Protect Our Winters UK Urges Scotland to #GetRadical.
26th January 2019
Category : All
Leading climate advocacy group, Protect Our Winters UK (POW), is campaigning for a more ambitious climate change commitment in response to the Scottish Government’s new 2018 climate legislation.
Following the 2015 Paris Agreement, in which countries across the world agreed to combat climate change and intensify actions needed for a sustainable low-carbon future, the Scottish Government brought new climate legislation to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. This 2018 legislation will update and amend parts of the existing Scottish Climate Change Act from 2009. However, POW UK believes that this new proposed law does not represent sufficient climate ambition nor action, and the plans are not radical enough.
As a collective of outdoor communities, POW UK argues that the current proposals don’t meet the urgency that the recent UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) report demands. In response, POW has teamed up with Stop Climate Chaos Scotland in support of its Act For Our Future Campaign.
This campaign hopes to urge MSPs in the Scottish Parliament to amend the new bill to set more ambitious greenhouse gas emission targets, ensure public spending is aligned with emission reduction plans and commit to specific policy changes to reduce emissions across a range of sectors.
Lauren MacCallum, General Manager of Protect Our Winters UK comments: “As a collective of outdoor communities, we know radical when we see it. Radical is something which we seek out and celebrate. Unfortunately, radical wasn’t the word that sprung to mind when we first read the proposals for Scotland’s new climate law.
“We believe the current proposal doesn’t reflect the urgency of the IPCC report and as a collective of outdoor sports communities we can’t be complacent anymore, we must put pressure on the government to help safeguard the planet and protect our natural playgrounds. So what are we asking for? We’re asking for a more ambitious and radical plan that tackles climate change head-on and helps ensure the protection of our planet.”
POW UK’s #GetRadical campaign aims to raise awareness of the new 2018 legislation and asks its supporters to e-mail their MSP to reject the current proposed legislation and come up with a more ambitious solution. You can take action before February 1stby e-mailing your MSP here: https://act.foe.scot/SCCS-climate-change-act– it only takes two minutes and could help shape one of the most progressive climate change legislation in the world if successful.
A full parliamentary meeting is due at the start of February to discuss the new legislation.
To keep up to date with POW UK’s campaign progress, sign up to its newsletter at http://protectourwinters.uk.