Finalised Action Plan ‘sets out net zero opportunities’
A pathway to help make Scotland a world leader in hydrogen production has been published, but campaigners are questioning the suitability of hydrogen for most sectors.
The Hydrogen Action Plan sets out steps to help the emerging hydrogen sector in Scotland achieve an ambition of 5 Gigawatts (GW) of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen – equivalent to a sixth of Scotland’s energy needs – by 2030.
It also reaffirms an ambition to produce 25 GW by 2045, with a hydrogen economy potentially supporting more than 300,000 jobs.
Capitalising on the potential for Scotland to become a leading exporter of hydrogen is estimated to contribute between £5 billion and £25 billion a year by 2045 depending on the scale of production and the extent of exports.
The Scottish Government is making available £100 million to support the Action Plan, including a £90 million Green Hydrogen Fund, which will open early next year.
Net Zero & Energy Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Hydrogen could present Scotland’s greatest industrial opportunity since oil and gas was discovered in the North Sea.
“The technology has tremendous potential to help deliver a just transition for our energy sector, realising huge economic benefits while supporting our net zero transformation.
“Scotland has vast natural resources with which we can become world leaders in renewable hydrogen production and export, while others are looking beyond their borders to nations that can produce and provide that hydrogen at scale.
“Our Hydrogen Action Plan reaffirms the Scottish Government’s clear commitment to helping our hydrogen sector grow and prosper. We are open to the world and actively collaborating with international partners in order to realise the benefits of hydrogen.”
Climate campaigners have responded to the Scottish Government’s new ‘Hydrogen Action Plan’ by questioning the suitability of hydrogen for most sectors and highlighting the cost and inefficiency of the technology.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Climate Campaigner Alex Lee said: “Hydrogen is inefficient, faces costly technical barriers and is unnecessary or unsuitable in most sectors. Evidence shows that blue hydrogen made with fossil gas, which Ministers want to label as low-carbon, doesn’t deliver meaningful cuts to climate emissions.
“It is welcome that the Scottish Government has heeded the overwhelming scientific consensus on the inefficiency and high cost of using hydrogen to heat our homes. It looks like that this will not be a priority in Scotland but the Plan still suggests that the Scottish Government may attempt to blend hydrogen into the gas grid and potentially invest in ‘hydrogen ready’ boilers in new build homes.
“The Plan also backs hydrogen buses and cars despite the fact electric vehicles are streets ahead in terms of efficiency and public awareness.”
“The Government still seems to be falling for industry spin that dodgy technologies like Carbon Capture and Storage and Direct Air Capture will cut climate pollution. For decades carbon capture has failed to work at the scale promised and the few plants that have been built have been plagued by technical problems and closures.
“It’s time the Scottish Government accepted that carbon capture is not the magical solution it hopes and focused its energies on measures to cut emissions in the here and now.
“The forthcoming Energy Strategy is a chance for the Scottish Government to invest in solutions we know actually work like heat pumps and insulating homes that can help people in Scotland with their bills and unlike dodgy hydrogen help us tackle climate change.”
The Scottish Government lacks a clear delivery plan and has not offered a coherent explanation for how its policies will achieve Scotland’s bold emissions reduction targets – that’s the conclusion of the latest assessment of Scotland’s progress by the Climate Change Committee.
In recent years, the Scottish Parliament has committed to extraordinary ambition to decarbonise its economy, with a welcome focus on a fair and just transition. That ambition should be applauded, but only if targets are achieved. The integrity of the Scottish climate framework is now at risk.
Lord Deben, Chairman of the Climate Change Committee said: “In 2019, the Scottish Parliament committed the country to some of the most stretching climate goals in the world, but they are increasingly at risk without real progress towards the milestones that Scottish Ministers have previously laid out.One year ago, I called for more clarity and transparency on Scottish climate policy and delivery. That plea remains unanswered.”
The Climate Change Committee has conducted a methodological review of the Scottish Climate Targets and assessed progress in cutting Scottish greenhouse gas emissions.
Between 2019 and 2020 emissions fell by 12% – half of 1990 levels for the first time. But the fall in 2020 is only a temporary effect, largely due to travel restrictions in the pandemic. Evidence from across the UK is that Scottish emissions will rebound in 2021. Underlying progress in reducing emissions in Scotland has largely stalled in recent years. Since the Scottish Climate Change Act became law in 2009, the Scottish Government has failed to achieve 7 of the 11 legal targets.
Scotland’s lead in decarbonising over the rest of the UK has now been lost. Progress is now broadly the same as the UK as a whole. Two years after the publication of the Climate Change Plan update, we do not see evidence of sufficient action to meet the Scottish Parliament’s ambition.
There are now glaring gaps in the Scottish Government’s climate plan and particular concerns about the achievement of the 2030 goal to cut emissions by 75%:
Plans to decarbonise transport in Scotland are falling behind other parts of the UK. Sales of electric cars are now behind those of England, despite Scotland’s greater ambition to decarbonise transport. The Scottish Government has so far been unwilling to consider measures to recover the shortfall, such as restrictions on aviation growth.
Scotland’s 2030 goal rests on rapid action to decarbonise buildings. Despite new public funding in this area, policies are still wholly inadequate to deliver the scale of low-carbon heat and energy efficiency improvements required.
Agriculture and land. Detail on low-carbon agriculture policy following Scotland’s exit from the EU Common Agricultural Policy is needed urgently. It is not clear how the emissions targets set by Scottish Ministers in this area can be delivered in the absence of new policies. On the key issue of restoring Scotland’s peatland carbon stores, restoration rates are less than half of Scotland’s own target of 20,000 hectares per year, which is in turn much less ambitious than the CCC’s recommendation of 45,000 hectares per year by 2022.
For sectors in which policy is significantly devolved to Scotland (e.g. transport, land use and waste), indicators show that progress towards meeting the Scottish Government’s milestones is too slow. Policies and plans are not yet sufficient to speed things up to the required rate.
Closer cooperation with the UK Government is required in other areas, particularly to guide the decarbonisation of Scottish industry and develop new industries to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. There is little evidence of cooperative policy planning, which is now undermining the achievement of Scotland’s more ambitious short-term goals.
Within Scotland, better collaboration is also required between Scottish Government and local authorities. Many local authorities have declared climate emergencies and named ambitious Net Zero goals, but they need better support from Scottish Government, not least in securing the funding to drive policy. Collaboration in all these areas is key for realising both Scotland’s ambitions and the full potential of Scotland’s contribution to the UK’s Net Zero target.
Scotland must build on the positive areas of progress, including planning reform. The draft fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) was an important step towards embedding Net Zero in the planning process and setting the direction of movement for major projects in Scotland, but its success will be determined by its implementation and enforcement, which remains unclear for now.
Environmental campaigners have said the the UK Committee on Climate Change has delivered a ‘scathing judgement’ of the Scottish Government’s climate efforts in their latest progress report published today (7/12/22).
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “The Climate Change Committee’s report is a scathing judgement on Scottish Government progress towards meeting our legally binding targets.
“With the impacts of climate breakdown wreaking havoc the world over at only 1°C warming this is literally a matter of life or death. The Scottish Government must urgently scale up its plans to cut climate pollution within the next decade.
“Fossil fuels are the key driver of the climate crisis so we urgently need to phase out oil and gas this decade through a just transition to a renewable-powered economy with decent green jobs and affordable energy for all.
“The Scottish Government must abandon the dangerous fantasy that techno-fixes like carbon capture and storage are going to save the day and start focusing on the real solutions to the climate crisis.
“That means investing in public transport and improving our public spaces to take cars off the road, rolling out mass energy efficiency schemes and renewable heat, all of which will have the added benefit of tackling the cost of living crisis as well as cutting emissions.
“As we move towards a more circular economy, the Scottish Government must also urgently address rising offshored emissions from the products we consume by setting robust consumption targets in law.”
The Committee on Climate Change report highlights:
* Continued lack of a clear delivery plan and quantification of how policies add up to meeting emissions reduction targets, despite Committee requests for this information;
* Seven of the last 11 years of emissions reduction targets have been missed, and the 2020 target was only met due to restrictions responding to the covid-19 pandemic;
* Scotland’s consumption emissions continue to grow, and are 50% higher than domestic production emissions, meaning we are offshoring more of our emissions;
* The welcome goal of reducing car-kilometres by 20% on 2019 levels by 2030 does not have an adequate strategy with sufficient levers to deliver;
* The Scottish Government has committed to grow aviation demand despite this running counter to climate ambitions and despite having powers, such as airport expansion control and Air Departure Tax, to curb aviation growth;
* Policies are not sufficient to deliver the aim of 70% reduction in emissions from buildings by 2030, in particular in making the transition to low-carbon heat and energy efficiency in homes;
* Emissions from electricity supply have fallen significantly, but more detail is needed on how full decarbonise the system while increasing generation capacity will be achieved;
* The moratorium on incineration and energy from waste is a welcome step, but Scotland is significantly off track with recycling rates;
* The Scottish Government has chosen heavy reliance on engineered removals (such as carbon capture and storage) to meet the 2030 target despite there being no projects in place, and detailed delivery plans have not been set out.
Reacting to the report, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) – a diverse coalition of over 60 organisations in Scotland campaigning together on climate change – is deeply concerned that ‘the integrity of the Scottish climate framework is now at risk’ due to inadequate action taken by the Scottish Government to meet targets.
Mike Robinson, Chair of SCCS said:“We welcome this expert and comprehensive report from the UK Committee on Climate Change, which provides the Scottish Government with a loud and clear wake up call.
“Scotland needs bold, decisive and immediate action to reduce emissions. Without this, the trend of missed targets, and failure to tackle the climate crisis will only continue.
“Having previously made more progress on decarbonising than the UK, this report shows that Scotland is now falling behind on a number of key areas, undermining credibility on the international stage just a month after COP27 and highlighting the need for more cooperation on reserved matters.
“The time for positive rhetoric is over – the Scottish Government must urgently redouble efforts to meet targets. Action is needed now to achieve the crucial 2030 target, while the forthcoming Climate Change Plan will be important for further actions, after 2030, to achieve longer term ambitions.”
Environmental campaigners have welcomed the findings of a report published by Zero Waste Scotland that shows that biostabilisation, a way of managing waste, has significant carbon savings over incineration and landfill.
Biostabilisation is a treatment method for managing waste where organic material is broken down in a controlled environment. This greatly reduces the carbon emissions from the waste. The report shows that each tonne of waste biostabilised emits the equivalent of 12kg of carbon dioxide, which is 20 times lower than sending that same waste to incineration.
Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “We know that reducing and recycling are the most important ways of limiting the climate impact of waste.
“The Zero Waste Scotland report shows biostabilisation is a lower carbon option for managing non-recyclable waste compared to incineration or landfill. It adds to the growing body of evidence that incineration must be rapidly phased out if Scotland is to reduce its impact on the climate crisis. Policy makers must now act on the findings of the report and make sure that biostabilisation is economically viable.”
Shlomo Dowen, national coordinator at the UK Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) added: “Zero Waste Scotland has previously shown that incineration is a high-carbon option, and this new report demonstrates that incineration is far worse for the climate than biostabilisation.
“This makes it clear that there is no justification for building any new incineration capacity in Scotland.
“Instead, what we urgently need is an incineration exit strategy that looks to phase out existing burners as we increasingly reduce, reuse and recycle.”
The landfill ban prohibits all biodegradable waste going to landfill by 31 December 2025. Earlier this year, the Scottish Government committed to an effective moratorium on new incinerators, recognising their huge environmental and health impacts. Incinerators are responsible for some of the largest sources of climate emissions in Scotland.
The 2012 the Waste (Scotland) Regulations acknowledged there are two potential disposal routes for biodegradable waste once landfill is banned: biostabilisation and incineration. However, the same regulations create an artificial economic barrier to biostabilisation by requiring that biostabilised waste must pay the higher rate of landfill tax, whilst incinerator outputs are exempt.
A new report shows there is strong public support for targets to reduce consumption to be included in a new circular economy law in Scotland.
The Scottish Government commissioned analysis, published yesterday (30 November), shows that 86% of respondents to its consultation on proposals for the new law strongly supported ambitious targets.
A circular economy is when materials are reused and recycled as much as possible before new resources are taken from nature, as opposed to our current linear ‘take, make, dispose’ model. It is a vital step in creating the transformation needed to reduce Scotland’s impact on the climate.
Environmental campaigners have welcomed the response, which included over 1,300 individuals and many environmental organisations calling for targets.
Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “More than half of Scotland’s carbon footprint comes from imports, which is not being tackled through our current climate targets. It’s vital that the Scottish Government acts on this call for change and brings in targets that reflect our global environmental impact.
“82% of Scotland’s carbon footprint comes from the products and services we buy. The environmental and social damage caused overseas by demand for goods in Scotland is virtually invisible at the moment, which is stopping it from being addressed.
“The climate crisis and the ecological damage done by resource extraction are global issues, so we need to look at solutions that really bring down our impact. It’s fantastic to see widespread public support for this.”
The report also showed strong support for other environmentally important measures, including:
– 87% of respondents supported the creation of a new duty on the Scottish Government to publish a circular economy strategy
– 68% of individual respondents supported the creation of a public body to advise on the circular economy, with calls for this to be impartial and independent
– 86% of respondents supported a ban on the destruction of unsold durable goods
– 84% of respondents agreed that statutory recycling targets should be introduced for local authorities
– 76% of individual respondents supported trials of commercial waste zones for business recycling
Climate campaigners have welcomed yesterday’s council decision to pass a motion calling on the £8 billion Lothian Pension Fund to end its investments in fossil fuel companies that are driving the climate crisis.
The motion, tabled by SNP councillors Vicky Nicolson and Marco Biagi, and seconded by Adam McVey (SNP), calls on the Lothian Pension Fund to protect the long-term interests of its members by removing its investments from fossil fuel companies that are not shifting their business toward renewable energy.
Last month, East Lothian councillors voted unanimously in favour of ending the Lothian Pension Fund’s fossil fuel investments.
The Lothian Pension Fund, administered by The City of Edinburgh Council, invests an estimated £229 million in fossil fuel companies which are driving climate breakdown, including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Equinor.
Oil giant Equinor is currently planning to develop the Rosebank oilfield to the west of Shetland – the largest undeveloped oil and gas field in the UK which contains over 500 million barrels of oil.
Eva Gallova, Divest Lothian campaigner from Edinburgh, said: “Edinburgh councillors, having rightly declared a climate emergency in 2019 and committed to becoming a net zero city by 2030, today acted on these promises and showed their constituents that these were not just empty words.
“Divesting the Lothian Pension Fund from fossil fuels would cut the Council’s ties with an industry hell-bent on stymying climate action and taking us on a path which can only lead to more death & destruction.
“The members of the Lothian Pension Fund, especially the younger members, should have prospects for a future worth retiring into and this will not be possible if our councils continue investing in companies like BP, Shell and Equinor that are planning massive expansions in their climate-wrecking oil and gas production. It’s time for the Lothian Pension Fund to protect pensions and the planet by ending its investments in fossil fuels.”
Sally Clark, divestment campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “It is very encouraging that City of Edinburgh councillors have voted to support ending the Lothian Pension Fund’s investments in planet-wrecking fossil fuels.
“With the UN Secretary General warning last week at COP27 that we need to massively invest in renewables and end our addiction to fossil fuels in order to keep global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees, it has never been more urgent for councils to break their ties with the coal, oil and gas companies that are on course to trigger climate catastrophe with their expansion plans.
“We now need the Lothian Pension Fund to listen to councillors and invest in climate solutions like social housing and renewable energy that will protect pensions and benefit communities here in Scotland and around the world.”
The Lothian Pension Fund is the second largest local government pension scheme in Scotland and administers the pension funds of over 92,000 members from four local authorities in the Lothians. The pension fund also manages the pensions of 90 employers, including Scottish Water, Edinburgh Napier University, VisitScotland and Heriot-Watt University.
The motion from City of Edinburgh councillors comes as part of a global push to divest money from fossil fuels.
To date, 1,552 institutions worth $40.50 trillion have committed to divest, including the Welsh Parliament, the London Boroughs of Islington and Lambeth, Cardiff Council, and 100 UK universities including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Environmental campaigners say we should resist the shopping frenzy this Black Friday for the sake of the planet.
Tomorrow (Friday 25 November), retail giants like Amazon will be slashing their prices in an attempt to boost their sales – but campaigners are asking people to consider the costs to the environment before they make unnecessary purchases this year.
Surveys have shown that huge numbers of people regret the purchases that are made in the rush of the sales, and that they find it a stressful experience. Smaller retailers with more sustainable, local, personal services find they can’t compete with the artificially low prices of retail giants. Last year, 85% of independent retailers opted out of Black Friday.
Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “Changing our culture of consumption is an essential part of tackling the climate crisis. Saying no to phoney Black Friday deals is an important way in which we, as more informed consumers, can take back power.
“Big retailers pressurise people to buy more in an effort to boost their sales. This drive towards consuming more means that even more resources are extracted from nature, generating climate-wrecking emissions.
“To really tackle over-consumption, governments need to hold big business to account. The Scottish Government is bringing in a circular economy law next year which must force producers and retailers to accept responsibility for their planet destroying single-use products, and to make reuse and recycling cheaper and easier for people.”
The Scottish Government consulted on a new circular economy law earlier this year. A draft of the bill is expected in early 2023. Scotland’s material use is more than double the sustainable limit, and 82% of Scotland’s carbon footprint comes from the products and services we buy.
Environmental campaigners have welcomed yesterday’s statement from Minister for Environment and Land Reform Mairi McAllan that the Scottish Government “does not agree with the UK Government issuing new oil and gas licences”.
This came in response to a parliamentary question from Mark Ruskell MSP about whether the Rosebank oil field, and new licensing, should be allowed to go ahead, given the First Minister’s previous opposition to the Cambo oil field last year.
Ms McAllan said that the licensing of new oil and gas extraction is not the answer to either the cost of energy crisis or the climate crisis. The UK Government recently opened a licensing round which could issue over 100 licences for fossil fuel companies to explore the UK Continental Shelf for new oil and gas fields.
The Rosebank oil field already has a licence, and would be three times the size of Cambo. Equinor, the Norwegian oil company that wants to develop Rosebank, is currently awaiting approval from the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on its environmental statement before the project can begin development.
Rosebank would not extract its first oil until late 2026, and the majority of the oil extracted would be exported and sold on the open market, doing little for the UK’s energy security.
Campaigners welcomed Ms McAllan’s statement as a strengthening of the Scottish Government’s position on new oil and gas.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s oil and gas campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “Mairi McAllan is completely right to say that new oil and gas extraction isn’t the answer to the cost of living crisis or the climate crisis.
“Millions of families are being pushed into fuel poverty by greedy oil companies for short-term profits. Meanwhile climate science is clear that there can be no new oil and gas licensing if we are to avoid truly catastrophic warming.
“This is the furthest the Scottish Government has gone to date in its opposition to new licensing, and Ministers must now pressure the UK Government to abandon its climate-wrecking oil expansion plans, starting by rejecting the plans to develop Rosebank. The Scottish Government must cement this position in the forthcoming Energy Strategy, putting an end date on fossil fuels and setting out the framework for a managed and just phase out of oil and gas within this decade.
“The Scottish Government’s opposition to new oil and gas extraction will make Rosebank a more risky investment, so Equinor should really think again.
“If Rosebank were allowed to go ahead, it would produce the same amount of climate-wrecking pollution as the annual emissions of 28 low-income countries combined.
“Approving it would fly in the face of climate science, which is clear that allowing any new fossil fuel extraction will take us past globally agreed climate targets.”
The UN climate summit COP27 came to a close today (20/11/22), with a historic win on Loss and Damage but with staggering hypocrisy from the UK, EU and UK on fossil fuels, according to environmental campaigners.
On the Loss and Damage fund victory, Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaigns Mary Church said: “Securing a Loss and Damage fund is a huge victory for global South countries who stood strong and united in the face of dirty tricks by the rich historical polluters who are resisting taking responsibility for the crisis they caused.
“Whether these global North countries will actually stump up the money needed to resource the fund is another question, given their abject failure to deliver on other longstanding finance commitments.
“Civil society played a vital role in their advocacy and solidarity with global South countries on this all important issue, leaving the US, EU and UK with no cover for their diversionary tactics. People power matters, we can and must keep fighting for the better world we know is possible, because world leaders aren’t going to make it without us.”
India initiated a call for language to be included on the ‘equitable phase down all fossil fuels’, not just coal, and the issue generated significant attention during the last days of the summit – but the Sharm El-Sheikh Implementation Plan simply repeats the text from last year’s Glasgow Climate Pact on the ‘phase down of unabated coal’, letting global North countries who tend to be less reliant on coal off the hook, and with the massive loophole that ‘unabated’ brings in allowing coal projects that are ‘carbon capture and storage ready’.
In their speeches to the closing plenary this morning, the UK, US and EU devoted substantial time to ‘calling out’ the lack of progress on fossil fuel phase out in the text, despite their own fossil fuel expansion plans.
Church continued: “The hypocrisy we witnessed at these climate talks from rich historical polluters on the issue of fossil fuel phase out is staggering. There is nothing to stop countries from phasing out fossil fuels, and yet the UK and the US in particular are doing the opposite with their vast expansion plans.
“Alok Sharma must take his table thumping on fossil fuel phase out back home and demand the UK Government overturn their climate trashing plans for North Sea oil and gas expansion and to reject the new coal mine planned in Cumbria.
“The Scottish Government too must turn its climate leadership on the international stage into concrete actions at home to get back on track to meeting its climate targets. It must clarify its position on oil and gas and set an end date for fossil fuels within this decade in order to have any chance of delivering on our fair share of climate action.”
As the climate summit closes, British prisoner of conscience Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s release has still not been secured and his situation remains extremely precarious.
Church continued: “There can be no climate justice without human rights, and we stand in solidarity with British citizen Alaa And-El Fattah and all prisoners of conscience.
“The UK Government has failed to use its abundant leverage with the Egyptian Government to secure Alaa’s release. The spotlight must not move on when COP27 is over. We will not forget you.”
Commenting on the conclusion of COP27 in Egypt, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:
“COP27 has finally seen an acknowledgement by developed countries that the people least responsible for global warming are the ones suffering its worst consequences and that we have an obligation to support those experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis in the here and now.
“The agreement to establish a fund for loss and damage is truly groundbreaking and is a testament to 30 years of hard campaigning by the global south and civil society. I am pleased that Scotland, in being the first developed country ever to make a financial contribution, has been able to play a small part in that journey working with others over the last twelve months to build the momentum that has led to today’s decision.
“There remains a lot of detail to be worked out over the next year ahead of COP28, but from the inclusion of loss and damage on the agenda, to the agreement to establish a fund, this COP has delivered a real breakthrough for vulnerable and developing countries.
“It is deeply disappointing that the recognition of loss and damage has not been matched by greater action to prevent a worsening of the climate crisis. Keeping 1.5 alive and delivering the fastest possible transition away from fossil fuels is key to preventing greater loss and damage in the future.
“Alongside loss and damage we needed to see progress on adaptation and mitigation, on the submission of new national contributions, a pathway to 2030 and a strengthening of the language of the Glasgow Pact.
“It is simply not good enough that countries failed to make progress on that agenda, and that there has been such a strong push back on action we all know is needed if 1.5 is to remain truly within reach. It is vitally important that countries recommit themselves to doing everything they can to ensure we keep 1.5 alive and to building a coalition ahead of COP28 that protects and drives progress against any further push back.
“Despite that disappointment, and the challenges faced by civil society in having their voice heard in Egypt, the breakthrough on loss and damage is what I hope COP27 will be remembered for, and that is a vital step forward for the developing world.”
Environmental campaigners have said that while the new National Planning Framework 4 is a step in the right direction in tackling the climate emergency it is seriously undermined by an over reliance on unrealistic techno-fixes.
The updated NPF4, laid in the Scottish Parliament today, sets out to tackle the climate and nature emergency. It gives Councils much needed tools to prioritise sustainable transport, has a greater emphasis on the reduction and reuse of materials, and reduces the risk that vast swathes of the country will be opened up for dodgy carbon offsetting schemes.
However, the Scottish Government has failed to rule out new fossil fuel infrastructure in the planning framework which prioritises controversial technologies and so-called negative emissions technologies (NETs) such as carbon capture and storage and hydrogen.
The NPF4’s reliance on NETs is in contradiction to the Scottish Government’s own Climate Change Plan monitoring report which states that there has been: ‘No public commitment to date by a commercial operator to employ a NETs model for a single large power station in Scotland. Given lead in times for development of such a facility and proposals for CCS deployment for the Peterhead CCGT power project, it is unlikely that a new NETs power facility will be developed in the 2020s.‘
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “While the emphasis on tackling the climate and nature emergencies is welcome, this is a real missed opportunity by the Scottish Government to rule out any more infrastructure for the fossil fuels that are driving us to extinction.
“This plan sets out what developments are going to be prioritised over the next decade and it’s absolutely crucial that we transition away from fossil fuels over that same period.
“Despite this, there are some welcome improvements to the planning framework including much needed tools for local councils to prioritise sustainable transport, a greater emphasis on the reduction and reuse of materials, and the reduced risk that vast swathes of the country will be opened up for dodgy carbon offsetting schemes.
“The overall direction of travel is seriously undermined by continued over reliance on so-called negative emissions technologies like carbon capture and costly, inefficient hydrogen. The longer the Scottish Government falls for industry spin and the fantasy that we can solve the climate crisis without ending our use of fossil fuels, the harder it will be to deliver a just transition to a renewable energy economy.
“This plan puts some important policies on the table, but due to the urgency of the climate crisis, the time for half measures has long since passed.”
The new NPF4 is published as world leaders meet in Sharm El-Sheikh for the annual UN climate negotiations.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure was ‘ moral and economic madness’.
Planning for net zero
Plan for future developments ‘will help combat climate change’
Developments which reduce carbon emissions to tackle climate change and restore nature would be promoted under finalised proposals for long term planning reform.
The revised draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) sets out sustainable policies against which planning applications would be assessed for the next decade.
It has been tabled in the Scottish Parliament against the backdrop of crucial intergovernmental climate talks at COP27 in Egypt and seeks to deliver a new and bold direction, with a shift in culture and approach to planning in Scotland.
Proposals in NPF4 include:
enabling more renewable energy generation, outside National Parks and National Scenic Areas, to support the transition away from reliance on fossil fuels
supporting emerging low-carbon and zero emissions technologies – including hydrogen and carbon capture – and developments on land that unlock the transformative potential of offshore renewable energy, such as expansion of the electricity grid. Waste incineration facilities would be highly unlikely to receive permission
facilitating creation of cycling or walking routes, low carbon transport, more green spaces and opportunities for play, culture and tourism
helping rural communities grow by enabling more local homes and encouraging a more diverse rural economy
regenerating city and town centres to help them adapt to economic change while enabling people to access shops, schools and workplaces within a 20 minute walk or cycle
adopting a planned and evidence-based approach to delivering good quality and affordable homes that benefit communities.
Planning Minister Tom Arthur said: “The window of opportunity to act to reduce emissions and adapt to already locked in changes is narrowing. Our statutory and moral obligation to tackle climate change means change is necessary and urgent.
“This final version of the Framework makes clear that we won’t compromise on climate change. It also clarifies what is to be delivered, and how. And it is now clear through the weighting to be applied to different policies, that the climate and nature crises are the priority.
“It is timely that we have tabled final proposals during COP27, as we set out to do when Glasgow hosted COP26 last year. This shows that Scotland’s ambition and commitment to delivering on international calls for action is unwavering.
“There is now a clear expectation of the role that planning must play in delivering the expansion of renewable energy needed to realise the just transition from reliance on fossil fuels.
“This Framework creates the foundation upon which to build the fairer, greener Scotland we want to see for the benefit of future generations.”
+ UN warns world on track for catastrophic 2.8C of heating + Call for Scotland to finally join global Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance + UK Gov’t urged to ‘Free Alaa’ from Egyptian prison + Scottish Climate March planned for Edinburgh
Ahead of the UN climate talks in Egypt, campaigners have issued a warning to the UK and Scottish Governments that they must ‘set an end date’ for oil and gas if the world is to stay within agreed climate limits.
The UN recently warned that the world was on course for a catastrophic 2.8C of climate warming by the end of this century, saying that emissions must fall significantly by 2030 if we are to stay within agreed climate limits. However the UK Government is opening new oil and gas fields, encouraging companies to explore for more fossil fuels and briefly tried to bring back fracking.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who will join the talks in Egypt, said at COP26 that Scotland would work towards becoming part of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance – a group of nations who have committed to a managed phase out of oil and gas in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
One year on this commitment has not been made. The forthcoming Scottish Energy Strategy must establish a phase out of oil and gas for any chance of meeting our climate targets.
Demonstrations are all but banned in Egypt, which has a dire track record on human rights. Consequently there will not be any mass protests during the talks but instead Egyptian activists along with allies across African countries and the Arab world, have called for a global mobilisation to draw attention to demands for climate justice and human rights.
Edinburgh will host a Climate Justice March on Saturday 12 November as part of this Global Day of Action during COP27.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “In the 12 months since COP26 ended we’ve seen yet again the devastating impacts of global heating at only 1.1C of warming – 30 million people flooded in Pakistan, famine across east Africa, wildfire and drought in the UK during the summer heatwave, and thousands of premature deaths from that same heatwave.
“Politicians did a lot of backslapping at COP26 with the UK presidency claiming to have kept the goal of 1.5C alive but these are empty words without the action to deliver on them. Over the last year the UK Government has actively made the climate crisis worse as it opened up new oil fields, tried to bring back fracking and is still considering opening a new coal mine.
“The UK and the Scottish Governments need to set an end date for fossil fuels well within the decade and redouble efforts for a fair transition away to a renewable powered economy, with affordable heat and transport for all.
“For COP27 to have any chance of success the talks need to see rich historical polluters like the UK come to the table willing to deliver their fair share of climate action, which means deep and rapid cuts to climate emissions in line with our responsibility for causing the crisis. A fair outcome would also include paying our climate debt to those nations who have done the least to cause the crisis and yet find themselves on the sharpest ends of its extreme impacts.
“Yet none of the big historical polluters including the UK is committing to anything near what is needed or owed. Instead, governments and corporations are greenwashing business as usual and relying on fantasy techno-fixes like carbon capture and storage and hydrogen to save the day.”
Commenting on the human rights situation in Egypt, and the ongoing hunger strike of British-Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, one of Egypt’s highest profile prisoners of conscience who has been in prison for most of the last 8 years, Church continued: “The human rights situation in Egypt is atrocious, and we stand in solidarity with Egyptians and call for the release of all political prisoners and the opening up of civic space.
“There can be no climate justice without human rights and without public participation in shaping the transition to a world freed from fossil fuels.
“The UK Government must not return from Egypt without British citizen and human rights defender Abdel Abd El Fattah who is currently on hunger strike in an Egyptian jail for the so-called crime of sharing a Facebook post.”
FoES Head of Campaigns Mary Church will be attending the second week of COP27.
The First Minister will today call on world leaders to deliver on the commitments they made in the Glasgow Climate Pact, as she attends the first full day of the COP27 climate conference in Egypt.
The First Minister will take part in an all-female panel discussion on financing decarbonisation with government leaders, including the Prime Minister of Barbados.
The First Minister will also meet representatives of countries from the Global South to hear their experiences of the climate crisis and what they want to see delivered at the climate talks.
Ahead of the formal opening of COP27 the First Minister met on Sunday with the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Simon Stiell, Director General of the International Organization for Migration Antonio Vitorino and Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados.
The First Minister said: “COP26 in Glasgow delivered real progress on tackling the climate crisis, with strengthened commitments to curb emissions, build resilience to climate change, and provide the finance needed to reach net zero. World leaders must use the next two weeks to take meaningful steps to deliver on the promises made in the Glasgow Climate Pact.
“We are gathering against a tense backdrop and the geopolitical landscape has changed significantly in the last year, not least as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. However the climate crisis has not gone away and the answer to many of the global crises we face, such as energy security and food shortages, lies in going faster.
“For many countries, particularly in the global south, this must be the COP where the global north not only delivers on our promises to finance adaptation and mitigation, but recognises the need to address the loss and damage experienced by countries already impacted by climate change.
“Last year, Scotland became the first developed nation to pledge finance to address loss and damage and others have now followed suit, including Wallonia and Denmark. This shows just how important the action of smaller governments can be, and I know many countries and campaigners hope to see other countries, particularly in the north, step up and make COP in Egypt the loss and damage COP.”
