Shetland Times Column 8th November 2024

The Climate Change Bill was passed in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday and revises previous targets to achieve net zero by 2045. It rows back on the target of reducing emissions by 75% by 2030 with the Scottish Government recognising earlier this year that this was “out of reach”.

Although all MSPs voted to pass the new Bill, with the exception of the Scottish Greens who abstained, it did so with criticism from across the chamber and emphasis on not getting into the position of failing again to meet targets.

The impact of climate change and loss of biodiversity was raised last week in a member’s debate about invasive non-native species in Scotland.  I highlighted the threat to wild pollinators, which have seen three bumblebee species become extinct in recent decades. I also had the opportunity to feature the work of the Shetland Community Wildlife Group and UHI Shetland on non-native species in Shetland like the Invasive Bryozoan which can foul harbour, marina and aquaculture structures, as well as boat hulls.

Protecting our environment is vital to secure food sources, habitat, and indeed our way of life. The first Budget from a Labour government in 14 years came with concerns in the agriculture community with devolved agriculture funding no longer being ring-fenced. That appears inconsistent in the face of food security challenges, as well as the need to address climate change and biodiversity loss. 

As my MP colleague Alistair Carmichael highlighted after Labour’s budget last week the new UK Government may have inherited a legacy of farm budget mismanagement from the Tories, but it is their decision if they double down on the same mistakes.

An increase in general funding for Scotland though is, of course, welcome.  

I know from the work undertaken during the passage of the Agriculture Bill in the Scottish Parliament that crofters, farmers and growers need certainty to plan for a sustainable future. They play their part in addressing nature and climate challenges in that future so any diminution of agriculture support will impact those challenges as well as food security.

At Wednesday’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands was giving evidence about amendments to the Joint Fisheries Statement, a requirement of the Fisheries Act 2020, and the ongoing work generally. 

North Sea Cod and West of Scotland Cod is to be merged into one Fisheries Management Plan in line with international organisations including the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) which now assesses cod as Northern Shelf stock. 

Accurate scientific data is vital across agriculture and marine sectors for sustainable food production and to protect the environment. The setting of targets has to be realistic and failures like that which necessitated the final stages of the Climate Change Bill this week have to be achievable. It is no exaggeration to say that lives depend on it.