The Big Tree (Scotland) Winner of Woodland Trust Tree of the Year Contest 2017 (Mark Ferguson)
Scotland faces both climate and nature emergencies. Woods and trees are a huge asset on each front so protecting them is key, especially our irreplaceable ancient woodlands. The planning system has an essential role to play in ensuring that protection, so we can be climate ready as a nation while protecting and enhancing biodiversity. Scotland’s new Draft National Planning Framework (Draft NPF4) presents landmark policy changes that could halt further loss of ancient woodland and trees. We must seize this moment and ensure these policy changes are retained in the final version to become planning reality.
What it means to be ancient
Very often when people think about what defines ancient woodland, they will be thinking about old trees and woodlands which have existed since the 1750s (as categorised by Scotland’s Ancient Woodland Inventory). But some of these patches could have been continually wooded for many hundreds or even thousands of years more. They are relics in the landscape quite often holding clues to our cultural past, remnants of woodland industries and historical management.
Ancient and veteran trees are no less impressive and awe-inspiring than our ancient woodlands. Scotland’s oldest specimen, the Fortingall yew, is believed to be roughly 3,000 years old. But to be ancient or veteran, trees needn’t reach such extremes, so long as they are old for their species. While size can be a sign of their age, if an individual has faced tough conditions, as they often do in Scotland, an ancient tree may not be that big at all. Instead, they can be recognised by their gnarly bark, hollowed-out trunks, cavities or reduced crowns and the organisms they are usually bursting full of.
Kinclaven, Autumn October 2018 (Niall Benvie / WTML)
The Woodland Trust recently published ‘The State of the UK’s Woods and Trees 2021’, presenting key facts and trends focusing mostly on natives, including those that are ancient. The report highlighted the importance of these habitats and organisms for a happy and healthy society and for nature and climate. It presented data showing average amount of carbon stored per hectare in Scotland’s ancient woodland are 31% higher than the average for all woodland types, and there is enormous potential for carbon stored in ancient woodland to double over the next 100 years.
Yet the report’s key findings note that despite woodland cover gradually increasing, existing native woodlands are isolated and in poor condition. The last remaining 30,000 ha of Scotland’s rainforest on the west coast is one such example that is threatened with further loss if action is not taken now. There is also a reported widespread loss of ‘trees outside of woods’ including individual ancient and veteran specimens, to make way for inappropriate developments. Scotland’s ancient woodland has been reduced to cover just 1-2% of the land. It continues to be eaten away by inappropriate development, poor management, Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS)and grazing animals, particularly deer.
Development, Planning and Trees
Development does not only lead to the loss of ancient woodland and veteran trees it directly displaces. In many cases it can also harm adjacent woods, which may be spared the bulldozer and the saw, but nonetheless suffer a slow decline in ecological condition over time. This effect of development is often overlooked. Declines in ecological condition happens over extended periods of time and this is perhaps why people find it hard to understand. It’s not an immediately quantifiable loss and due to the long-life cycles of trees it’s not at once visible. Our baselines shift, and we forget how these woodlands once looked and felt, but gradually they decline and slowly quieten, until finally they disappear.
Figure 1. Edge effects: the impacts on ancient woodlands (cropped), The Woodland Trust – Planners’ Manual for Ancient Woodland and Veteran Trees – Scotland.
But well-devised planning can protect trees from inappropriate development. Whether that’s high-level protections outlined by Scottish government or developers integrating buffer strips and root protection zones into their development designs.
However, protections outlined to date by the government have been insufficient to protect ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees. Whilst planning policy highlights the irreplaceable nature of these habitats, as of July 2020 the Woodland Trust was aware of 274 ancient woodlands threatened by development. The real figure is likely higher.
Ancient Woods and Trees in Scotland’s Fourth National Planning Framework
The Fourth National Planning Framework presents an incredible opportunity to strengthen the protections outlined for ancient woodlands and ancient and veteran trees in planning policy.
When the Draft NPF4 was published in November 2021 it marked a leap forward in ancient woodland protection policies saying, “Development proposals should not be supported where they would result in: any loss of ancient woodlands, ancient and veteran trees, or adverse impact on their ecological condition.”
This is a huge step forward for several reasons.
Current planning policy is more ambiguous and does not set the foundations for halting any further loss of ancient woodland or ancient and veteran trees. Whilst we have not yet seen the draft NPF4 policy in action, it provides more clarity and should hopefully eliminate development as a threat.
The draft NPF4 text also appears to place the same protection on ancient and veteran trees as it does ancient woodland and takes account of impacts on their ecological condition. Considering ecological condition is the kind of forwarding thinking that will be necessary for tackling the nature crisis and opens opportunities to think about the indirect impacts of development that can lead to declines in ecological condition and their eventual loss when considering planning applications.
There are still areas that need addressing. For example, the continued allowance of habitat fragmentation and the need to properly resource local authorities required to implement these policies. But the Draft NPF4 has reignited my hope that what remains of our precious ancient woodlands and ancient and veteran trees can be preserved. It is just a draft though, so we will keep on working and pushing government and MSPs for robust ancient woodland protections until they have become a reality.
Conclusion
Development is not the biggest threat to ancient woodland in Scotland. Pressure from deer is a much deeper-rooted issue. Results from the Native Woodland Survey for Scotland (NWSS) reported ancient woodland cover had reduced by ~21,044ha between the recording of the Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI) and the recording of the NWSS. Roughly 90% of that loss was most likely due to herbivore pressures in combination with the poor regeneration capacity of older trees.
However, threats don’t work alone, they are piling up to decimate our woodlands. Development can fragment habitats changing the climatic conditions inside them, so altering the species suited to live there. A new housing development may lead to garden waste thrown over the fence into ancient woodland. That waste may contain INNS, those may spread through the site damaging its ecological condition.
The multitude of threats present is leading to the decline of woodlands across the country. We are facing the very real fact that 97% of native woodlands are in poor ecological condition and less than 2% of Scotland is now covered by ancient woodland.
NPF4 provides us with the opportunity to eliminate one of those threats. We must seize it.
The Woodland Trust is running a campaign to ensure proposed ancient woodland and ancient and veteran tree policy changes are retained in the NPF4. Stand with us and support the campaign here.
Suzie Saunders is the Public Affairs Officer for the Woodland Trust Scotland and a member of LINK’s Planning Group.
Scotland’s fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) risks a ‘business-as-usual’ approach to the nature crisis rather than delivering the transformative change that has been promised.
Scotland hosts a variety of habitats and rare wildlife such as capercaillie and expanses of internationally important blanket bog in the Flow Country, to the nature we see every day around our towns, cities, gardens, allotments and community woodlands. It’s this amazing array of nature including the benefits it provides to society that we need to protect and restore. Through reforms to our planning system that are currently underway we can make great strides forward in supporting nature. The planning system affects nearly every aspect of our lives in some way, making decisions to put the infrastructure and amenities we need as a society in the right places, in the right way means that it can play a key role to combat the effects of climate change, halt biodiversity loss and restore nature.
Scotland’s fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) is the Scottish Government’s long-term plan to guide where development and infrastructure in Scotland takes place. Unlike previous frameworks, NPF4 now includes national planning policies and is part of the statutory development plan. This means its policies apply to all areas of Scotland and it will sit alongside policies in local development plans to assess whether a planning application is approved or refused. It will play a critical role to guide all planning decisions in Scotland for the next decade and beyond.
Given its key role in determining planning applications, NPF4 must play its part to ensure a net-zero, nature-rich future. When nature-rich habitats and greenspaces are in a healthy state, they have multiple benefits for people and climate. However, Scotland’s nature is declining, and we cannot afford another decade of inaction.
In response to the global nature and climate crises, the Scottish Government has set out ambitious targets to protect 30% of land by 2030 and achieve net-zero by 2045. However, NPF4 does not yet go far enough to respond to the nature and climate emergency and meet these targets, nor will the current draft deliver the promised transformative change needed for Scotland’s planning system.
Whilst NPF4 recognises the dual nature and climate crises, the language and the rhetoric in NPF4 is neither radical nor transformative policy or measures that would address specifically the nature element. For example:
There is notable difference between the language used in Policy 2 on the climate emergency, which will be given significant weight when considering all development proposals, whereas wording in Policy 3 on the nature crisis merely states development plans and proposals should ‘facilitate’ and ‘contribute to biodiversity enhancement’.
There are references made throughout the draft to nature networks, however, how these will be delivered in practice is unclear. We are disappointed our suggestion for a Scottish Nature Network has not been included as a National Development, this is a missed opportunity.
Whilst setting out a need to secure positive effects for biodiversity, the draft NPF4 offers no concrete solutions nor clarity for decision makers on how to secure this in practice.
Despite our concerns, there is still time to make changes to strengthen NPF4 and avoid ‘business-as-usual’ and further destruction and loss of the natural environment; these changes include:
The language in NPF4 needs to be clearer and more precise to ensure developments actively protect and restore nature.
NPF4 offers a key opportunity for the planning system to coordinate and facilitate the delivery of a Scottish Nature Network in the long term. Embedding a Nature Network in NPF4 as a National Development will set the framework to provide multiple benefits for nature, climate and people, and ensure national ambitions are delivered locally to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030.
NPF4 should include policy that mandates the need for developments to secure positive effects for biodiversity to address the nature and climate crises with the urgency desperately needed. Biodiversity enhancement should not be a ‘nice to have’ in developments, but rather an essential requirement.
The planning system doesn’t hold all the answers to solving the biodiversity crisis, but it has the potential to play a significant role to deliver meaningful change to protect and enhance Scotland’s nature. NPF4 is a crucial opportunity to ensure Scotland’s planning system delivers transformative, meaningful action for people, climate and nature. NPF4 is a crucial opportunity to ensure Scotland’s planning system delivers transformative, meaningful action for people, climate and nature.
This guest blog was written by Niamh Coyne, from RSPB Scotland and a member of LINK’s Planning Group.
Today we celebrate World Wetlands Day! Scotland has many amazing wetlands that are not only sites of important biodiversity but also provide a unique home to a wide variety of wildlife. Wetlands provide many of the things which society relies upon such as clean water, flood protection, carbon storage, and are also great places for people to enjoy the outdoors.
World Wetlands Day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention of Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, which was signed in 1971. The Convention’s mission is to conserve wetlands through local and national actions as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development and protecting biodiverse habitats.
We asked seven LINK members to tell us more about the importance of the wetland habitats and related species that they host as part of the Nature Champion initiative.
Hosted by National Trust for Scotland and Amphibian and Reptile Conservation
Scotland has a range of habitats, a mosaic of fantastic variety. Nestled within the grand and awe-inspiring mountain ranges, sweeping moors and tumbling waterfalls, are fragments of upland flushes, fens and swamps.
The upland flushes of our hills appear as long green lines of rushes or bright patches of mosses and liverworts. These green darts follow the springs, here you will find the heath spotted orchid, dwarf cudweed and butterwort. The flushes provide a home for a variety of invertebrate life, providing good hunting for common lizards and toads. These flushes are under threat from draining hillsides, ploughing for forestry or by cutting moor-grips.
Fens lack trees but these peaty wetlands are fed by a steady source of ground or surface water. They are home to a variety of plants and animals including the red jewelled sundews. Fen vegetation is variable but very distinctive and contains many species that are rare or scarce.
Swamps are largely undisturbed wildernesses, a tangle of woody species and shade tolerant plants. They add a sudden softness to the landscape in areas of moor and if they tempt in the unwary walker, their feet will get a soaking from the sodden ground.
Small Freshwater Bodies include ponds, ditches, springs and flushes. All of these provide huge ecological benefits, supporting a wide range of aquatic species and offset some of the negative impacts of many environmental issues facing us such as climate change, flooding and noise pollution.
Ponds support an extraordinary two thirds of all freshwater species and are central to the survival of many including frogs, toads, newts, a huge range of aquatic invertebrates and plants. Freshwater Bodies also provide mammals and birds with drinking water and some species such as grass snakes with important foraging areas.
One third of ponds are thought to have disappeared in the last fifty years or so and of those that remain more than 80% are in ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ condition (Freshwater Trust Habitat research). This has had an enormous impact on aquatic wildlife.
Creating clean new ponds is one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect freshwater wildlife. Where it is not a viable option to create new ponds, restoring existing depleting ponds is greatly beneficial.
Kathy Wormald, Froglife
Emma Harper MSP is Nature Champion for Ponds and Small Lochs and Natterjack Toad. Ms Harper has previously contributed to a debate on World Wetlands Day in 2020. She underlined the importance of protecting wetlands both to support biodiversity and to provide a habitat for endangered species such as the natterjack toad to avoid extinction.
Hosted by Scottish Wildlife Trust and Woodland Trust Scotland.
The woodlands that follow the river and loch’s edge have always held an aura of magic in Scotland, considered by Celts to join our world to those more mystical. They continue to be places of natural connection and are vitally important for many reasons, both for people and wildlife. As with any woodland, riparian woodland is a carbon store and benefits biodiversity, acting as a wildlife corridor. More uniquely, the trees shading the river help keep the water cool, making habitat better suited for spawning fish, like Atlantic salmon, and freshwater pearl mussels. The trees present a barrier to run off pollution from farmland and roads, helping to keep the water clean and their roots stabilise the riverbank, reducing erosion. In high rainfall riparian woodland reduces the risk and severity of flooding, providing protection to people’s homes and businesses.
Historically riparian woodland would have run alongside most of Scotland’s rivers, but now many areas are devoid of trees due to human impacts. For the benefits of riparian woodland to be maximised we need to restore this habitat, allowing trees to grow by protecting them from browsing and grazing animals and encouraging landowners to plant native trees in these areas.
Rivers in Scotland are home to a great diversity of species, including plants, invertebrates, fish, birds and mammals. Rivers channels themselves provide a diversity of habitats that provide homes for an equally diverse array of species that are perfectly adapted to survive in the specific conditions provided by these unique habitat types. River habitat itself does not just include the channel itself but also the surrounding embankment flood plains and riparian habitats which are not only vital for different life stages of the species that inhabit our rivers but also act as a buffer against pollution and the impacts of climate change.
Each river in Scotland is home to some very special species. Every February Buglife launches its citizen science project the hunt for the Northern February Red stonefly. The Northern February red stonefly (Brachyptera putata) has its global stronghold in the Scottish Highlands and has only ever been recorded in two rivers outside Scotland – the River Usk in Wales and the River Wye in Hereford, where it is now thought to be extinct. During periods of winter sunshine through February and March these insects can often be found basking on fence posts that run alongside large rivers, from where the adults will have emerged to mate and disperse after spending their formative months as larvae growing under rocks in fast flowing water. The female has three dark bands across its wings, as well as dark wing tips, whilst the male is short-winged and unable to fly.
Lowland raised bogs are a peatland habitat created as raised domes of peat on wet impermeable substrate, such as clay. They are formed by Sphagnum mosses and are home to a host of specialist species and often rare biodiversity. Unfortunately, we have lost over 85% of our lowland raised bogs due to several factors such as peat extraction, afforestation and drainage. These special habitats are still found in the heart of the central belt in areas like the Slamannan Plateau in Falkirk. Raised bogs are important as they store massive amounts of carbon and water, providing a carbon sink and flood management when in a good condition.
Standing on a blanket bog in Scotland, looking out over the gently undulating moss hummocks and pools, you could be standing on peat more than 8 metres deep, that has formed over thousands of years and represents a globally rare habitat. Here in Scotland, blanket bogs cover around 1.8 million hectares, equating to 23% of our land area. Over 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon are stored in Scottish peatlands –a third of the carbon held in the Amazon rainforest which is 250 times larger in area! However, only around 20% of UK peatlands are in a natural, or semi-natural state due to human interventions and so are not only less effective in storing carbon, but actively release it.
Blanket bogs are also incredibly important for biodiversity and downstream flood management as they store vast amounts of water.
Large-scale restoration is underway, but it requires further investment and co-ordinated action at a regional and national scale. Peatland degradation must be halted by banning peat-based compost sales in Scotland, while promoting alternative composts and ensuring that peatlands are protected from inappropriately planned activities such as burning that does not follow the Muirburn Code, tree planting, wind farms and other developments.
Annie Robinson, CIEEM
As we can see, wetlands come in all shapes and sizes and there is a great variety throughout Scotland. Each support a wealth of wildlife which all have an important part to play in keeping our ecosystems healthy and balanced. At the start of this Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, now is the time for Nature’s voice in the Scottish Parliament to be strong, loud and well informed to protect important habitats like Scotland’s wetlands and the species that they support. Nearly 60 MSPs have signed up to be champions for a range of habitats and wildlife. Find out more information here.
By Deborah Long, chief officer, Scottish Environment LINK
Looking back on the rollercoaster of hope and despair that was COP26, there are many aspects of the Glasgow talks that give me cause for optimism as we enter 2022. One of the things that makes me hopeful is the enormous public profile of the Glasgow event. Pretty much everyone in Scotland knew about COP26 – and not just because the talks were hosted here. People are ever more aware of the urgency of the climate crisis.
Another thing that gives me hope for 2022 is the prominence of nature at COP26. In the negotiating rooms and out on the streets, nature inspired. We saw real recognition that halting biodiversity loss, in Scotland and around the world, is essential for the future of humanity. Nature has a crucial role to play in limiting and adapting to climate change. But it’s also clearer than ever that the solutions we put in place to tackle climate change must help restore the planet’s ecosystems. In short, we must address the nature and climate crises together.
So far, efforts to stop biodiversity loss and restore habitats and species are lagging far behind efforts to limit global temperature rises. This is true in Scotland as much as anywhere: Scotland has ambitious climate targets that are helping us reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but despite one in nine species in Scotland being at risk of extinction, there are no equivalent targets in place for nature. Following a campaign by environment charities, the Scottish government has committed to introducing legally binding targets to restore nature in a Natural Environment Bill in 2023-4.
Despite the many failings of the annual UN climate talks – the COPs – these summits have undeniably helped galvanise countries to start taking action on climate change, albeit to a widely varying degree. For this reason, I want to see the UN biodiversity conference scheduled to take place in Kunming, China, in spring 2022 (but facing possible delays due to covid) get as much attention and fanfare as COP26.
The Kunming conference is the latest in a series of international UN biodiversity summits, equivalent to the climate COPs, aimed at conserving and ensuring the sustainable use of global biodiversity. Confusingly, these are also referred to as COPs (‘conference of the parties’), and since it is the fifteenth, the Kunming conference is COP15.
So what can the world hope to achieve at this other COP, the nature COP?
First, we need the nature COP to set ambitious global targets for halting biodiversity loss and restoring nature, to give countries, including Scotland, a clear framework for their own national targets. These would be the equivalent of 1.5oC for climate.
Second, we need financial commitments. Biodiversity is declining at a faster rate now than at any time in human history. Stopping the decline and helping species and habitats to recover will be a massive job, and it won’t come cheap. But it’s a job we have to take seriously if we want ecosystems to continue to function and provide for our needs.
Third, the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities must be protected. Biodiversity survives best where human pressure is less intense and where local communities work with nature, often using traditional techniques. Efforts to protect and restore biodiversity must work with local communities, rather than excluding or dispossessing them.
If it can make these things happen, and if it can help inspire the world to treat nature and climate with equal urgency, the nature COP might just be our next big chance to save the planet.
Plans for a National Strategy for Economic Transformation will have to be bold and radical if it is to protect people and the planet. So far, the signs aren’t encouraging.
How many people know that a National Strategy for Economic Transformation is being prepared for Scotland? Probably precious few, outside of policy wonk circles and the Holyrood in-crowd.
That does not seem right. This is to be a strategy for the whole nation to transform its economic outcomes, not just for government departments to follow, according to the Scottish Government. If so, a wide and deep process of consultation and debate is surely needed, to build popular support and buy-in from businesses, workers and citizens whose future it will affect, quite radically, if economic transformation is truly the goal.
Instead, a low-profile online consultation was launched in the summer with a 6 week deadline. There was little in the way of visible outreach promoting participation or efforts to ensure that the seldom-heard voices of those at the sharp end of the economic system were included.
If there has been outreach it must have been with business – it certainly was not with the environmental organisations which we represent, which is ironic because this was the only sector actively calling for a new economic strategy before the 2021 Holyrood elections .
Green groups had realised that vital objectives like zero emissions and protecting nature would only be achieved with the right economic policies; that existing economic management and fiscal policies had ignored these problems; and were often part of the problem, rather than the solution. Further, they had originated some of the few inspiring new ideas in the economic field in recent years – proposing a Scottish National Investment Bank; bringing the concept of Just Transition to the context in Scotland; being strong advocates of a circular economy and the prioritisation of wellbeing.
As the initially vague framing for the new National Strategy for Economic Transformation has been tightened up, it has been reassuring to see that the objectives of tackling climate change and protecting nature are in fact embedded in the remit of the new strategy. However, these purposes do not appear to be reflected in the discussions of the Advisory Council which was set up to advise on drafting the strategy in the six-month timetable which the Scottish Government had imposed on itself .
Who is speaking for nature and urgent action on climate change?
In the minutes of its meetings we have looked in vain for discussions of how to get our economy back within planetary boundaries or by what multiple do we need to increase investment in order to achieve a just transition. Nor do we see debates about the fundamental changes needed if soaring economic inequalities are to be abated and wellbeing for all is to replace GDP growth as the core objective of our economy.
The 18 pages of minutes from the first three meetings of this body do not feature a single mention of decarbonisation, nature or biodiversity, circular economy, climate change (there is one reference to the Climate Change Plan as a document). The only mention of just transition is a warning that “Care is needed on the language around just transition, recognising that this needs to be managed carefully to provide the confidence for businesses to invest …”.
We need to see a draft of the new strategy before reaching final conclusions, but it does seem that environmental organisations were justified in our concerns when we said in a letter to the Cabinet Secretart “there is no-one on the Advisory Council with a background in the environmental movement nor anyone who will speak from a climate change or biodiversity perspective with a track record of insisting that the priority for economic policy has to be to keep to (or get back within) planetary limits”.
Ten key points for transformation
In these circumstances, the Transform Our Economy group (Friends of the Earth Scotland, Wellbeing Economy Alliance and Scottish Environment LINK) has sought to fill the gap and propose how to tackle the urgent environmental and social challenges Scotland is facing. The new economic strategy needs to be bold in vision and broad in scope so we have set out Ten Key Points , criteria for what any truly transformative economic strategy would look like
In summary, these start from a proposition which might seem obvious but which is truly radical for economic policy – that the purpose of the economy is to achieve goals which are not framed in economic terms like GDP. We suggest these should be ‘wellbeing for all within environmental limits’. Secondly, that requires setting and achieving specific objectives like decarbonisation, social equality and reducing use of raw materials. These in turn require a whole-economy approach, drawing on all the powers of all parts of government, not just the bits labelled ‘environment’ – it needs to be fully embedded in economic strategy and policy.
To combat existing pressures locking us into the damaging status quo, Scotland needs a different relationship between public and private realms. Investment decisions need to be guided by democratically-determined goals that benefit collective wellbeing, rather than by market forces alone. Assessments of impacts on climate change, equity and nature need to be integrated into economic decision-making. A truly transformational strategy will need to listen to everyone’s voices and harness everyone’s enthusiasm so it will have to find specific ways of bringing benefit to all, including the most marginalised.
These are vitally important and difficult challenges. Scotland does have the potential to rise to them and there are some tools for doing that already being put in place such as Just Transition Plans for every sector of the economy, a Circular Economy Bill, and the Scottish National Investment Bank. But as we have seen too often, bold-sounding announcements from the Scottish Government can remain just that. Trying again, even trying harder, with a stale, business-as-usual approach won’t work.
Scotland needs a bold re-design of our economy to deliver collective wellbeing within planetary boundaries. Let’s open up the discussion of what transformation could look like, and how to get there, drawing on input from all our communities.
Please see here for our full statement on the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.
Matthew Crighton, for the Transform Our Economy Alliance (Friends of the Earth Scotland, Wellbeing Economy Alliance and Scottish Environment LINK)
A blog by Esther Brooker, Marine Policy and Engagement Officer.
Scotland has been well and truly in the global limelight for the past weeks, with the high-profile UN Conference of the Parties for Climate Change (COP26) being co-hosted by the UK and Italian Governments in Glasgow [1].
Nations worldwide, particularly those in the global south bearing the brunt of climate impacts, had their hopes pinned on agreements needed at COP26 to halt and reverse the effects of climate change, most crucially to ensure that global temperatures do not exceed 1.5°C by the end of century. Each day of the conference was headlined by flurries of commitments by world governments – stopping deforestation, further developing clean (renewable) energy sources and accelerating a phase-out on extracting and burning coal. But were they meaningful and timely enough to enable the transformative, systemic change needed to achieve COP26 goals? It certainly seemed like the rhetoric to act urgently on climate change was there, but with subsequent analyses predicting that all the 2030 commitments on nationally determined contributions made by global nations involved in the summit will still result in a catastrophic global temperature rise of 2.4°C by the end of century, it may be too little too late.
And what of our ocean? We know it plays a fundamental role in mitigating climate change, having buffered warming rates by absorbing 90% of excess heat, absorbed at least 25% of our carbon emissions into the water and helped long term storage by channelling carbon via marine foodwebs and “blue carbon” habitats like seagrass, mangroves and saltmarsh into the seabed. We also know that climate change can harm the ocean, with excess heat bleaching tropical corals and altering fish distribution and increasing acidity, preventing many species laying down vital shell material. A healthy ocean is one of our greatest allies in the fight against climate change. What then did our leaders do at COP26 to save our seas so that they can ultimately save us?
November 5th was Ocean Action Day and the UK made a number of commitments:
A £6 million UK contribution to PROBLUE, a World Bank fund that works across a broad range of ocean issues;
£400,000 to support the government of Fiji in issuing its first sovereign blue bond;
An additional £1 million contribution to the Global Fund for Coral Reefs;
Earlier this year the UK also committed £2 million to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance, which hosted a roundtable at COP26. Further signatories were also secured to the UK-driven 30by30 target, which aims to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030. The UK also highlighted its work on blue carbon research – habitats and species that can naturally fix and store atmospheric carbon and help to mitigate climate change emissions – including a new cross-Administration Blue Carbon Partnership and newly published guidance on restoring seagrass, saltmarsh and intertidal sediment habitats. Crucially, Scotland are a few steps ahead on blue carbon research partnerships, having already established the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum in 2018, which hosted a productive “Blue Carbon: Beyond the Inventory” conference on 11-12th November. At this event Mairi Gougeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands announced a new Blue Carbon International Policy Challenge, which will give funding for up to five blue carbon projects in 2022 with the aim of translating research findings into action on the ground and encouraging new partnerships with other countries.
We have reviewed the UK’s COP26 commitments against what we think is needed to recover our seas, as described in our Ocean Recovery Plan.
Ask 1: Create legally binding targets for ocean recovery
Targets at COP26 have been predominantly based on reducing emissions, relevant for both marine industries and nature conservation as we’ll discuss under the following asks. LINK member Marine Conservation Society co-hosted an ocean event in the Water Pavilion at which UN Climate Envoy Peter Thomson implored ocean action to be included. A crucial outcome for this COP26 was that for the first time the ocean is to be “anchored” permanently in the multilateral climate change regime. For the first time, ocean action is formally recognised as climate action.
Scotland: The Scottish Government announced commitment to introduce nature recovery targets in law in the 2021/22 Programme for Government in September.
UK: A legally binding target for species abundance is included in the new Environment Act 2021.
Ask 2: Strengthen the MPA network for ocean recovery [2]
No numerical targets were announced at COP26, but this was not expected as the focus for this will be the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Kunming, China April/May 2022. However, the Glasgow Climate Pact crucially now recognises “the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including in forests, the ocean and the cryosphere, and the protection of biodiversity […]”. Again, this is an important step in recognising the crucial role that the recovery of nature on land and in the ocean has to help meet emission reductions targets. In short, we need to turn the carbon tap off and increase the capacity of nature’s sponge to help absorb the historic excess. Recovering the health of the ocean is therefore crucial and Marine Protected Areas have an important role to play.
The UK Government has led internationally on the ‘30by30’ initiative to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, to which there are now over 100 signatories. The Scottish Government has also recently committed to creating highly protected marine areas (HPMAs) in 10% of Scotland’s seas by 2026, four years ahead of the EU target, which would lead the way in UK and Europe for this stricter subset of protection if met. These new HPMAs should be akin to the IUCN definition of fully protected, allowing no extractive or damaging activities to operate within them. These areas should prioritise the recovery of damaged and modified areas across all inshore and offshore habitats and include protection of blue carbon habitats and species, both to prevent damage and the release of carbon already stored, and to enable increase of blue carbon habitats and species.
The 30by30 target sounds good but is misleading without the detail of actual protection. Designating MPAs does not provide enough protection without fisheries management measures in particular also enshrined in law. Both the UK and Scottish Government already claim to have exceeded the 30% target domestically, but most remain “paper parks” requiring urgent protection from the most damaging activities. With the UK and Scottish Governments talking the talk on 30by30, the pressure is on to ensure the reality matches the rhetoric. The COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference next year is another crucial staging post.
Ask 3: Reform fisheries for resilience
There were no specific targets on fisheries at COP26. However, some of the agricultural reform commitments pertain to food systems in general, which should arguably support fisheries and aquaculture. The Glasgow pact requires relevant parties “to consider how to integrate and strengthen ocean-based action in their existing mandates and work plans and to report on these activities within the existing reporting processes” As the signatory party, the UK Government commitment to reduce carbon emissions and decarbonise industries must therefore include commercial fishing and the protection and recovery of blue carbon. The largest UK supermarkets in partnership with WWF have committed to reducing the environmental impact of UK groceries by 2030, with marine included as one of the 7 focus areas.
Damaging fishing methods, such as bottom trawling, have recently been estimated to release over a gigaton of carbon stored in seabed sediments into the water column every year, although the full pathways and extent of release into the atmosphere are still being explored [3]. Furthermore, carbon is cycled and transported to deeper waters by fish, so unsustainable fishing also results in a loss of carbon storage. Leaving more fish (and their predators and prey) in the ocean and larger areas of seabed habitats and sediments undisturbed can potentially therefore make an important contribution toward long-term carbon storage and net zero emissions. Destructive fishing practices need to be phased out and commercial fisheries supported with the innovation and reform needed to be part of a more sustainable nature- and climate-smart food system.
Ask 4: Invest for our future
The UK Government committed around £7.5 million to various global ocean climate funds (see above).
Climate finance for the oceans has been a part of ocean-related commitments at COP26, and investment has also been pledged for protection of nature on land as well as for improving sustainability in industries and reducing pollution. Domestic funding for conservation of UK seas remains thin. In Scotland, our Ocean Recovery Plan calls for an increase in public budget for marine conservation, development of innovative finance models and proper enforcement (e.g. issuing of appropriate fines) of environmental damage. Of course, investing in global climate action will benefit us all ultimately, but both the UK Government and Scottish Government must ensure sufficient investment within their respective areas of competence to achieve their contribution to reducing emissions.
It would be easy to say ‘time will tell’ whether the UK’s targets and pledges will be enough to save our seas and sufficiently reduce emissions to prevent warming to 1.5 – but that’s the thing, we don’t have the time! Action must be immediate and effective to ensure we meet that crucial figure.
Wider concerns remain as COP26 lacked stronger commitments to reduce emissions. The initial promise to phase out coal was diminished and changed in the COP agreement to “phase down”. The promise of high-income nations to deliver US$100 bn in climate finance annually from 2020 has not been reached. Similarly, Nations failed to agree on the creation of a “loss and damage” fund. A recent paper discussing why COP26 should focus more on oceans outlines some simple and immediate steps that governments and marine managers can take, which correspond well with our four key Ocean Recovery Plan asks:
Develop integrated policies to address climate and biodiversity across land, freshwater and oceans, and incorporate carbon storage objectives within MPA design and management;
International-scale approach to protecting the ocean (at least 30% of our oceans must be protected, including areas outside national jurisdiction – the high seas);
Reform the systems under which human activities that damage ocean ecosystems operate;
Financing ocean protection and account for the value of blue carbon ecosystems to support and encourage investment.
The paper also highlights increasing global cooperation to work toward climate change goals and to improve our understanding of ocean processes and ecosystems and how changing conditions impact people in the most vulnerable areas. Here in Scotland our coastal areas have already changed so much and the effects of climate change are becoming ever more apparent. Scottish seas have some of the richest carbon storing habitats in the world, as well as diverse maritime industries with the potential to contribute more than they take, and with that comes a responsibility on government, industry and consumers alike to work towards the crucial common goal.
Notes
[1] International negotiations are a matter reserved to Westminster and the Scottish Government had no formal role in the negotiations.
[2] Commit to at least 30% of Scotland’s seas being highly protected, at least a third of which are fully protected (therefore 10% of Scotland’s seas), from destructive and extractive activities by 2030.
So CoP26 is over, the posters have been taken down, the seats stacked and the streets resumed their November demeanour. If CoP26 was our best last chance (UNFCC), what does the future look like now?
We had high ambitions. But not unrealistic ones. We all went into CoP26 knowing that the world had to do much more to prevent ongoing loss and destruction of homes, businesses, countries and habitats from the effects of climate change. And we knew we had to act quickly because the impacts of climate change are already with us. We heard impassioned pleas from those already affected, in Africa, on Pacific islands, in the Arctic north and from teenagers and children around the world who are palpably angry at the inheritance they are going to receive and the lack of sufficient action to leave them a future planet worth living on. Was it all blah blah blah? We asked 7 people for their thoughts.
Mike Robinson CEO of Royal Scottish Geographical Society told us: “With international commitments setting us on track for at least 2.4°C of warming, it’s difficult not to be disappointed with the outcome of the Glasgow COP26. But then, I have been disappointed by the outcome of every one of the previous 25 climate COPs too, so this may say more about expectations and the challenge of global diplomacy and negotiation than anything. Glasgow was another step on the long journey towards net zero and beyond.
….we [now] need to stop blaming each other and start collaborating more than ever, because most of all we need to bring people together around this issue, to win the majority over to the changes we all need, and to demand that change, so our politicians have the political space (or are forced) to act. Because only then will a COP be able to secure the commitments we all want and need.”
Calum Duncan, Head of Conservation Scotland at Marine Conservation Society said: “it is heartening that for the first time ever in a COP pact “ocean-based action” is “invited” to be strengthened to help in the fight against climate change.”
“I hoped that world leaders, negotiators, industry and civic society would listen to the ocean and put in place action and finance to restore and protect our ocean so it can continue to be a key ally in the fight against climate change.”
Catherine Gemmell, Scotland Conservation Officer at Marine Conservation Society, volunteered at COP26 as a Glasgow City Council volunteer in the Green Zone as well as spreading the word of Marine Conservation Society’s #ListenToTheOcean campaign.
“Along the river Stuart and our engagement team successfully brought the ocean into the heart of Glasgow on Youth and Ocean Day and were invited into youth hub of activity at ‘The Extreme Hangout.’ A powerful moment where Sea Goddess ‘Storm’ walked the streets of Govan was captured by our team where the local community came out to listen to this incredible voice of the Ocean.
Through engagement in the Blue and Green Zones and across Scotland we managed to connect with people and places across the Ocean. The Ocean was given a voice and it was heard, but will our calls for action be heeded?”
Storm meeting Little Amal in Govan, Glasgow
In terms of what’s next, Calum Duncan said: “Reality must match rhetoric, in Scotland and across the globe. Me and my team will continue to do everything we can to push ocean recovery in Scotland, including ensuring blue carbon habitats help long-term carbon storage. The Glasgow Climate Pact fell just short, the window to secure national action globally to keep 1.5C alive is closing, rapidly, but it is not yet shut. Hope therefore remains alive, just.”
“Therefore, whoever you are and wherever you are please listen to the ocean and become a voice for Scottish Seas and hold those with the power and the money to account and to demand action at every level to save our seas, our climate, people and planet.”
Catherine Gemmell, Calum Duncan and members of the Marine Conservation Society team at COP26.
Lang Banks, Director of WWF Scotland said: “To put it bluntly, what has been pledged so far in Glasgow is not yet enough to prevent the world from warming more than 1.5oC – putting people and nature in peril.”
Climate pledges are not the same climate action and it is clear the biggest gap lies in real action to cut emissions this decade. There’s no more time to waste, we need to see all those net zero commitments for far off in the future backed up by real and rapid cuts to emissions by 2030.”
Rob Knott, Tamara Lumb and Amelia Hayward are Conservation Skills Interns at Forsinard Flows with RSPB Scotland. They are known as the ‘Bog babes’ and work to save Scotland’s bogs as well as educate others on why they should care about bogs too.
“It’s hard to look back on our expectations of COP26, knowing in the end how it turned out. Legislatively, we hoped COP26 would be a real turning point for climate action. And yet fossil fuel consumption has not been halted, loss and damage aid is less than we hoped and the goal of 1.5 degrees now likely sits beyond our reach. In this way, COP26 certainly did not achieve what we hoped. COP is only two weeks of every year, we now have another fifty to take the fight home, to build on our unity, and to keep fighting for climate justice.”
The Bog babes’ hope for people to be united through calling for action for both nature and climate was prevalent throughout the conference: “We hoped that COP26 would bring people together to discuss the issues and unite in the face of climate adversity. This, we feel, is where COP26 was successful. Attending COP was amazing and inspiring, not because of the delegates and politicians, but because of the raw passion, energy and determination of those raising their voices outside the debating halls. People really came together to discuss their concerns and worries and found solace, however small, in their shared eco-anxiety about the future of the planet.”
Global Day of Action for Climate Justice March, 6th November (Nature day at COP26)
The Bog babes highlighted how positive it was to see nature addressed more during COP26 than in any previous climate conference: “Solutions using nature were included along with firmer legislation to protect and restore vital ecosystems. The event also hosted the first ever Peatland Pavilion which showcased the vital role which peat has in carbon storage, whilst nature featured in numerous events across the conference.”
“In short, it was uplifting to see nature at the forefront of COP26 and to see greater recognition of the interlinked nature and climate emergencies. However, nature must not be taken for granted – action for nature must coexist alongside phasing out fossil fuels, creating safeguards for nature, climate mitigation and providing loss and damage aid for countries worst affected by climate change. We cannot solve one crisis without the other. The proof, of course, lies in the year to come – let’s hope nature lies at the heart of COP27.”
The Bog babes stated: “The Scottish government needs to listen to the science. During the early months of COVID-19, our governments kept telling us to listen to the science for it was, and remains, our best defence. And yet when it comes to the climate crisis, they remain woefully impassive to the insurmountable evidence before them.”
“They need to put nature and climate issues before political discord and debate passionately with other governments to ensure collectively they are working in the best interests of the environment. Ultimately, they need to listen to the voices of those groups often left out of these discussions – indigenous people, the youth, the LGBTQIA+ community, BAME communities, disadvantaged communities and farmers – to name but a few. We are a stronger challenge to the nature and climate emergencies together, and it’s time they realised that.”
Deborah Long, Chief Officer of LINK shared some concluding thoughts:
We’re a bit nearer than we were to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5oC. The language is more urgent, alarms are truly ringing and the noise from civil society is showing governments that people care deeply and that action is required against vested interests. But we are not moving fast enough. And even where we do have commitments we need those to be acted upon so that next year when CoP comes back, it will be entirely feasible to close the gap between emissions now and limiting their impact to 1.5O C warming. This is where civil society is going to be so important over the next 12 months, by people continuing to be loud about what needs to be done.
In Scotland specifically, the government can continue to show the leadership towards a more equal and environmentally healthy world, working with others across borders to achieve that and listening to the voices of the younger generations. Halting the exploitation of new reserves of finite resources will be key, involving local people in decision making around local resources including nature and enabling everyone to have access to a safe home, healthy food and thriving nature is where Scotland should now be showing the way.
Many thanks to Mike Robinson, Calum Duncan, Catherine Gemmell, the Bog Babes (Rob Knott, Tamara Lumb, Amelia Hayward) and Lang Banks for their contributions to this blog.
This blog concludes the LINK Thinks COP26 series. Click here to read the series of blogs by LINK staff, members, Honorary Fellows and invited guests who, over the two weeks of the climate conference, highlighted the COP26 presidency programme with a nature-climate twist.
Yesterday legislation[1] was laid in parliament which will see Scotland ban some of the most environmentally damaging single-use plastic items – those that are often seen on beaches and littered in our environment. This ban will come into effect in July 2022 and covers single-use plastic cutlery, plates, straws, beverage stirrers and balloon sticks; and food containers and cups made of expanded polystyrene. Importantly, exemptions apply to plastic straws for those who need them for independent living or medical purposes. Scotland is the first UK Nation to ban these items and deserves credit for doing so.
Although a welcome step, we need to make sure that momentum is maintained and ambition increased.
There are additional single-use plastics that should be restricted or banned. Other countries have commitments to ban, for example, plastic condiment sachets, wet wipes, confetti, tea bags, six-pack rings and take-out food containers[2]. The Scottish Government plans to ban further single-use plastic items – let’s make sure it includes all those which are either not needed at all or for which there are practicable reusable alternatives.
We also need to be mindful of unintended consequences and the overall goals – as well as addressing plastics that are littered, we need to reduce our overall consumption of plastics, especially those made of fossil fuels. Plastic is a major contributor to climate change and emissions from the plastic lifecycle threaten the ability of the global community to keep temperature rise below 1.5° C[3]. Our over-use of raw materials in general also needs to be addressed. The sheer quantity of resources extracted, processed and wasted has a massive impact on climate change and biodiversity loss[4] and Scotland’s material footprint is more than double sustainable levels[5].
With this in mind, we need to be wary of, and mitigate against, two possible consequences of the single-use plastic item ban.
First, the substitution of material in single-use items. Although single-use plastic is a particular problem due to the nature of plastic in the environment, single-use in general is wasteful. Non-essential single-use items should be banned irrespective of material.
Second, in encouraging use of more durable alternatives, we need to make sure that such items are used enough times before they are discarded if they are to offer net benefit over single-use in terms of overall plastic consumption. Consumer awareness campaigns are needed and it should be made easy for people to do the ‘right thing’ – for example, reusable cup deposit schemes[6] would both enable people to avoid single-use cups without having to carry a reusable cup around with them, and ensure that the cups are used again and again.
The above is not to take away from the achievement of this week which we should celebrate as a significant step towards moving away from single-use. However, it is only the beginning and more action is urgently needed.
A blog by Professor James Curran MBE, Honorary Fellow of Scottish Environment LINK.
To mark the COP26 Presidency Theme ‘Cities, regions and built environments’, James shares his vision of revitalised towns and cities which emphasise the health, social and cultural benefits of living in sustainable places which are connected to nature.
Patrick Geddes, the famous Scottish pioneering town planner (and biologist, by the way) said that “A city is more than a space in place, it is a drama in time”. Cities, and towns, of course change continuously: they grow, expand, decline, and change their character. In my Glasgow childhood I remember the tail-end of its industrial prowess. The sky lighting up from blast furnaces, school trips to ship launches, the lines of newly-built railway engines at the North British loco works – all gone now. At a conference just the other day, these memories came to mind in addressing a Just Transition in tackling climate change. My home city has suffered a multi-generational legacy of social and health problems from its chaotic deindustrialisation. We mustn’t let that happen again, as we reshape much of our lives, economy and institutions to address climate change, delivering both mitigation and adaptation.
When, these days, we think of a “city”, as likely as not we think of congestion, pollution, noise, and stress. A recent (2020) Ipsos MORI opinion survey revealed that, in the UK, only 22% of people would prefer to live in a big city, and 40% think cities will become even less attractive in future. With a Covid-inspired revolution in interconnectivity, we have an opportunity to rethink the city. Some argue that cities are very efficient, more sustainable, and less environmentally damaging than dispersed rural communities. They certainly provide more opportunities for social interaction and Geddes certainly recognised their important role in cultural evolution.
As cities, and city regions, start to adopt radical climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, can they assume new characters that emphasise the benefits and minimise the disbenefits of city living? Can they become places that are better integrated with their biological and geographical context and that offer improved social functions – all as Geddes argued. I certainly believe so.
A Just Transition, adopted by Scottish Government as a new national mission, means a lot more than managing the shift of jobs from existing fossil-fuel to future renewable businesses.
It should mean building a comprehensive circular economy, modelled of course on bio-mimicry since Nature creates no waste. The circular economy entails a redesign of products to allow for repair, upgrade, disassembly, recycling and re-use of components. It will benefit from close co-location of synergistic businesses but, importantly, it will offer high job content, and community jobs. It is an economic model based on renewable energy, and reducing global dependency, through providing much greater resilience to inevitably disrupted supply chains and availability of raw materials under the future impact of climate chaos.
A Just Transition should also involve addressing environmental injustices – the excess exposure of more deprived communities to poor air quality, degraded local environments, flooding, limited access to green space, and noise.
All available vacant/derelict land, again often associated with deprived communities, should be used for new multi-purpose green and blue spaces – providing paths and cycleways to connect to shops, schools, business hubs and public transport; to offer soakaways to reduce surface water, riverine and sewer flooding; to offer venues for cafes and play and sports; to offer trees for cooling and shade, as well as sequestering carbon. Such spaces should encourage community orchards and market gardens, perhaps vertical farming, and also, if well designed, interconnecting green/blue corridors for revitalised nature. Such spaces must be co-designed with communities, giving local people real ownership over their own environmental space – countering the lack of local empowerment which Sir Harry Burns has argued contributes strongly to the so-called “Glasgow Effect” of poor health and reduced life expectancy.
At smaller scale, there has been plenty of talk, but very limited action, on green roofs, green walls, and on the greening of individual streets – ideally combining with the creation of low traffic and low emission zones.
This vision only has a prospect of realisation with a revised structure of local governance. The Scottish Government and CoSLA are both “… convinced that community, fiscal and functional empowerment in all communities and for all public services provides the route map to this future”. ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/local-governance-review-joint-statement-2/ ). The use of financial incentive, compulsory purchase, community right to buy, participatory budgeting ( https://pbscotland.scot/ ) and the Community Choice Fund could all unlock enormous potential.
This is a vision of revitalised towns and cities, hosting regenerative local businesses, delivering zero-carbon living, and continuing to thrive and prosper under increasing climate change impacts. In particular, such remodelled towns and cities will emphasise the health, social and cultural benefits of living in sustainable places which are connected to nature. They will actually realise the century-old dreams of Patrick Geddes.
This blog is part of the LINK Thinks CoP26 series. Click here to read the series of blogs by LINK staff, members, Honorary Fellows and invited guests who highlight the COP26 presidency programme with a nature-climate twist.
A blog by Malachy Clarke, Public Affairs Manager at Friends of the Earth Scotland
To mark the COP26 Presidency Theme ‘Transport’, Malachy highlights the importance of sustainable transport in tackling climate change.
Transport emissions are Scotland’s single largest source of greenhouse gases, accounting for over 1/3rd of Scotland’s emissions. Road traffic makes up 69% of our transport emissions, 40% of which is private car use. In addition, air pollution from road transport leads to 2500 premature deaths in Scotland every year. Air pollution disproportionately affects low-income communities the most. Despite this, lower income communities are significantly less likely to drive. 97% of households with an annual income over £40,000 have at least one car. This compares to just 51% of households with an annual income of less than £6,000. There is no future where we meet our aims of limiting warming to 1.5c and continue business as usual in transport.
Many people view Electric Cars as the future of transport. Indeed, electric vehicles are an important part of reducing our climate change emissions and cutting local air pollution. But they are only part of the answer. If we replaced every petrol or diesel car with an electric one, congestion would be just as bad, we’d waste just as much space on car parking and roads, and people would still be killed in crashes. The production of electric vehicles and the degradation of electric vehicles tyres, brakes and internal machinery and the breakdown of the roads they drive on would continue to create particulate matter and continue to damage our health. This is not to mention the fact that electric vehicles will take a long time to phase into common usage. Banning the sale of new non-hybrid petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 is a welcome move but electric vehicles are expensive and charging points are not as prolific as they need to be. It would take a long time for electric cars to enter the secondary vehicle market and proliferate our streets in numbers anywhere close to those that would be needed to tackle the climate emergency.
It is clear, the use of private cars must be reduced. Luckily, the Scottish Government agrees; and has committed to reducing car-km use by 20% by 2030. This is a mammoth task. One that requires the Scottish Government to buck a trend that has held true for 70 years as car usage has crept up and up. The only way to get people out of cars is to make public transport affordable (or ideally free), frequent and reliable. Without a robust public transport network we will be unable to remove our reliance on cars.
When global delegates arrive in Glasgow in November they will find a city with little to no trains on a Sunday, a disorganised bus network and a severe lack of cycle infrastructure. While transport will be free for COP26 delegates, the rising costs of public transport will be borne by everyday citizens. While this will make it easier for delegates to get around, and save them some money, it won’t truly reflect the state of public transport across the country. COP26 would have been an ideal time to roll out free public transport for all. An idea recommended by the Just Transition Commission, free public transport, is possible and has been trialed in cities across the world, Luxembourg recently began offering free public transport to its citizens. Free transport for delegates but not for residents is not only unjust, it’s emblematic of the inequality embedded into our transport system. This must change if we are to move as many journeys as possible to public transport, walking and cycling, while modernising the transport fleet.
Bringing buses into public ownership and making them free at the point of use – like we do with health, education and other vital services – would be hugely significant in advancing our net zero aims. If we run our buses in the public interest, we can create a comprehensive network that takes cars off the road, reduces emissions and improves air quality. In October, there were promising announcements on cycle lanes in Glasgow and Edinburgh. We need every council to bring this level of ambition, to make sure that shorter journeys can be walked or cycled in comfort and safety. After all, safety concerns are consistently listed as the number one reason more people don’t cycle to work or school. The speed and volume of cars keeps potential cyclists off their bikes and forces them into their own motor vehicles or onto the pavement. By providing a robust, safe, comprehensive cycle network we can reduce the number of cars on the road and create a healthy safe environment for all.
Despite the punny title, we need to do the opposite of “drive” towards net-zero and instead ditch cars in favour of more sustainable, more active methods of transportation. COP26 should be the beginning of a transport revolution for Scotland. Free at the point of use travel with comprehensive, reliable transport networks run for passengers and the planet, not profit.
This blog is part of the LINK Thinks CoP26 series. Click here to read the series of blogs by LINK staff, members, Honorary Fellows and invited guests who highlight the COP26 presidency programme with a nature-climate twist.
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