ball a long way down the pitch.

But now we’re stuck in a bit of a rolling maul to mix my football and rugby metaphors.

The line is in sight, but if we’re going to get there, we need a determined push to get us there.

We need to be more ambitious with better, more credible plans for implementation.

We have to bridge the gap between where we are and where we need to be if we’re going to cut emissions in half by 2030.

And we need to pull out all the stops if we’re going to do what we came here to do and that’s keep 1.5 alive and make Paris the success the world needs it to be.

Because while that 2016 agreement was a significant moment in the fight against climate change, it was ultimately a pledge of action still to come.

And it is very frustrating to see countries that have spent six years conspicuously patting themselves on the back for signing that promissory note in Paris quietly edging towards default now that vulnerable nations and future generations are demanding payment here in Glasgow.

And there really is no excuse because we know what is at stake here. We’ve been hearing it all week.

We heard it from the President of Palau, Surangel Whipps Jr, who told me he spent five days travelling seven and a half thousand miles across nine time zones to make sure the voice of his people was heard.

The least we can do is pay attention when he says that if the big economies don’t do more we “might as well bomb” his islands.

We heard it from Simon Kofe, from the government of Tuvalu, who spoke to us not from a podium in a cosy conference room but knee-deep in a steadily rising Pacific Ocean.

And we heard it from Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados who so moved the opening ceremony when she warned that we are digging our own graves and asked when are the leaders finally going to lead.

And if you stood and applauded her, then you cannot now sit on your hands as the world asks you to act.

Because the world knows the mess our planet is in. The world has heard leaders from every country, every continent stand here and acknowledge the need for action. And the world will find it absolutely incomprehensible if we fail to deliver that.

The backlash from our people will be immense and it will be long-lasting. And frankly, we will deserve their criticism and opprobrium.

Because we know what needs to be done. We agree on what needs to be done. We just need the courage to get on and do it.

So this is the time for everyone to come together and show the determination needed to power on through the blockages.

To look at the science with dispassionate eyes and think about how we can compromise, how we can be flexible to meet the needs of the planet.

And for world leaders who are back in their capitals to pick up the phone to their teams here and give them the negotiating margin, give them the space they need in which to manoeuvre so we can get this done.

Here in Glasgow, the world is closer than it has ever been to signalling the beginning of the end of anthropogenic climate change.

It’s the greatest gift we can possibly bestow on our children and grandchildren and generations unborn.

It’s now within reach, at COP26 in these final days, we just need to reach out together and grasp it.

And so my question for my fellow world leaders this afternoon as we enter the last hours of COP is will you help us do that? Will you help us grasp that opportunity or will you stand in the way?

FIRST MINISTER Nicola Sturgeon has clearly enjoyed rubbing shoulders with world leaders on the international stage during COP26.

It’s quite possible there may be some new global ambasadorial role when she decides it’s time to move on, but in the meantime Ms Sturgeon is urging world leaders to go further.

Responding to the publication of the first draft agreement at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The draft cover text is a start, but it must be the floor – not the ceiling. The imperative for leaders now – on climate finance and the pathway to 1.5 degrees – is to negotiate the ambition significantly upwards.

“It must not be watered down. It is vital that the world emerges from COP 26 with 1.5 degrees well and truly alive, and closing the finance gap is key to that. It is also a moral obligation developed countries owe to those less developed and most vulnerable to the impact of climate change.

“I welcome the Prime Minister’s return to Glasgow today, and urge him to stay for as long as necessary until a deal is done. As has been the case all along, I will do everything I can to assist and support these efforts.

“This is a moment that future generations will judge. Either we will be judged to have failed in the face of climate catastrophe or, alternatively, to have taken a decisive step towards sustainability for our planet.

“It must be the latter. In the words of a Marshall Islands minister I met yesterday – “for countries like mine, we don’t have many COPs left – the time to act is now.””

Alex Cole-Hamilton: Getting serious about long Covid

Almost 100,000 people in Scotland have reported that they’re suffering with long Covid but it has taken until today (Tuesday 9 November) for the Scottish Parliament to debate this important issue. 

I led this debate in Parliament yesterday because no matter how much campaigners and MSPs raise the issue, the SNP Health Secretary is just not listening. 

It is shameful that it has taken an opposition party debate for the plight of long Covid sufferers to be heard in Parliament. 

The SNP/Green Government’s action plan on long Covid is totally unfit for the scale of this challenge. Many Scots would be better off moving to England where there are well-established clinics and a care pathway.  

We need to do much more to help long Covid sufferers. That is why I am calling on the SNP/Green Government to: 

  • Have specialist long Covid clinics in every health board 
  • Train more long Covid community nurses to offer in-home support 
  • Give everyone who needs it access to physiotherapy and rehab treatment 
  • Make sure long Covid sufferers are not penalised financially because they are absent from work for longer periods 

You can join me in calling for action from the Scottish Government by signing up to my plan for long Covid here: 

Sign up here!

PM Boris Johnson urges countries to ‘pull out all the stops’ in final days of COP26 summit

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call on ministers and negotiators to come together and bridge the gaps remaining to reach consensus at COP26, as he travels to Glasgow in the final days of the climate summit today (Wednesday 10 November).

The COP26 Glasgow visit will come as welcome diversion for Mr Johnson, who has been heavily criticised for his handling of Tory Party sleaze and corruption allegations over the last week.

Negotiators from 197 parties are in intensive talks to reach agreement on a range of key issues, including a common time frame for national commitments on emissions reductions and agreed methodology for countries to report on their climate action. These important technical points will help to ensure that commitments are translated into action.

They are also working to agree progress on finance for nations most vulnerable to climate change and to address the issue of loss and damage in developing countries.

The negotiations run alongside a series of government and private sector commitments on coal, cars, cash and trees made by throughout the two weeks of COP26 under the UK’s presidency, with the goal of keeping the 1.5C target alive.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Negotiating teams are doing the hard yards in these final days of COP26 to turn promises into action on climate change.

“There’s still much to do. Today I’ll be meeting with ministers and negotiators to hear about where progress has been made and where the gaps must be bridged.

“This is bigger than any one country and it is time for nations to put aside differences and come together for our planet and our people.

“We need to pull out all the stops if we’re going to keep 1.5C within our grasp.”

The Prime Minister will be joined by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Glasgow and will meet with representatives from the heads of delegations’ negotiating teams and the observer groups, which represent a cross-section of civil society.

Cop26-themed ‘Eco-Diwali’ celebrated at Edinburgh’s Queen Elizabeth House

The third Diwali in the series of Diwalis started by the Scotland Chapter of Hindu Forum Britain was celebrated in the UK Government Hub in Edinburgh on 1st November 2021 (writes Ms RICHA SINHA).

The first Diwali was celebrated by the Hindu Forum Britain in the Scottish Parliament in 2019 and the second one was a Virtual Diwali Hosted Online due to Covid-19.

With a view to supporting COP26, , which started on the same day on 1st Nov 2021, HFB Scotland Chapter celebrated Eco-Diwali, highlighting through Diwali event, the salience that Hindu ethos places on respecting and protecting the environment.

The Eco-Diwali was celebrated at Queen Elizabeth house, sponsored by Ministers of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland.

As the UK secretary of state for Scotland was busy with Cop26 conference the event was hosted by Hon Lord Offord of Garvel, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.

The event was attended by numerous faith Leaders and Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Mr Angus Robertson and MSPs including Alex Cole-Hamilton and Pam Gosal.

The programme commenced with the Ceremonial Eco Lamp Lighting ceremony by the Guests

Mr Puneet Dwivedi, Vice president HFB with the help of his Team of Volunteers organized the most colourful celebrations and with sacred chants, traditional Indian dances, followed by speeches by dignitaries.

There were slide shows highlight community works by the temples in Scotland, spotlighting the environmental action being undertaken by the Hindu temples and organisations. 

Puneet Dwivedi welcomed guests byhighlighting the contribution of Scottish Hindu Community during COVID crisis be it amazing frontline workers like doctors and nurses to the temples who opened the kitchen to feed the vulnerable and support the key workers.

He explained how Hindu philosophy consists of eco-friendly principles and practices and has been passed down through generations.

Puneet also highlighted small and sustainable steps taken by Hindu community to protect mother earth e.g. HFB officially launched its Hindu Environmental Task Force (HETF) on 18th September to raise awareness and to support its member organisations to become increasingly more environmental; ISKCON Scotland launched the Cow care project, where Cows and Bulls will be cared for till their natural death.

This project serve as an example of sustainable agriculture by working with bulls, and most temples in Scotland signed the Environmental Charter.

Lord Offord gave the beautiful message of hope with the vaccine of light driving away the disease of darkness.

He was happy to greet his colleagues from Holyrood and pledged towards one common goal which was betterment of people of every political stride and every religion.

He had visited Mumbai recently and recollected his time when tattoo met Bollywood with dancers mixing up and  thanked Hindu Forum Britain for bringing the event to Queen Elizabeth House and wished them well in future endeavours.

Cabinet Secretary Mr Angus Robertson started by passing his best wishes from Nicola sturgeon and mentioned how he attended every single Diwali Reception when in Westminster.

He added that the Hindu traditions have deep reverence to the natural world and reminds us our actions have consequences. He Congratulated Hindu Forum Britain’s Hindu environmental task forces and said that the government was indebted for the work done by the Hindu community who have so many in the vital front line services.

Sister Jayanti From BrahmaKumari made reference to Goddess of wealth Lakshmi, and said the word comes from ‘Lakshan’ which means virtues and reminded us of the wealth of virtues.

As much as we clean home we should clean our Inner beings and environment of pollution so wealth of virtues can come to our lives to create a better world. She ended her speech with ‘Om Shanti’ which means lets there be world peace.

Lord Wallace, moderator of the Church of Scotland spoke of the Vigil that took place in George Square and common hope and congratulated all faith organisations to come together to spread the message of hope.

Maulana Imam Syed Razazvi thanked HFB president Mrs Trupti Patel and Hindu community and reiterated that we are friends and we can always rely on each other.

The program was interspersed by elegant and graceful Indian classical Dance performances by Theiya Arts, where the performers (Ms Himadri Madan, Ms Nandini Manjunath, Ms Karen Watts & Ms Tharanga Wickramsinghe) presented an Indian and Sri Lankan classical forms dedicated to mother earth and our environment: this dance form has evolved from the natural world around us, as a way to embody nature and our environment and incorporate it into our being and storytelling.

HFB president Ms Trupti Patel,  sent video message as she couldn’t attend the event. In her video message she highlighted the connection between celtic people and vedic people and how Scottish Hindu Community can work together by taking steps to preserve our environment.

Mr Mithilesh Vaddiparthi, who holds a guinness world records in singing sung the beautiful devotional song   “Vaishnav Jan To..” and ended his singing with traditional rendition and the foot tapping “Jai ho “

MSP Alex-Cole Hamilton, who has become quite the favourite of the Hindu Diaspora in Edinburgh, with his past heartfelt speeches lured the audience with his Indian greeting of ‘Namaste’ ‘Om Shanti ‘ and Jai Shri Ram. He highlighted that Diwali is also time to triumph of light over ignorance over climate change.

Pam Gosal in her speech mentioned how the first 2 Indian Scottish Ministers joining the Scottish Parliament and the First Hindu Minister in Sandesh Gulhane has added to the Diversity in Parliament.

Finally  HFB Scotland Chapter Diwali brochures were launched by the Minsiters, Cabinet Secreteary, MSP & Armed forces officials

The vote of Thanks was given by Richa Sinha who spoke about what it means for her to be a Scottish Hindu and thanked the leadership in creating an atmosphere where she could take pride in her Scottish Hindu Identity and contribute to the diversity of this great nation.

Hindu Forum Britain are proud to carry out the 3rd consecutive Diwali Celebration and hope the tradition will continue in the years to come and bring the Diverse Scottish Hindu community together with all faiths working together for the betterment of the nation.

This Diwali reception by Hindus in Scotland hosted by HFB Scotland is the only event that encompasses and invites members and peers from all political parties to share the colourful and wondrous Diwali celebration with Hindu community leaders, religious leaders and leading figures from businesses across Britain.

The spirit of hope, friendship, religious tolerance peace and harmony that Deepavali embodies is really quite profound and resonates with people of all faiths.

Holyrood Committee launches inquiry into health and wellbeing of children and young people

An inquiry has been launched into the health and wellbeing of children and young people by a Scottish Parliament Committee.

The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is seeking to find out the key issues around health and wellbeing for children and young people in Scotland. They will investigate what the challenges and opportunities are for improving their health and wellbeing, and how addressing poverty can lead to improved health and social care outcomes.

The inquiry will focus on 4 key areas:

• Child poverty (including the Scottish Government’s current child poverty delivery plan), inequality and adverse childhood experiences;
• Issues affecting care experienced young people;
• Mental health, access to Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and the importance of early intervention;
• Health and wellbeing in schools

Speaking as the inquiry launched, Gillian Martin MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said: “There are a whole host of factors which impact the health and wellbeing of our children and young people, and our Committee will consider these in detail.

“The physical and mental toll of the pandemic on children and young people cannot be overstated and we know that prior to this pandemic there was already a high and
increasing demand for youth mental health services in Scotland.

“As we emerge from the pandemic and with the Scottish Government’s current child poverty delivery plan due to run until 2022, our inquiry comes at a pivotal time. We are determined to find out how children and young people can best be supported to live healthy and flourishing lives.”

You can let the Committee know your views here: 

Inquiry into the Health And Wellbeing of Children And Young People – Scottish Parliament – Citizen Space

The call for views will close on 7 December 2021.

First Minister rallies delegates to climate challenge

Devolved governments, regions and cities from across the globe will today send a strong message to world leaders by committing to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will tell the General Assembly of the Under2 Coalition that by signing up to the pledge in a new memorandum of understanding, they will be signalling the level of ambition required of COP26 to keep global warming to 1.5°C.

Promising Scotland’s continued support for the coalition, which has 260 members representing 1.75 billion people and 50% of the global economy, the First Minister said: “Everyone knows what is required for this summit to be a success.

“COP26 must secure the commitments that will limit global warming to 1.5°C or, at the very least, the near term commitments that will keep that objective alive.

“It must also deliver a fair financial settlement for developing countries, one which takes account of the loss and damage caused by climate change.

“There’s no doubt that over the past week we have seen progress. But it’s also clear that we’ve not yet seen enough.

“Over the coming days, world leaders – and the biggest emitters and potential funders especially – must step up. That is essential.

“But governments like ours must continue to play our part because, while none of us are at the negotiating table, our influence and our example will be crucial in building the momentum. That’s why we are placing so much value on our coalition’s revised memorandum of understanding.

“As we move further into this decisive decade, our coalition must be ready for the challenges ahead. As European co-chair, that will be my focus.

“Scotland is determined to play its part in ensuring the long-term strength of this coalition because we recognise its enormous value and its potential to achieve even more.”

The 2021 Under2 Coalition Memorandum of Understanding will be signed by delegates during today’s General Assembly at Strathclyde University.

Lothian MSP calls for change to Social Security

Foysol Choudhury MSP has called on the Scottish Government to be ambitious in its approach to Social Security.

During a Holyrood debate ‘’Accessing Scottish Social Security Benefits’’, he called for the rise of the Scottish Child Payment to £40 a week in 2022/23, given that over a quarter of Scottish children now live in poverty in Scotland. He also called for a raise to the 20-metre rule. Currently, if you can walk one step over 20 metres you cannot access the enhanced rate of mobility support.

MS Society Scotland has also called for the extension of the rule say that it has acted as a barrier to people with MS accessing social security benefits.

Mr Choudhury asked if the Government was prepared to change the eligibility criteria.

Commenting after the debate, Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “Scotland needs to be ambitious. The devolution of welfare powers gives us the chance to shape what kind of society do we want to be.

‘’The chance to restore dignity and respect to the heart of the social security system, yet now we know that the delay of the SNP has only halted the progress and affects the potential benefit takeup for Scotland.’’

Foysol Choudhury’s speech in full:

Thank you Presiding Officer and it gives me great pleasure to speak in today’s debate.

Presiding Officer, the devolution of welfare powers gives us the chance to shape what kind of society do we want to be. The chance to restore dignity and respect to the heart of the social security system, yet now we know that the delay of the SNP has only halted the progress and affects the potential benefit takeup for Scotland.

There can be no doubt that Covid-19 has hit low-income families and the most vulnerable disproportionately hard, deepening poverty and dragging more families into financial insecurity.  Today half of the families in poverty have a member who is a disabled person and even before the pandemic, child poverty rates were high and projected to rise further.

The over next decade, Scotland must be bold, must be willing to use the full levers of powers to transform if we are to meet our targets on child poverty and live up to our ambitions of being a nation that respects, protects and fulfils human rights and where we can all achieve our potential.

We can start of course with the Scottish Child payment, something that has continued to be on the minds of the chamber thanks to the efforts of my friend and colleague, Pam Duncan Glancy.

Just over a quarter of Scottish children live in poverty in Scotland. 260,000 children, right now in 2021.  That’s something that should shame us all. We talk a lot, but this Parliament needs to seriously get ambitious for Scotland’s children.

Let’s raise the Scottish Child Payment to £40 a week in 2022/23. Let’s ensure that every kid in Scotland have a good quality of life, without the people that love them having to worry about where the money is coming from.

Even with the full rollout, the Scottish Government is likely to miss their interim child poverty target by six percentage points – leaving an extra 50,000 children in poverty. From the end of the furlough, the cruel cut to Universal Credit thanks to the Tories, and the Scottish Government delays to rolling out and increasing the Child Payment have squeezed Scottish family incomes when they are already having to deal with the economic shocks dealt by the pandemic. We can and must do better.

Presiding Officer, for those with lifelong conditions, they look to this chamber and ask, ‘how are you going to defend me’?

Those with MS for example are looking for hope. The MS Society, Labour and many organisations are all calling for the removal of the 20-metre rule from the proposed Adult Disability Payment. The Scottish Government are replacing PIP with ADP and as part of this new benefit, the Government has largely replicated the PIP eligibility criteria, including retaining the 20-metre rule as part of the assessment criteria for ADP.

A Citizens Advice Scotland Survey in 2021 found that a majority of Bureaux advisers working to help people with disabilities navigate the social security system agree that the 20 metre rule should be extended to 50 metres. 

Presiding Officer, for those who don’t know that the 20-metre rule is, it was introduced as part of the eligibility criteria to access Personal Independence Payment. Under the rule, if you can walk one step over 20 metres you cannot access the enhanced rate of mobility support.

Fatigue, both physical and mental is one of the most debilitating symptoms of MS and other neurological conditions. The rule does not consider the severity of fatigue many will experience after walking 20 metres.

So, I would be grateful if the Government can respond to concerns raised by those who have MS. Is the Government prepared to change the eligibility criteria. Because those claiming disability payments deserve dignity and respect.

Presiding Officer, the social security system we shape in this Parliament must ensure no one is held back by poverty and inequality.  Scottish Labour would use all the powers we have here in Scotland to make sure that people have the support they need to participate fully in society.

The social security system Labour would build to secure the wellbeing and human rights of everyone and seek to guarantee a Minimum Income Standard that no one would fall below. Having a strong, adequate and automated SSS will lead to higher levels of takeup.

Scottish Labour will build a social security system based on the principles of Adequacy, Respect and Simplicity. Those are the principles that will guide me as we come together to shape our Social security for Scotland to ensure it works for all.