Tag: Friends of the Earth Scotland

Activists call for green jobs

Politicians urged to support investment to create over 13,000 green jobs

Local campaigners have urged all Edinburgh and Lothians candidates in the upcoming Scottish Parliament election to support much needed investment in key sectors to create green jobs as part of our economic recovery all while cutting our climate emissions.

New research shows that over 13,000 jobs could be created in Edinburgh across green infrastructure and care work in just two years.

The call comes after new research from Green New Deal UK revealed at least 130,000 green jobs can be created across Scotland. Campaigners highlight how this will help us deal with the current job insecurity many citizens face, but only if the government invests in key areas including care work and renewable energy.

The analysis maps out the huge jobs potential in sectors like solar energy, offshore wind, social care and energy efficiency – all of which are essential to Scotland meeting its national and international climate targets.

The data, compiled by Green New Deal UK, shows:

·         130,000 jobs could be created across Scotland in the next two years.

·         60,000 jobs could be created in care work, looking after people in our communities.

·         62,000 jobs could be created in building the green infrastructure needed to reduce climate emissions, including in renewable energy, construction and transport.

Laurie Dewar, a Green New Deal organiser in Edinburgh, said: “Our research shows that you can reduce unemployment and create jobs whilst tackling climate change at the same time. Politicians have the power capitalise on this opportunity and help their constituents.

“As a young person I know that now is the time in which my future is decided, and I want a world in which my decisions will not be dictated by ecological chaos.

“Considering the irrevocable damage climate change will do to the places we live and love, the global health and humanitarian crises it will spark, and the working solutions that we know can be adopted, we must come to a consensus to act.

“I see real power in our collective desire to live in a safer world and a key example is the public’s display of solidarity and connection throughout the pandemic. Walking down the streets now it is still easy to find rainbows lining the windows one year on: a symbol of our desire to create brightness in the dark. We can do that here as well. Out of the ashes of these twin issues can we form a better society.”

Ryan Morrison, Just Transition Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, commented: “The next Scottish Parliament must put people and climate action at the heart of decisions they make about the economy.

“Thousands of green jobs can be created by making bus travel free for everyone, scaling up renewable energy whilst ensuring that people in Scotland are reaping the benefits, and planning for a fair transition away from fossil fuels.

“We also need to broaden our understanding of what makes a job green. A truly green economy will see a myriad of retrofitters, carers, bike couriers and teachers, up and down the country, all working towards transforming our economy.

“There are opportunities in every part of Scotland that can support our recovery from the pandemic while tackling our emissions in tandem. It is imperative that new MSPs are focused on turning the potential opportunity shown in this research into quality jobs on the ground.”

Campaigners highlight how almost one in five children in Edinburgh live in poverty – most to adults in paid employment – showing the clear need more good jobs. In a world facing a climate crisis any good job must be green and sustainable, but they can also help revitalise our capital and create a society to be proud of.

Lothian Pension Fund invests over £164 million in fossil fuel polluters

A new report has revealed that the City of Edinburgh Council’s own pension fund has £164,691,111 invested in climate-polluting fossil fuel companies. The revelations come despite the council declaring a climate emergency in 2019 and committing to become a net-zero carbon city by 2030.

The report found that overall in Scotland, £1.2 billion was invested in fossil fuel companies by council pension funds. None of the 20 Scottish councils that have declared a climate emergency have taken action to end their investments in the coal, oil and gas firms chiefly responsible for driving this crisis.

The report by Friends of the Earth Scotland, Platform and Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland was compiled from Freedom of Information requests.

Lothian Pension Fund is the second largest local government pension scheme in Scotland and administers the pensions of 84,000 members. (4) Lothian is operated by the City of Edinburgh Council on behalf of East Lothian, West Lothian and Midlothian.

Lothian Pension Fund invests £771,000 in Exxon and £1.47 million in Royal Dutch Shell. The companies are co-owners of the Mossmorran plants in Fife, which is Scotland’s third largest climate polluter. The Scottish Government is currently considering launching a public inquiry after 5,000 complaints were submitted about the flaring, air and noise pollution from the site.

The pension fund also invests £9.1 million in the Italian oil company, Eni. Both Eni and Exxon are involved in the construction of a major gas export development in Mozambique which is associated with increased militarisation and violence in the region, and led to the displacement of local communities.

Strathclyde Pension Fund was the worst offender in Scotland after being found to have £508 million invested in companies such as Shell, BP and Exxon. This is despite Glasgow hosting the UN climate conference later this year and Councillors declaring a climate emergency in May 2019.

As fossil fuel company stocks have fallen in value in recent years, local councils have lost out. £194 million of value was wiped off the oil and gas investments of the Scottish council pensions between 2017-20 with the Strathclyde Pension Fund alone losing £46 million and Lothian Pension Fund losing £36 million.

Across the UK, total fossil fuel investments in the pension funds stood at £9.9 billion – an average of £1,450 per scheme member.

Over half of Scotland’s universities have committed to divest from fossil fuel companies, including Edinburgh, Stirling and Dundee Universities, alongside local government funds in Southwark, Islington, Lambeth, Waltham Forest, and Cardiff.

Alan Munro from local campaign group Divest Lothian said: “We all deserve a future worth retiring for, but continued investment in fossil fuels by our politicians and local councils threaten that future, both here in the Lothians and around the world.

“We’ve been campaigning for some time for the Lothian Pension Fund to make a strong commitment to climate action and divest from the fossil fuel companies. Public institutions have a moral duty to put the long-term well-being of their communities first.

“This recent report shows that, up to present, the Lothian Pension Fund has not heeded our calls for divestment. As Scotland prepares to host the UN COP26 Climate conference in November, the fund has an opportunity to show climate leadership and invest more in renewable energy and other sustainable and ethical sectors so that we can create a better future.”

Ric Lander, Divestment Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, commented: “Many local authorities have declared a climate emergency and have plans in place to bring down emissions from transport, buildings and waste.

“Pension fund investments are currently working against this progress by continuing to back the ageing fossil fuel economy. Local councillors have the opportunity to show leadership on climate action by telling fund managers to divest from fossil fuels.

“Scottish council pensions are directly invested in the continued search for new fossil fuels through their ownership of companies like Shell and BP. This drive is undermining efforts to curb the climate emergency here in Scotland and doing untold damage to vulnerable communities around the world.”

Stephen Smellie is Deputy Convenor of UNISON Scotland, who are the largest union representing local government pension fund members. He reacted: “It is disappointing that the people who manage the pension funds of local government workers are oblivious to the climate crisis that is facing us.

“Workers care deeply about a sustainable future for their children, and if pension funds consulted with the people whose money they are investing they would know that. Instead, they continue to be part of the climate crisis problem rather than being part of the solution that they could be if they increased investments in sustainable alternatives.

“The value of the fossil fuel investments is high but only a small percentage of the funds’ overall investments so there is no financial justification for maintaining investments in coal, fracking or further fossil fuel exploitation.”

“There is a moral and ethical case for divesting from polluting fossil fuels. But there is also a firm financial case to remove workers’ pension funds from investments that will lose value as the world moves to a low-carbon economy which is less dependent on fossil fuels.”

Campaigners call for speedy ban on Single-Use Plastic

The Scottish Government has been urged to act quickly on the public demand for a ban on single-use plastic items in Scotland.

A 12-week public consultation which ended on Monday 4th January was seeking views on the introduction of restrictions on the sale of items including single-use plastic cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and balloon sticks. Exemptions are likely for products such as plastic straws provided for medical use and to support independent living.

Experts estimate that each year in Scotland, we use an estimated 300 million plastic straws, 276 million pieces of plastic cutlery and 66 million polystyrene food containers.  Campaigners say that any delay to action will mean millions more pieces of plastic will end up in landfill or potentially polluting our beaches and waterways.

Under the EU’s Single-Use Plastic Directive, Member States have to introduce restrictions on the sale of some of the most environmentally-harming single-use plastic products by July 2021. The Scottish Government announced in their 2019-2020 Programme for Government that it planned to meet or exceed the standards set out in the Directive.

More than 1900 people who took action online via Friends of the Earth Scotland backed the Scottish Government’s plans to ban single-use plastic items. They also called for a Just Transition for workers in Grangemouth with the phasing out of fossil-fuel-based plastic production. Ineos is the UK’s largest producer of plastic using fracked gas transported from the USA.

Friends of the Earth Scotland Plastic and Circular Economy Campaigner Sarah Moyes said: “The public response clearly shows that people are concerned about plastic pollution in Scotland and want to see action to tackle these persistent polluters. The knife and fork we use for a quick bite to eat shouldn’t endure beyond our lifetime sitting in landfill for hundreds of years.

“Plastic pollutes at every stage of its life cycle from the oil and gas extracted to produce it, to the end products which litter our environment. In order to get to the heart of the plastic problem, we must also look beyond this list of products and address the fact that Ineos, one of the biggest producers of plastic in Europe is right on our doorstep.”

The Single-Use Plastic Directive is part of wider work to reduce waste in Scotland. Campaigners raised concerns about how other measures to tackle waste such as the Deposit Return Scheme introduction have been delayed, the Circular Economy Bill was shelved and a ban on biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill was pushed back by 4 years.

Sarah Moyes said: “Scotland could soon be on our way to having communities across the country freed from litter and waste, and that’s why it’s imperative that the Scottish Government moves quickly to ban these polluting plastic items.

“Even a delay of just six months will lead to hundreds of millions of extra pieces of disposable plastic circulating in Scotland. The longer we invest in or support the fossil fuel industry, the longer we lock Scotland into increasing emissions that fuel the escalating climate crisis.

“If we want to avoid further climate breakdown then we must redirect support away from the plastic industry, like Ineos, instead planning and managing the shift in partnership with trade unions, workers and communities to ensure a Just Transition to a clean industry that moves us towards a circular economy.”

Streets of shame

A new study by Friends of the Earth Scotland ranking the country’s most polluted streets confirms that air pollution remains a public health crisis plaguing Scotland. West Edinburgh blackspots St John’s Road and Queensferry Road figure prominently among the most polluted in the country once again – and they are joined by Leith’s Salamander Street on the latest lists. Continue reading Streets of shame