One of the products of the co-operation between the Greens and the SNP was supposed to be a deposit return scheme for drinks bottles and cans. Inherited from the previous SNP government the scheme was delayed several times but was …
Integrated ticketing. Hurrah ! Again
Among the policy announcements that was supposed to temper our disappointment at the 2030 target climate target being abandoned was one that the Scottish Government “will explore a new national integrated ticketing system for public transport in Scotland.” This is a great idea. …
Climate change and human rights
The judgement last week by the European Court of Human Rights that Switzerland’s lack of action on tackling climate change breached the human rights of a group of older women will open the door for many similar challenges and boost the chances …
Hydrogen dream evaporating
Scotland hopes to be a major exporter of hydrogen, but problems with major projects in Europe show that ambitious plans for the use of hydrogen may never be delivered. There are a number of potential sources of hydrogen. The oil …
Scotland’s climate targets dilemma
The Scottish Government has to produce a new plan on meeting climate targets by November, but their scientific advisers have told them that Scotland’s 2030 target is now almost impossible to meet. Scotland’s 2019 Climate Act set three targets. By 2030 we were supposed …
Big step forward on controlling grouse moors
This month the Scottish Parliament passed the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill into law, marking a very big step forward in curbing the impacts of grouse moors on wildlife and the environment. The new law follows several years of clever, dogged and …
Agriculture and energy sectors need to reduce methane emissions
Action in agriculture and the oil and gas industry could produce rapid reductions in the powerful greenhouse gas methane. 25% of Scotland’s contribution to climate change in 2021 was due to our emissions of methane. Because methane is around 80 …
Fife hydrogen heating trial now completely pointless
UK ministers have resisted an organised backlash against heat pumps and the hype over hydrogen for home heating and are about to confirm targets for heat pump manufacture. The Scottish Government recently confirmed its ambitions on heat pumps with a target to …
A treaty to end fossil fuels
The UK has just left the Energy Charter Treaty supposedly on the grounds that it would hold back action to meet climate targets. The Treaty, dating from 1991, allows fossil fuel companies to sue governments over policies they don’t like. France, Germany, the Netherlands …
Cementing renewables links with Africa
Scotland is working with key partners in Africa to share expertise and learn from each other on renewable energy. In the early 2000s I was invited by the Director in charge of energy policy at the Scottish Executive, as it …
Electric vehicles reaching a tipping point
Despite the UK and Scottish Governments going backwards on their top-level commitments to phasing out the sales of petrol and diesel cars and vans, things are actually going pretty well for electric vehicles. A new analysis shows that someone who bought a …
Never mind the climate crisis
Labour’s botched retreat from their commitments to a massive investment in reducing climate emissions looks doubly bad given its timing. First, in 2021 there was the pledge to invest £28 billion a year in measures to combat climate change. Then, …