Chamber and committees

We are in the midst of an emergency. It may well be too late now to keep 1.5 alive, but that means that, now more than ever, we need unprecedented and co-ordinated action from Governments. Last year, the IPCC said that,

“Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors”,

it would be impossible to contain average global temperature rises to 1.5° above pre-industrial levels. Unfortunately, there is no sign that those deep emissions reductions are taking place. Scotland has, of course, repeatedly failed to meet our own annual targets.

The commitment at COP27 to give formal recognition to the fact of loss and damage as a result of the climate emergency and to establish a fund under the UN framework convention on climate change is a positive step, if overdue. It is widely accepted that those most acutely affected by the impacts of the climate emergency have contributed the least to creating that emergency. I welcome the Scottish Government’s pledge of £2 million for loss and damage through the climate justice fund. However, I have absolutely no doubt that the ministers accept that the amount that has been committed is not a true reflection of the climate damage created by Scotland’s past—or indeed present—emissions and that the sum is mainly symbolic. I have no doubt that they also accept that this must be only the start of a sustained and focused long-term commitment to ensuring that Governments, including the UK and Scottish Governments, deliver for climate-vulnerable countries by ensuring that commitments on adaption and loss and damage are honoured.

Between 1988 and 2015, an estimated 100 companies producing fossil fuels—excluding agricultural methane—were responsible for 71 per cent of all global emissions. Those companies are overwhelmingly based in the so-called global north. Those injustices only compound the long history of colonisation and oppression that many climate-vulnerable countries have suffered. Foysol Choudhury spoke knowledgeably about that from his own experience and his involvement in the cross-party group on Bangladesh.

Although the Government is right to express disappointment in its motion in relation to lack of action, it is also appropriate, here in the Scottish Parliament, to talk about the Scottish Government’s own lack of action on the issue.

The Scottish Government’s own energy strategy noted that there are significant opportunities in the North Sea, with up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent remaining. I take on board that the issue is whether those barrels of oil are burned. However, in October, when I asked the cabinet secretary to take a clear public stance against the proposed Rosebank oilfield development, his response was that the Scottish Government’s opposition to Rosebank was conditional, and that Rosebank should be subjected to a rigorous climate compatibility checkpoint to ensure that it is consistent with emissions reductions targets. That simply is not good enough. We need to address fossil fuel production and deliver local renewables production, particularly municipal and community production. At a Scottish level, we also need to look at initiatives such as a publicly owned energy company, as proposed by Colin Smyth and noted in the Scottish Labour amendment.

I have got very limited time, so will not be able to give the cabinet secretary a full response. The cabinet secretary is very well aware of the scale of the challenge and that we cannot continue to extract oil and gas in the way that we have been doing.

The International Energy Agency has repeatedly stated that rejecting any new oil or gas developments is a bare minimum requirement if the world wants to reach net zero emissions by 2050. I hope that the Scottish Government accepts that we are going in the wrong direction. A Friends of the Earth report last year found that North Sea oil production has increased 15 per cent since the climate emergency was declared.

We need to take radical action. People and planet demand more urgent action. Unfortunately, I have not been able to respond fully to the cabinet secretary due to lack of time, and I am now over time. I hope that, in the debates that take place in the Scottish Parliament, we agree on more radical action for the future.

The two richest families in Scotland have more wealth than the poorest 20 per cent of the country. The Scottish Government often says that it has a fixed budget, but has the cabinet secretary had the opportunity to consider the Scottish Trades Union Congress report that was published this week, “Options for increasing taxes in Scotland to fund investment in public services”, which outlines short-term measures that could be taken to raise more than £1 billion for public services, and longer-term measures that could be taken to raise many more billions of pounds?

I would be grateful to take the cabinet secretary up on his offer. As he knows, academics and public health experts argue that it is impossible to tackle health inequalities without addressing wealth and income disparity. Public Health Scotland argues that a reasonable income, sufficient welfare provision and what it calls an active labour market policy are essential for healthy living.

Will the Scottish Government be willing to carry out research to analyse whether those policies are being enacted, or whether an attempt is being made to enact them, particularly in deprived communities?

This week, Cancer Research UK reported that, each year, around 4,900 extra cancer cases are linked to deprivation in Scotland. What proposals will the Scottish Government lay out in its upcoming cancer strategy that specifically address that challenge?

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle cancer inequalities. (S6T-01004)

As the minister knows, it is a national facility, so it will not be people just from North Ayrshire who use it. The facility is for families, so it will be suitable for people with young children in particular. The minister is perhaps highlighting the need for a range of different types of facility, suitable for the individual’s needs. Most important, such facilities must be available when that individual needs and is asking for assistance. The key to success is often that facilities are available when the individual is looking for them.

We understand that it is very common for people who experience problems with drugs also to have significant problems with mental health and alcohol abuse. A recent report from Public Health England highlighted that mental health problems are experienced by a majority—70 per cent—of users who are in community substance abuse treatment. Other research, such as that published in the New England Journal of Medicine, concluded that pointing to examples of successful harm reduction programmes can reduce the stigma around drug use. Therefore, it is important that discussions are taking place in this Parliament not only about stigma but about what is and should be available.

I do not have a huge amount of time left. I welcome the Government motion. There needs to be a recognition that Scotland has failed and that the high levels of drug deaths are an indicator of that failure. However, I believe that many of the recommendations and action points in the report are part of the pathway that we need to go forward. I look forward to hearing in detail from the minister how the Government will respond to all the recommendations and recommended actions.

The task force report contains 20 recommendations and 139 actions. Will you put on record whether you accept all those recommendations and actions, and whether the Scottish Government is going to pursue all of them?

So will we hear more on that?

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

I agree with the convener of the Criminal Justice Committee that the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 has failed. However, although that legislation is in place throughout the UK, in Scotland, we have a significantly higher drug deaths rate than the rates in the rest of the nations of the UK. Clearly, that is just one factor, and many other factors drive the very significant problems that we have in Scotland.

The system currently fails those who are seeking support with drug addiction, and the high levels of drug deaths in Scotland clearly highlight that failure. In total, 1,330 people lost their lives to drugs misuse in Scotland in 2021, which was the second highest annual total on record. We have a consistent problem with the worst death rates in Europe, and areas such as the west of Scotland have some of the worst statistics in the country.

In North Ayrshire, 39 deaths were recorded—the highest number in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran area. The minister has already spoken about the facility that has opened recently in Saltcoats. North Ayrshire has the fourth highest level of drug deaths in the country, but, when we look at some of the other economic drivers in North Ayrshire, unfortunately, the area often has some of the worst statistics, such as higher levels of domestic abuse, poor levels of employability and high levels of poverty and deprivation, and many of the other economic drivers highlight the lack of opportunity and hope.