Climate Scotland is a new campaign to demonstrate to leaders that many people in Scotland want strong and meaningful action to tackle the climate and nature emergency. Members of the public can add their voice to the campaign, and the messages plan to be displayed at COP26 in November. The following article was published last month on the Scottish Community Alliance website . Featured image credit Gary Ellis.
The global climate summit COP26 will be a major opportunity to re-energise efforts to tackle the climate emergency. Organisations including RSPB Scotland, Christian Aid and National Trust for Scotland have come together to create a new campaign, Climate Scotland, to bring the messages of thousands of people in Scotland to the talks.
Through Climate Scotland, people in Scotland can send leaders a message to show they want strong and meaningful action to protect the things they love, and create a better future for people everywhere.
Climate Scotland is a sister campaign to another running in Wales, Climate Cymru. Together, they will represent voices from two of the four UK nations and their devolved governments.
Individuals visiting the Climate Scotland website are able to add their voice to the campaign by selecting a topic that is most of interest to them and adding a comment to say why. The topics, as follows, cover a broad range of perspectives:
• Flourishing communities
• Future generations
• Greener, fairer livelihoods
• Wildlife and nature
• Sustainable food systems
• Protecting the world’s resources
• Health and wellbeing
• Beautiful places
• Solidarity with global neighbours.
The campaign aims to collect 10,000 messages and share them at the COP26 talks in November, either at the Green Zone (an official UK government space) or another high profile venue. Through this, everyone in Scotland has the opportunity to show world leaders how much they care about the climate and nature emergencies.
Over 30 charities, civil society groups and non-profit organisations have already signed up to be a campaign partner. Some of the partner organisations talk about the campaign below:
“The climate emergency threatens our communities, the Scottish nature we know and love, and our prospects for a healthier and fairer future. It’s happening now, and it’s particularly affecting those around the world who have done the least to cause it. In November, the eyes of the world will turn to Glasgow as world leaders gather for the COP26 UN climate summit. This gives us a unique opportunity to shape global action and help achieve a fair outcome for communities around the world. Through the Climate Scotland campaign, we can show our leaders just how much we care.”
Becky Kenton-Lake, Coalition Coordinator at Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS), a diverse coalition of over 60 organisations together on climate change
“People around the world need to transform their lives to avoid climate chaos. Here in Glasgow, homes need to be heated with clean energy, active travel needs to become easier and we all need to eat more seasonal produce. To achieve this in such a short amount of time, action needs to start now – not just at policy level but on the ground where we need it. If communities can be enabled to start making these transformations, we are more likely to achieve net-zero in time. Decision-makers should be supporting and enabling us all to lead lower carbon lives now – that’s why we support the Climate Scotland campaign.”
Lucy Gillie, General Manager of South Seeds, a community-led organisation based in Glasgow’s Southside that supports residents to lead more sustainable lives.
“This last incredibly difficult year has shown us how much we need nature. And now nature needs us to take strong and lasting action to restore and protect it. When we help nature to thrive, we help ourselves to thrive. The nature and climate emergency puts 1 in 9 species in Scotland at risk of extinction. We must address this by protecting and restoring nature, increasing access to nature for everyone and making decisions that support nature, our climate and people. The Climate Scotland campaign is a way for people in Scotland to show how much they care about these things.”
Aedán Smith, Head of Policy and Advocacy RSPB Scotland, the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home and secure a healthy environment for wildlife.
At the time of going to press the campaign had hit 2,000 messages of support. See the Climate Scotland Facebook page for more information and updates.
