The crisis of sewage in rivers and at beaches was entirely predictable, with overflowing sewers designed into the system while ignoring coming climate change. In the late 1990s I helped persuade the Scottish Government to increase the number of official …
Legal challenges push governments on climate
From the Netherlands to the United States, more and more legal actions are being brought to try to force governments to do the right thing on climate change. The same kind of scrutiny might be about to be turned upon Scotland’s …
Climate change accelerates
The world’s climate scientist recently warned that the predicted impacts of climate change are happening faster and more strongly than previously expected. Tumbling weather records around the world do indeed show climate change accelerating. It’s not even mid-May but we already …
Communities and offshore wind
The Belgian government have just agreed to encourage citizens’ co-operatives to have a stake in major offshore windfarm projects. In Scotland, communities are already losing out. Having lots of sea and lots of wind, Scotland has massive plans for the development of offshore …
Oily influence vs fossil-free politics
As a hundred thousand people on the streets of London for Extinction Rebellion’s Big One have been reminding us of the existential threat of climate change and 1,300 oil workers have gone on strike because oil companies aren’t sharing their record profits, …
German nuclear phaseout signals the end for nuclear in Europe
Future generations will look back at our flirtation with the most unsustainable and most expensive form of energy production – nuclear power – and curse us for the mess we have left them. But the end is beginning to be in sight …
Electric vehicles – coming quicker than you think
Electric vehicles are not the answer to all our transport woes but they are a big part of the change we need on transport, and they are coming quicker than you might think. Watch any city street and you cannot …
UK climate plan still falls short
Revised UK climate plans continue to fall short of delivering on internationally-agreed targets while new energy plans continue to back expanding oil and gas production. Last week the UK Government released 44 climate and energy documents, including a revised version …
UN’s strongest climate warning yet
Last weeks’ UN climate report came with the direst warnings yet, but is anyone listening ? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment’s Synthesis Report is the culmination of years of work by the world’s climate scientists. It brings together …
Climate challenge for new SNP leader
The new SNP Leader will have big shoes to fill when it comes to making progress on climate change. Alex Salmond was a great promoter of renewables and made the commitment to a climate bill with a guaranteed reduction in …
Nuclear still not the answer
The nuclear industry and their friends are stepping up their propaganda war but their terrible track record shows that new reactors are still not the answer to reducing emissions or supplying affordable power. The UK Committee on Climate Change, official …
Ocean rescue
There was much coverage over the weekend about the creation of an historic UN agreement to protect the world’s international oceans. There is also much to do to protect Scotland’s seas. The world’s nations agreed in 2012 at the Rio+20 meeting …