21 For 21: The Climate Change Actions Scotland Needs Now
Policy Paper
Credits — Common Weal Energy Policy Group
Overview
21 policy ideas to kickstart action in Scotland around climate change in light of the 2021 IPCC climate report.
On 9 August 2021 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its long- awaited Sixth Assessment Report. That report constitutes a stern warning – globally we are far short of what we must do to limit global warming to the 1.5 ̊C target by 2100. And when it comes to climate change, Scotland is not an average country. Our land, natural resources, wealth and renewable energy resources mean that very few nations are anywhere near as well placed as us to meet our responsibilities. Given these conditions, we are in a unique position to lead the climate change charge both at home and on the international stage. In order to do this we need to raise our ambition and match this commitment with an over-arching, radical, pragmatic action plan that responds to the urgent predictions from the IPCC and the short time scale left to avert climate catastrophe.
So what must we do? Over a number of years Common Weal, the Energy Poverty Research initiative and the Built Environment Asset Management Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University, have developed a body of policy work on energy use and management and Common Weal has produced a range of other reports on issues relating directly to climate change. In this report the Common Weal Energy Working Group (with support from Douglas Chapman MP and his team) highlights 21 of the priority actions Scotland should be embarking on during 2021 if we are serious about making the transition to a zero-carbon future and averting catastrophic climate change.
n producing this list we have focussed on energy, population and consumption as the three key drivers of climate change in Scotland and could have produced many more proposals than this. But these are some of the big landmark steps which Scotland could not only achieve now but, recognising our duty to lead, where we could set a precedent for others to follow.
