By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS
Severin Carroll in the Guardian today, with a worried John Swinney photo:
Scotland is likely to miss its legally binding climate target by up to 20m tonnes, according to official data seen by the Guardian. The Scottish government set itself the world-leading target of reaching net zero – the point where any excess carbon emissions are soaked up by trees, peat or carbon capture – by 2045. Successive first ministers, including Nicola Sturgeon and the current first minister, John Swinney, have described Scotland repeatedly as a world leader on climate and stated their “unwavering” commitment to hit that target.
Here’s what Lord Deben, chair of the Climate Change Committee and former UK Environment Secretary, said in 2021:
Lord Deben, chair of the Climate Change Committee and former UK Environment Secretary told Holyrood’s Net Zero committee that Scotland’s approach has allowed him to ‘say to other parts of the United Kingdom why don’t they do it as well as the Scots?’
Scotland has passed world-leading climate change legislation as part of our aim to become a net zero country by 2045 – something hailed by the UN as “an inspiring example of the level of ambition we need globally”.
Commenting, SNP MSP Fiona Hyslop, who is also Net Zero Committee deputy convener said:
“It was encouraging to hear Lord Deben praise the approach taken by the Scottish Government in achieving our net zero targets and that in Scotland we are able to set an example which climate experts such as Lord Deben can take to other parts of the UK.
“Scotland continues to lead the UK in producing clean energy from renewable sources, Scotland the produces the equivalent of 97% of electricity demand from renewables and produces a surplus to be exported elsewhere too.
“In Scotland we also continue to take the lead in other initiatives such as tree-planting and removing diesel vehicles from our roads.
“Although there has been significant progress made we still have a lot of hard work to come to ensure that we meet our ambitious net zero targets by 2045, but it is encouraging that Scotland is taking the lead in developing net zero solutions.”
What is the above based on:
First, from State of Nature 2023:
So, 8% of the population but 60% of the trees.
Second, 8% of the UK population but 76% of the new tree planting.
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2022/09/Ch1_Woodland_2022.pdf
Third, 20 times the tree-planting of Labour Wales:
https://www.confor.org.uk/news/latest-news/scotland-leads-way-on-uk-tree-planting-but-misses-target
What’s that saying about wood and trees?
So, we’re not going to hit that ambitious target but we’ll still do far better than any other part of the UK, ignored by the Guardian
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/
The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Brow
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Severin Carrell and his baleful crony Libby Brooks are employed by The Guardian specifically to post reports presenting Scotland and the Scottish Government in a bad light.
All last week, in the lead up the the ‘Scottish’Labour Party conference they published articles clearly prompted by ‘Scottish’ Labour handouts attacking the SG.
An editorial claimed that it was Westminster which provided the funding for public sector pay awards. The public sector in Scotland is a devolved matter and such awards were funded by Holyrood.
These awards resulted in almost no strikes in the public sector in Scotland and, consequently, in NHS Scotland, for example, A&E data, completed operations data, and reductions in cancelled operations, were all superior to those in the rest of the U.K. Rail services had fewer cancellations and greater punctuality.
LikeLiked by 5 people
The fundraiser could keep on going through the years. Just put up a donate button. Or have regular fund raisers.
The railways in Scotland have been historically underfunded £Billions wasted on HS2. Improved railways in the North and Scotland would reduce travel times throughout the UK. Instead of more congestion ruining the economy in the South. North/South divide. More monies invested in London S/E by comparison.
LikeLiked by 1 person
‘The fundraiser could keep on going through the years. Just put up a donate button. Or have regular fund raisers.’
I like the idea of it not being there most of the time – distracting?
John
‘regular?’
1 or 2 per year?
LikeLike
Maybe Severin Carrol should be more concerned not so much with the record high of 30 million trees planted in Scotland last year, but more to the drop from 105,000 daily copies of the Guardian in 2021 to an estimated 50,000 daily copies as at the end of January 2025.
Have you met your daily drop in circulation target yet Severin?
LikeLiked by 3 people
There are so many things we can learn from Scotland! My favourite place in Europe 💙
LikeLiked by 2 people
You only need look for who Severin Carrell quotes first https://archive.ph/5qXDg to identify the source, and in this case it’s Sarah Boyack, former backing singer of ‘Change’, now backing singer for ‘New Direction’ led by former ‘Read my lipsyncing’ singer Sarwar….
So let’s put that some perspective on that ” Scotland ‘likely to miss net zero climate target by up to 20m tonnes’ ” headline – It may be ‘likely’ but it’s for 20 years hence – Less than a year ago it was no more austerity’, WFA continues, energy prices would be halved, WASPI promises would be kept, Grangemouth would survive, etc etc.. Imagine the damage which could be inflicted over 20 years, and what the band might be called by then, if indeed it survives ?
As ever from Severin there has to be a “lagging behind the UK on…..” something or other, and his choice is….drum roll…. “uptake of electric vehicles” – Scots are paying through the nose for their own electricity, paying the highest bills, but should have bought a Tesla to keep up with England on climate change… Seriously, WTF ?
LikeLiked by 3 people
I’m going to be controversial here and say that the climate change narrative is bollocks, climate fluctuations are real, historical, create serious problems for the inhabitants of this planet and absolutely sort themselves out without human interference. CO2 is necessary for plants growth, reduce CO2 and you reduce plant growth. The only people who gain from this climate change narrative are the corporations. 50 yrs ago it was red meat and eggs that were the problem, there demonisation has resulted in the greatest decline in world health which includes epidemic increases in diabetes, obesity, cancer, Alzheimer and whole raft of problems which can’t be cured but can be controlled by medication. The pharmaceutical industry is laughing all the way to the bank. Control is the game, fear is the mechanism by which it is achieved amply demonstrated across the full spectrum of corporate and government crap by this blog.
Golfnut
LikeLike
Thanks
While I agree that under capitalism, all public comms serve their interests, is the diabetes surge not more to do with high sugar intake?
John
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nail on head. It’s not just sugar though, but what converts to sugar in your body which is every carbohydrate that you eat, cereals being the most damaging. If you look at who controls the cereals and the various types of sugars added to the cereals, now promoted as a major component of our daily diet, the links between the pharmaceutical corps and food production it tells a very sinister story. Meat and eggs and real salt ( Celtic salt ) provide essential vitamins and minerals needed by the body without the insulin spike which occurs every time you put sugar ( from any source) into your body. Eating fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar does and who benefits from you being fat and unhealthy, the pharmaceutical corps.
Golfnut
LikeLike
Controversial perhaps but more an interesting departure from scientific studies of CO2 going back millennia demonstrating linkage, the only corporate interest in NOAA has been an ‘on the spectrum’ (apparently) nutcase shutting them down as a waste of money….
But hey-ho, scientific minds are still baffled why ENSO isn’t behaving as predicted, but they do see the Arctic turning from a CO2 sink to an emitter as the effects of global warming on the Tundra has spread northward as temps continue to rise, – The last 12 years have been the warmest on record since 1850, curiously coinciding with CO2 emissions.
Despite that, your point on more abundant plant life is entirely valid – Just look at the blossoming of Sarwar and Baillie, Starmer and Reeves and all their acolytes under pain of deselection, the ‘fish called blunder’ Farage and his sidekick Tice, James Cook etc., plant life has indeed become abundant.
If my kids have to die early because that’s the natural order of things in a planetary sense it’s one thing, it’s quite another that it is hurried up by greedy and ambitious arseholes as above.
😉
LikeLike
Absolutely Bob, but the millennia data really doesn’t show that much of a fluctuation does it, it’s been way higher than it is now. Not the point I was making though, which is about issues such as climate change being used to control population’s by corporations making money out of solutions to combat the problems they create.
Between 1314 and I think around 1346 a 3rd of Europe’s population died due to a mini ice age which came about by an eruption somewhere. Crops failed and people starved and it was the precursor to the plague. Things happen Bob.
Golfnut.
LikeLike
“Absolutely Bob, but the millennia data really doesn’t show that much of a fluctuation does it, it’s been way higher than it is now.” – Oh ?
LikeLike