ScotWind auction: A truly historic opportunity … or selling off the family silver on the cheap?

Crown Estate Scotland has announced the outcome of its application process for ScotWind Leasing, the first Scottish offshore wind leasing round in over a decade and the first ever since the management of offshore wind rights were devolved to Scotland.

The results coming just months after Glasgow hosted the global COP26 climate conference show the huge opportunity that Scotland has to transform its energy market and move towards a net zero economy.

Highlights include:

17 projects have been selected out of a total of 74 applications, and have now been offered option agreements which reserve the rights to specific areas of seabed
A total of just under £700m will be paid by the successful applicants in option fees and passed to the Scottish Government for public spending
The area of seabed covered by the 17 projects is just over 7,000km2 (a maximum of 8,600km2 was made available through the Scottish Government’s Sectoral Marine Plan)
Initial indications suggest a multi-billion pound supply chain investment in Scotland
The potential power generated will provide for the expanding electrification of the Scottish economy as we move to net zero.
The details of the 17 applicants who have been offered option agreements can be found below and in the downloads section.

Totals		£699,200,000		24,826
Map reference	Lead applicant	Option Fees	Technology	Total capacity (MW)
1	BP Alternative Energy Investments	£85,900,000	Fixed	2,907
2	SSE Renewables	£85,900,000	Floating	2,610
3	Falck Renewables	£28,000,000	Floating	1,200
4	Shell New Energies	£86,000,000	Floating	2,000
5	Vattenfall	£20,000,000	Floating	798
6	DEME	£18,700,000	Fixed	1,008
7	DEME	£20,000,000	Floating	1,008
8	Falck Renewables	£25,600,000	Floating	1,000
9	Ocean Winds	£42,900,000	Fixed	1,000
10	Falck Renewables	£13,400,000	Floating	500
11	Scottish Power Renewables	£68,400,000	Floating	3,000
12	BayWa	£33,000,000	Floating	960
13	Offshore Wind Power	£65,700,000	Fixed	2,000
14	Northland Power	£3,900,000	Floating	1,500
15	Magnora	£10,300,000	Mixed	495
16	Northland Power	£16,100,000	Fixed	840
17	Scottish Power Renewables	£75,400,000	Fixed	2,000

Simon Hodge, Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland, said: “Today’s results are a fantastic vote of confidence in Scotland’s ability to transform our energy sector. Just a couple of months after hosting COP26, we’ve now taken a major step towards powering our future economy with renewable electricity.

“In addition to the environmental benefits, this also represents a major investment in the Scottish economy, with around £700m being delivered straight into the public finances and billions of pounds worth of supply chain commitments.

“The variety and scale of the projects that will progress onto the next stages shows both the remarkable progress of the offshore wind sector, and a clear sign that Scotland is set to be a major hub for the further development of this technology in the years to come.”

Should any application not progress to signing a full agreement, the next highest scoring application will instead be offered an option.

Once these agreements are officially signed, the details of the supply chain commitments made by the applicants as part of their Supply Chain Development Statements will be published.

This is just the first stage of the long process these projects will have to go through before we see turbines going into the water, as the projects evolve through consenting, financing, and planning stages.

Responsibility for these stages does not sit with Crown Estate Scotland, and projects will only progress to a full seabed lease once all these various planning stages have been completed.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed the “truly historic” opportunity for Scotland’s net zero economy, as the winners of the ScotWind offshore wind leasing auction were announced by Crown Estate Scotland yesterday.

17 projects, with a combined potential generating capacity of 25GW, have been offered the rights to specific areas of the seabed for the development of offshore wind power – with developers giving commitments to invest in the Scottish supply chain, providing opportunities for high quality green jobs for decades to come.

The projects are expected to secure at least £1bn in supply chain investment for every 1GW of capacity proposed. They will also generate around £700 million in revenue for the Scottish Government and represent the world’s first commercial scale opportunity for floating offshore wind.

As well as helping complete Scotland’s own journey to net zero, creating thousands of jobs in the process, our offshore wind resource also has the potential to position Scotland as a major exporter of renewable energy, including green hydrogen.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ““The scale of opportunity here is truly historic. ScotWind puts Scotland at the forefront of the global development of offshore wind, represents a massive step forward in our transition to net zero, and will help deliver the supply chain investments and high quality jobs that will make the climate transition a fair one.

“It allows us to make huge progress in decarbonising our energy supply – vital if we are to reduce Scotland’s emissions – while securing investment in the Scottish supply chain of at least £1 billion for every gigawatt of power.

This will be transformational. And because Scotland’s workers are superbly placed with transferable skills to capitalise on the transition to new energy sources, we have every reason to be optimistic about the number of jobs that can be created.

“That means, for example, that people working right now in the oil and gas sector in the North East of Scotland can be confident of opportunities for their future. The spread of projects across our waters promises economic benefits for communities the length and breadth of the country, ensuring Scotland benefits directly from the revolution in energy generation that is coming.

“The scale of opportunity represented in today’s announcement exceeds our current planning assumption of 10GW of offshore wind – which is a massive vote of confidence in Scotland. So we will now embark on the rigorous consenting process required to make sure we can maximise the potential that clearly exists in offshore wind while also ensuring that the impacts of large scale development – including on other marine users and the wider natural environment – are properly understood and addressed.

“While it is not yet possible to say with certainty what the scale of development will ultimately be, there is no doubt that the scale of this opportunity is transformational – both for our environment and the economy.”

The Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy partnership taking part in the current ScotWind offshore wind leasing round is celebrating the success of three of its bids to secure seabed leases for sites which lend themselves to the deployment of large-scale floating wind technology in Scotland.

Two of the partnership’s proposed projects – a site east of Aberdeen in Plan Option E1 and a site north of Fraserburgh in Plan Option NE6 have been granted leases from Crown Estate Scotland – along with a proposed site east of Caithness in Plan Option NE3 which will be developed by a consortium of Falck Renewables, BlueFloat Energy and Ørsted.

The three areas could accommodate a total of approximately 3.0 GW of offshore wind capacity with the projects scheduled to be operational by the end of the decade, subject to securing consent, commercial arrangements and grid connections.

The successful bids combined BlueFloat Energy’s knowledge and experience in developing, financing and executing offshore wind projects with Falck Renewables’ strong track record of global project development and over 15 years of community engagement in Scotland.

Carlos Martin, CEO of BlueFloat Energy, said: “The Scottish coastline is ideal for developing offshore wind projects and our team is thrilled to be given the opportunity to deploy our expertise to deliver these projects in Scotland.

“The potential for boosting the economy and reinforcing Scotland’s position at the forefront of the energy transition is huge. We have already carried out extensive work on mapping out the Scottish supply chain and now look forward to ensuring we work with as many local companies as possible.”

Toni Volpe, CEO of Falck Renewables, said: “We are delighted that our applications have won the support of Crown Estate Scotland and that our offshore wind projects will be making a considerable contribution to providing Scotland with clean energy.

“Falck Renewables has a worldwide renewables portfolio and with our growth strategy we are on track to facilitate the global transition to a low carbon future.”

Richard Dibley, Managing Director of Falck Renewables Wind Ltd, said: “We are hugely excited about the positive impact these projects will have on the whole of Scotland in terms of creating jobs, economic benefit and helping to achieve a net zero future.

“Over the past 15 years we have seen communities empowered with the help of the financial support they have received from our onshore wind farms and we look forward to sharing the benefits of offshore wind with local communities.”

The Falck Renewables, BlueFloat Energy, Ørsted consortium has already begun work with community ownership experts Energy4All on a new framework which will allow residents of Scotland and Scottish communities to share the financial benefits of the offshore wind energy projects the consortium plans to build in the future.

As part of the preparatory work to deliver the offshore wind projects the consortium will collaborate with Energy Skills Partnership Scotland (ESP) to help train up a skilled workforce in time for construction to begin.

Research will also be carried out with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) to investigate the potential effects of floating offshore wind developments on the marine environment. Projects under discussion will examine how fishing interests and offshore wind can work together and study the interaction of fish, marine mammals and seabirds with floating offshore wind farms.

Energy4All is a non-profit distributing co-operative social enterprise formed by the Baywind Energy Co-operative in 2002 to enable more communities to own and operate renewable energy projects.

Marna McMillin, Chief Executive of Energy4All, said: “Climate breakdown is the key environmental challenge facing our society. If we are to successfully decarbonize our economy, we must rapidly replace polluting fossil fuels with clean power. This requires us to generate much more zero carbon electricity to heat our homes and power our vehicles.

“We need the public to support those changes, and we believe one of the best ways of ensuring that support is to allow individuals to have a share in those projects.

“Falck Renewables has a 15-year track record of working with Energy4All having successfully set up seven co-operatives at its Scottish onshore wind farms, enabling thousands of people to buy a stake in their local wind farm.

“We think partnerships of this sort could be a model for other offshore projects in both the UK and the rest of Europe.”

Reacting to the outcome of the application process for ScotWind leasing by Crown Estate Scotland, the ALBA Party Depute Leader and MP for East Lothian Kenny MacAskill MP said: “This offshore wind giveaway is selling the family silver cheap while Scots families face crippling energy bills this April.

“Those who don’t learn from history are destined to repeat it. It looks like the Scottish Government have surrendered vast chunks of the North Sea wind resource for a relative pittance just as Westminster gave away Scotland’s oil in the 1970s.

“Instead of a one off payment of under £700 million there should be annual payments. Instead of Scottish resources being just handed over to international investment companies there should be a public stake in every single field.

“One has to question the basic competence of Crown Estate Scotland. They think they have auctioned away 10-12 GW of power. Informed industry estimates are the real capacity from this round alone is double that.

“Offshore wind is fast becoming the most lucrative major power source on the planet. Scotland has one quarter of the resource of Europe. It will be cold comfort to Scottish pensioners shivering in their homes facing vast fuel bills to know that the Scottish Government have given away so much of the green power of the future for so little in return.”

The STUC says that the announcement must mark the end of broken promises to Scottish workers and presage the start of a long overdue renewables jobs revolution.

Oil giants Shell and BP, alongside Scottish and Southern Energy, Scottish Power Renewables, and a number of multinational companies have all won leases to develop offshore wind farms off Scotland’s coast.

Following campaigns from trade unions in the wake of failures to secure meaningful fabrication contracts at BiFab, the ScotWind leasing round included requirements on companies to make supply chain commitments, with many bidders making public statements promising major investments in job creation. However, these statements have not yet been published and in any case they do not require a specific proportion of work to be undertaken locally.

The STUC continues to be concerned that so few successful bids are from domestic companies, with previous experience showing that multinational companies regularly offshore work to Europe and the Far East.

The STUC is calling for the Scottish Government to call a summit of successful developers to secure ongoing commitments to cooperate on delivery and work with unions and government to make the green jobs revolution a reality.

STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “Over the past six months the public relations teams of the prospective bidders have been in overdrive, promising the long overdue renewables jobs revolution. Now we need to make that happen.

“The First Minister says that we have every reason to be optimistic about the number of jobs that can be created, but our skills workers in oil and gas need more than words given the experience over the past decade tells us that jobs in offshore wind are consistently offshored overseas.

“With over 1000 massive turbines to become operational over the next decade, it would be nothing short of economic vandalism if we fail to build a thriving supply chain in Scotland. Fundamental to that is building the infrastructure to enable large scale fabrication in Scottish yards, requiring local content from developers, and addressing questions of ownership through the development of a Scottish National Infrastructure company.

“Unions will work proactively and positively with employers and business to deliver the Fair Work future our workers deserve, but we will also campaign vigorously to ensure that promises are kept.”

Young people call for a clean energy future

Young people (aged 6-15) across the UK want to see more clean energy powering the country and people taking personal responsibility to protect the planet.

The call for a cleaner and greener future came from independent YouGov research commissioned by ScottishPower Renewables during the United Nations COP26 Climate Change Conference, held in Glasgow last month.

YouGov asked over 1,000 British children aged 6 – 15 years for their thoughts on UK climate action and what was needed to tackle the climate crisis.

More than three-quarters (81 per cent) of those responding called for more renewable energy to be used, while 58 per cent said it was up to “everyone” to make sure the planet is protected.

Young people surveyed also said COP26 had inspired them to take action themselves to help the environment, with 53 per cent committing to recycling more and over one third (35 per cent) saying they would ditch the car in favour of active travel options like cycling and walking.

And they called on schools to take action too, with demands for the introduction of more wind turbines and solar panels to power their schools (59%) and more lessons about climate change (42%).

The YouGov findings echo feedback from secondary school pupils who took part in ScottishPower Renewables’ COP26 ‘Let’s Talk Energy’ event, where green jobs and more investment to create clean energy were identified as what’s needed to deliver a low-carbon future.

Lindsay McQuade, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables, said: “As a Principal Partner for COP26 and lead for the conference’s youth theme, ScottishPower recognises the importance of listening to young people. Every action taken today will impact their future and it’s vital that they therefore have their say on what they want for a cleaner and greener future.

“This survey shows that children and young people understand the climate emergency and recognise that renewable energy has a crucial part to play as we move forward, electrify our lives and reduce our carbon footprint. We fully support the call for more renewable energy and we’re doing everything we can to make it happen – investing almost £4 billion to double our current renewables capacity by 2025, with plans to treble it by 2030.

“Importantly, the survey also shows that young people know we all have the power to make a real difference to the environment by making changes in how we live our lives. Whether that’s in how we travel around, the food we eat or the clothes we wear – it all matters – and it’s great that COP is inspiring such positive action from young people.

“With human behaviour responsible for many of the changes to our planet, the only way we’ll be successful in tackling the climate emergency is by everyone joining in and doing their bit. Young people understand that – it’s something we can all learn from and something that can give us all hope for a clean energy future.”

As part of its COP26 education programme, ScottishPower Renewables is also working with Glasgow Science Centre on a Renewables Challenge for 124 primary schools and 10 secondary schools. Through the programme pupils learn about COP26, renewable energy, green jobs and going carbon neutral.

MSPs to examine the role of local government and its partners in delivering a net-zero Scotland

Hot on the heels of COP26, the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy & Transport Committee has launched an inquiry that will explore the role of local government and its partners – private and voluntary sectors, social enterprises, and local communities – in both financing and delivering a net-zero Scotland.

MSPs will consider what councils and partners are doing practically to help reach the targets, what skillsets are being used, and what barriers are in their way. They will also probe how councils leverage in capacity and finance from the private sector and look for examples of effective partnership working that is delivering net zero.

The inquiry will focus particularly on the ambitious target of 75% overall reduction in carbon emissions to be met by 2030 (against baselines set in 1990 and 1995).

Speaking as the inquiry was launched, Committee Convener, Dean Lockhart MSP, said: “COP 26 has underlined that government at every level has a role to play in addressing climate change. In Scotland, local government powers span everything from encouraging active travel, to deciding what sort of homes get built in communities, to promoting recycling and a circular economy.

“To get results, local government must partner effectively with business, the voluntary sector and local communities themselves. This is why we want this to be a hands-on inquiry, focusing on the strengths of those relationships and practical steps being taken.

“We need to understand how council budgets are being used to drive action on net zero and how well they are leveraging in skills and private finance. And we need to understand what role the Scottish Government can play to support and – where necessary – to challenge local government to play a full role in the flight against climate change. ”

The Committee has launched a survey looking for views which closes on Friday 21 January 2022.

You can submit views here:

https://yourviews.parliament.scot/ecclr/lg-net-zero-21

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.

COP26: Johnson’s Last Words

Good afternoon everybody and apologies for interrupting your Sunday afternoon, but I wanted to say a few words about the truly historic achievement that was secured in Glasgow last night.

I’m very, very pleased to be joined by Alok Sharma, my friend the President of COP.

For two weeks at COP26 politicians and negotiators and campaigners from around the world have been locked in talks about how we’re going to keep our planet habitable for future generations by getting real about climate change.

It was the biggest political gathering of any kind ever held in this country.

And there was a reason for that.

All these world leaders came to Glasgow because their populations are telling them they need to act.

We’ve heard about the peril we face if we fail.

We’ve heard from the individuals who are already living with the effects.

And yesterday evening we finally came to the kind of game-changing agreement the world needed to see.

Almost 200 countries have put their name to the Glasgow Climate Pact, marking a decisive shift in the world’s approach to tackling carbon emissions, setting a clear roadmap to limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees and marking the beginning of the end for coal power.

Because for the first time ever a UN climate change conference has delivered a mandate to cut the use of coal for power generation.

And it’s backed up by real action from individual countries – for example we’ve arranged a multi-billion pound partnership to help South Africa ditch coal and create new green jobs instead.

On top of that we’ve brokered a deal with the G20 to end international finance for coal by the end of next month.

We’ve persuaded most of Western Europe and North America to mirror the commitment I made last December by pulling the plug on financial support for all overseas fossil fuel projects by this time next year.

And when you add all that together it is beyond question that Glasgow sounded the death-knell for coal power.

It’s a fantastic achievement and it’s just one of many to emerge from COP26.

90 per cent of the world’s economy is now following our lead here in the UK by committing to net zero, ending their contribution to climate change altogether.

Don’t forget when Alok Sharma took up the COP reins it wasn’t even a third who committed to net zero.

The developed world is finally going to hit the $100 billion climate finance target – albeit a bit later than we all would have liked.

Over 130 countries have signed up to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 – between them they’re home to more than 90 per cent of the world’s forests.

We’ve got trillions of pounds of private sector assets lined up with climate goals.

We’ve even managed to do something that has eluded the world for six years by finalising the Paris Rulebook, allowing us to move from interminable debates about how to measure emissions and instead get on with cutting them.

Of course my delight at this progress is tinged with disappointment.

Those for whom climate change is already a matter of life and death – who can only stand by as their islands are submerged, their farmland turned to desert, their homes battered by storms – they demanded a high level of ambition for this summit.

And while many of us were willing to go there, that wasn’t true of everyone.

Sadly that’s the nature of diplomacy.

We can lobby, we can cajole, we can encourage but we cannot force sovereign nations to do what they do not wish to do.

It is ultimately their decision to make, and they must stand by it.

But for all that we can be immensely proud of what has been achieved by Alok Sharma and his team.

I want to take this opportunity to thank him for his many months of tireless diplomacy, and thank everyone involved in making COP26 a success – from the bobble-hatted volunteers to Peter Hill and his team in the COP Unit.

I know it’s tempting to be cynical.

To dismiss these types of such summits as a series of talking shops.

But we came to COP with a call for real action on coal, cars, cash and trees and that’s exactly what we’ve got.

And just look at what it all means for our planet.

Before Paris, the world was on course for a devastating four degrees of warming this century.

After Paris, we were heading for three degrees.

At Glasgow we’ve turned that dial down to around two degrees.

That’s still far too high.

But for all our disagreements the world is undeniably heading in the right direction.

Even the most pessimistic commentator will tell you that that goal of restricting the growth of temperatures to 1.5 is still alive.

Now the work continues to make it a reality.

Alok is going to keep pushing, along with everyone else in the UK Government to strengthen the promises made in Glasgow and make sure they’re delivered rather than diluted.

The UK Government will get on with our extraordinary record of decarbonisation, get on with delivering our green industrial revolution and exporting that revolution worldwide.

There’s still a long journey ahead of us and very little time to complete it.

But COP26 has shown us that we can do this.

We can end our reliance on coal and fossil fuels.

We can put the brakes on runaway climate change.

And we can preserve our unique planet for generations to come.

I want to finish by thanking once again the people of Glasgow for providing a spectacular summit, and of course, I want to thank Police Scotland as well for everything they do.

COP26: Surprise, surprise – negotiators cobble together last ditch compromise deal

PM: Glasgow Climate Pact keeps critical 1.5C global warming goal alive

Prime Minister welcomes historic climate agreement reached at COP26 in Glasgow which keeps 1.5C goal alive
Global action on coal, cars, cash and trees as well as new net zero commitments secured under UK Presidency
PM urges greater action throughout our year of COP26 Presidency to drive down emissions and support countries on the frontline of climate change
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has welcomed the landmark agreement adopted at COP26 today, which keeps the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C in reach provided countries continue to take ambitious action over the next decade.

Over the last two weeks, tens of thousands of people from 196 countries have come together in the UK to make history. The ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’ reached last night commits countries to phase down unabated coal, supports a just transition for developing countries and action to tackle loss and damage, and agrees for the first time a common timeframe and methodology for national commitments on emissions reductions.

Crucially, countries are also asked to return next year with a more ambitious 2030 emissions reductions target (their Nationally Determined Contribution) in line with the 1.5C target, ensuring we maintain crucial momentum on climate action this decade.

The UK will continue to push for greater action on reducing emissions and supporting developing countries with finance and access to new green technology over the next year of our COP Presidency, before Egypt take on the mantle.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We asked nations to come together for our planet at COP26, and they have answered that call. I want to thank the leaders, negotiators and campaigners who made this pact happen – and the people of Glasgow who welcomed them with open arms.

“I also want particularly to thank COP President Alok Sharma who has worked incredibly hard to bring countries together.

“There is still a huge amount more to do in the coming years. But today’s agreement is a big step forward and, critically, we have the first ever international agreement to phase down coal and a roadmap to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

“I hope that we will look back on COP26 in Glasgow as the beginning of the end of climate change, and I will continue to work tirelessly towards that goal.”

The negotiated text agreed last night comes on the back of a series of pledges and announcements made during the COP26 World Leaders Summit and theme days, which have driven transformative action on coal, cars, cash and trees and mark a shift in the relationship between people and planet.

On coal, 65 countries have now committed to phasing out the use of coal power. All major coal financing countries have committed to end international coal finance by the end of 2021, with $20 billion in funding to support the transition to clean power announced at COP26. There is now more work to be done to ensure all major emitters sign up to phase out coal.

On cars, we worked to build consensus on the pace of the transition to zero emission vehicles. Over 30 countries and some of the world’s largest car makers committed to work together to make all new car sales zero emission globally by 2040, and by 2035 in leading markets, building on the UK’s commitment to end the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

On cash, more public and private finance has been mobilised to support climate action in developing countries than ever before and the global financial system is aligning behind a net zero world.

New pledges made at COP26 bring us closer to meeting the $100bn annual climate finance target next year and ensure we will exceed it after that, as well as mobilising billions in private finance and green investment. Governments have committed to double the overall finance for adaptation and better address the threat of loss and damage in climate-vulnerable countries – we will now work with all countries to make good on those pledges.

And on trees, more than 130 leaders, representing over 90% of the world’s forests, pledged at COP26 to end deforestation by 2030, backed by almost £14 billion of public and private funding.

The COP26 Summit follows nearly two years of intensive global climate diplomacy, led by UK COP President Alok Sharma, to listen to the needs of climate-vulnerable countries and push big economies to take greater action on cutting emissions. At least 90% of the global economy is now covered by net zero commitments, up from 30% when the UK took on the COP presidency in 2019, and 154 countries and parties representing 80% of global emissions have submitted NDCS.

The UK will continue to work with other countries to deliver on the Glasgow Climate Pact and drive further action, working closely with Egypt which will take over the COP Presidency in November 2022.

Commenting on the agreement of the Glasgow Climate Pact at the conclusion of the UN Climate Conference COP 26, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Glasgow should be very proud of the warm welcome that it has given to COP26.

“The city has truly risen to the occasion and played its part by welcoming thousands of delegates, representatives, scientists and climate activists from around the world.

“I also want to thank and pay tribute to the efforts of the UN, the UNFCCC led by Patricia Espinosa and COP26 President Alok Sharma and his negotiators for their hard work and commitment.

“The Glasgow Climate Pact does not contain everything that every country wanted and there is understandable disappointment that key issues were watered down in the final hours, but there can be no doubt that the Glasgow summit has made progress on some important issues.

“The importance of capping temperature increases at 1.5 degrees is no longer questioned and the need for countries to come back next year with higher contributions to tackling emissions may just be enough to keep 1.5 alive – if countries including Scotland really do deliver on our commitments.

“There have been significant commitments to double finance for adaptation, to take action on methane and deforestation and the beginning of proper recognition of the loss and damage that is being experienced by countries particularly in the global south. Those countries compromised on their needs today to make progress and we must not let them down.

“Over the course of COP26 Scotland has put £2 million on the table for loss and damage and, in doing so, we have become the first developed country to step up. Our action has already galvanised $3 million dollars of philanthropic funds to add to our contribution and a further one million euros from Wallonia.

“Developed countries can no longer in good conscience ignore this pressing moral issue. The demand for financial support for loss and damage must be met and I am determined that the Scottish Government will continue to support countries to achieve a financial outcome on this issue ahead of COP27.

“There is also recognition for the first time, although it is deeply disappointing that due to last minute interventions by China and India it is not as strong and clear as it should be, of the need to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, a journey Scotland has already embarked on – and needs to accelerate – in a way that is fair and just.

“Outside of the formal negotiations, states, regions and countries like Scotland – as well as cities like Glasgow – have boosted our collective ambition to reach net zero by 2050 and earlier where possible. Scotland has led the way with commitments to make sure women and young people are central to our efforts to tackle the climate crisis.

“While there has been much positive progress, there is no escaping the fact that COP26 has not delivered as much as global south countries, activists and campaigners rightly demanded and I firmly believe that the leaders of the rich developed countries must go further.

“In particular, the failure to close the gap and deliver the $100 billion commitment in full was not a lack of funds but a lack of political will.

“I have heard the disappointment of a number of vulnerable nations. There was more that could be done to deliver climate justice and every day of the next 12 months the UK Presidency must be focused on securing what has been agreed, ensuring historic promises do not go unmet and taking the necessary steps to put the world firmly on an irreversible path to capping temperature rises at 1.5 degrees.

“Where COP26 has succeeded, the pressure from young people, the global south and activists around the world has been critical. Where COP has more to do, it is leaders who must shoulder the responsibility.”

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg took to Twitter to record her feelings on the conference outcome: “The #COP26 is over. Here’s a brief summary: Blah, blah, blah. But the real work continues outside these halls. And we will never give up, ever.“

She added: “Unless we achieve immediate, drastic, unprecedented, annual emission cuts at the source then that means we’re failing when it comes to this climate crisis.

“‘Small steps in the right direction’, ‘making some progress’ or ‘winning slowly’ equals losing. #COP26 #UprootTheSystem“

New Foresight Project launched to support UK’s 2050 net zero target

The UK Government Office for Science has launched a new Foresight Project to help inform the government’s long-term net zero strategy.

The report titled A net zero society – scenarios and pathways follows the COP26 summit in Glasgow where global leaders convened to outline coordinated action to tackle climate change.

The UK government has committed to achieve net zero by 2050 which is essential to keeping global temperature rises limited to 1.5C.

Societal norms, practices and behaviours will play a significant role in emissions reduction, but these are uncertain and likely to change in the future. This project will provide the evidence and tools to help understand how behaviours could impact net zero.

Patrick Vallance, the government Chief Scientific Adviser, said: “If we are to keep warming below 1.5C, changes within society will matter as much as big technological changes. Through this research, we can understand the impact of potential societal changes on our path to achieving net zero.“

This project, due to run until late 2022, will produce an expert evidence review and a set of future scenarios and their implications for the energy system and for different groups within society.

Glenfiddich releases an exclusive 26 Year Old whisky to mark COP26

The limited-edition single cask whisky was laid down 26 years ago in 1995, when the first COP climate summit took place in Berlin
100 bottles will be available from 22^nd November for a charity auction with Royal Mile Whiskies, raising funds to tackle climate change
This follows Glenfiddich’s sustainable transport initiative, launched earlier this year

Glenfiddich, the world’s most awarded single malt whisky, has created a limited-edition 26 Year Old whisky – in partnership with Stop Climate Chaos Scotland – to commemorate the climate change summit, COP26, in Glasgow..

The partnership enables Stop Climate Chaos Scotland and Glenfiddich to raise awareness of the active steps Scotland is taking to tackle climate change.

These include the brand’s recently launched, pioneering ‘closed loop’ sustainable transport initiative, ‘Fuelled By Glenfiddich’. This involves converting production wastes and residues into Ultra-Clean Low Carbon fuel that is starting to be introduced to some of its transport fleet.

World leaders and COP26 conference attendees will have already had a chance to taste the one-off Glenfiddich 26 Year Old whisky at a series of COP26 events during the summit with Mark Thomson, the Glenfiddich Ambassador to Scotland, leading guests through exclusive tastings.

Whisky enthusiasts and sustainability supporters alike will have the chance to bid on a true collector’s item, one of 100 bottles, via a charity auction through Royal Mile Whiskies.

The auction is raising money for Stop Climate Chaos Scotland and will be live from Monday 22^nd November, concluding on Monday 29^th November 2021.

Claudia Falcone, Glenfiddich’s global brand director, commented: “Glenfiddich is a brand that encourages us to individually and collectively push boundaries and always consider the next step.

“It has taken more than a decade for Glenfiddich to become the first global spirits brand to process its production wastes and residues into biogas fuel to power some of its trucks. We’re honoured to support the wider sustainability agenda.

“By releasing the 26 Year Old in partnership with Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, we hope to bring attention and inspiration to continued climate change progress through our one-off auction of the limited-edition commemoration bottle.”

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland is a diverse coalition of over 60 civil society organisations in Scotland campaigning together on climate change.

Alistair Dutton, Board member of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland added: “We’re pleased to be working with Glenfiddich and hope this incredible whisky will raise funds to tackle the climate emergency.

“The proceeds from the Royal Mile Whiskies auction will help Stop Climate Chaos Scotland members in their work to create a greener future for Scotland.”

Scotland has set an ambitious target to cut emissions by 75% by 2030, and to become Net Zero by 2045. With whisky forming such a large part of Scotland’s identity, the Scotch Whisky Association has outlined its ambitious and impressive vision for the future with a focus on four main areas for industry action:

· Tackling climate change by having net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040;

· Moving to a circular economy by making all packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025;

· Hitting responsible water use targets by 2025; and

· Caring for the land through the active conservation and restoration of Scotland’s peatland by 2035.

The Glenfiddich 26 Year Old whisky will be available to bid on from Monday 22^nd to Monday 29^th November via Royal Mile Whiskies at:

https://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/glenfiddich-auction/

Supporting women in climate action and conflict resolution

Funding for new fellowship programme

A new climate change focused fellowship promoting equal participation by women in peace resolution is being supported as part of a £300,000 funding commitment from the Scottish Government.

The Beyond Borders UNSCR1325 Climate Change Fellowship will provide peacekeeping, negotiation and reconstruction training to women in areas of conflict.

It will enable climate activists, people from indigenous and island communities, and areas where there is no state control, to share their experience of issues of gender, climate change and conflict.

This new programme is one of the three fellowships delivered by Beyond Borders to support women with conflict resolution supported by Scottish Government funding in 2021-22.

The fellowship on conflict resolution has involved over 250 women from more than 20 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia since it began in 2016.

Speaking at the New York Times Climate Hub at COP26, External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson said: “We know that women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change.

“Our transition to net zero can only truly be just if it also tackles inequalities that women and girls face around the world, but that are particularly apparent in the global south and places of conflict – such as increased food insecurity, displacement and sexualised violence.

“We have an opportunity to support women to play a full role in work to mitigate climate impacts, disaster risks and loss and damage that are inextricably linked to both conflict and the climate emergency, and this funding will further the work already started by the Beyond Borders fellowship.”

Beyond Borders Founder Mark Muller Stuart, QC, said: “Beyond Borders welcomes the continued support of the Scottish Government for the development of the Women in Conflict 1325 Peacemaking Fellowship Programme.

“Since 2016, the Fellowship has created a unique community of practice of women working in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, and will now build upon this community in exploring the critical nexus of climate change, gender, conflict and security.

“Following the lead of the United Nations Secretary General, the Fellowship is committed to providing a platform for the discussion of these crucial themes and to developing a framework concerning climate change and conflict, and the instrumental role that women play in working to ameliorate both phenomena.”