Is the First Minister aware of the concerns of local communities about the impact of the closure of Marionville fire station without a local replacement? Given the strong cross-party support to deliver a station that will meet the needs of our growing communities in the area, will he step in to support our call on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to save Marionville station?

Is the First Minister aware of the concerns of local communities about the impact of the closure of Marionville fire station without a local replacement? Given the strong cross-party support to deliver a station that will meet the needs of our growing communities in the area, will he step in to support our call on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to save Marionville station?

Is the First Minister aware of the concerns of local communities about the impact of the closure of Marionville fire station without a local replacement? Given the strong cross-party support to deliver a station that will meet the needs of our growing communities in the area, will he step in to support our call on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to save Marionville station?

I, too, thank John Mason for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Before the debate, I was inundated with colleagues telling me what species they champion. I am proud to be a nature champion, because it is an initiative that genuinely brings nature to life for us all. It makes us more aware of what is happening in our constituencies; which species are under pressure; which habitats need support; and where communities are stepping up to support local wildlife. I thank Scottish Environment LINK and its members for consistently campaigning for nature and for educating us all on the issues that really matter.

Just two weeks ago, Parliament passed the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill, which marks a significant step forward in strengthening protections for Scotland’s biodiversity. During that process, I was proud to bring many amendments to the table, some of which were even agreed to. I was especially happy to support the amendment to add swift bricks to new buildings; that is just one example of how small, targeted interventions can support species that are under pressure.

In fighting for nature, I have always stressed that nature is not a luxury. It is vital to our health and wellbeing, and it contributes to the quality of our food, the strength of our tourism sector and the resilience of our economy. If we are serious about tackling the climate and nature emergencies, we have to invest in our natural environment and in the communities that care for it, because a healthy natural world makes our communities more resilient.

As John Mason highlighted, in every community in urban and rural Scotland, people benefit directly from action to protect biodiversity, whether through urban green spaces, community gardens or local wildlife corridors in our urban areas.

As the nature champion for the large heath butterfly, I thank Butterfly Conservation Scotland, because I have now seen at first hand just how closely that species is linked to the health of Scotland’s bogs. It is a true bog specialist, thriving on our upland blanket bogs and lowland raised bogs—habitats for which Scotland is internationally important.

The large heath butterfly is an indicator species. Its caterpillars rely on cottongrass, and the adults feed on cross-leaved heath, so when the butterfly is doing well, that tells us that those habitats are in good condition. Large heath butterflies could be under threat from climate change, and championing the species has shown me how vital peatland restoration is not just for one species, but for carbon storage, flood mitigation, biodiversity and community resilience.

More than 100 MSPs have taken part in the initiative, and I welcome the fact that it will be relaunched in the next session of Parliament because it will give new MSPs the chance to advocate for our threatened species and habitats. I hope that everybody will keep on campaigning together, because it could not be more important.

17:52

I, too, thank John Mason for bringing this important debate to the chamber. Before the debate, I was inundated with colleagues telling me what species they champion. I am proud to be a nature champion, because it is an initiative that genuinely brings nature to life for us all. It makes us more aware of what is happening in our constituencies; which species are under pressure; which habitats need support; and where communities are stepping up to support local wildlife. I thank Scottish Environment LINK and its members for consistently campaigning for nature and for educating us all on the issues that really matter.

Just two weeks ago, Parliament passed the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill, which marks a significant step forward in strengthening protections for Scotland’s biodiversity. During that process, I was proud to bring many amendments to the table, some of which were even agreed to. I was especially happy to support the amendment to add swift bricks to new buildings; that is just one example of how small, targeted interventions can support species that are under pressure.

In fighting for nature, I have always stressed that nature is not a luxury. It is vital to our health and wellbeing, and it contributes to the quality of our food, the strength of our tourism sector and the resilience of our economy. If we are serious about tackling the climate and nature emergencies, we have to invest in our natural environment and in the communities that care for it, because a healthy natural world makes our communities more resilient.

As John Mason highlighted, in every community in urban and rural Scotland, people benefit directly from action to protect biodiversity, whether through urban green spaces, community gardens or local wildlife corridors in our urban areas.

As the nature champion for the large heath butterfly, I thank Butterfly Conservation Scotland, because I have now seen at first hand just how closely that species is linked to the health of Scotland’s bogs. It is a true bog specialist, thriving on our upland blanket bogs and lowland raised bogs—habitats for which Scotland is internationally important.

The large heath butterfly is an indicator species. Its caterpillars rely on cottongrass, and the adults feed on cross-leaved heath, so when the butterfly is doing well, that tells us that those habitats are in good condition. Large heath butterflies could be under threat from climate change, and championing the species has shown me how vital peatland restoration is not just for one species, but for carbon storage, flood mitigation, biodiversity and community resilience.

More than 100 MSPs have taken part in the initiative, and I welcome the fact that it will be relaunched in the next session of Parliament because it will give new MSPs the chance to advocate for our threatened species and habitats. I hope that everybody will keep on campaigning together, because it could not be more important.

17:52

Given that Berwick Bank has now been approved, what is the Scottish Government doing to work with the developer and local communities to reduce the project’s impact on seabirds, to deliver local manufacturing and job opportunities, and to enable links to community heat networks? I am happy to get a written update, but those are practical things that the cabinet secretary needs to be leading on.

I apologise, but I have only four minutes.

That is important, because the potential impact of deterrence would have to be backed up by guidance and training for those involved in reporting instances and those involved in prosecutions. That would mean more joined-up work and adequate resources for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Environmental Standards Scotland, NatureScot, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the police.

I agree with committee colleagues that the bill needs to be amended, but the fact that work has already been done between both the member in charge of the bill and the cabinet secretary is important. Useful points were made about joined-up thinking during committee meetings. For example, it was suggested that there could be an alternative conviction provision to avoid a gap between existing legislation and new ecocide legislation. Therefore, it is important that we are already having constructive discussions.

More guidance for regulators on the definition of ecocide, such as ecological criteria, scientific indicators and practical examples, is important, because we need to ensure that those who exercise power and control in organisations are held to account. Issues such as contractor-subcontractor relationships also need to be flagged at the next stage.

I agree with what was said in the discussions that the committee had about the bill’s application to properly consented activities. Again, the concerns from key sectors will be addressed not only through amendments to the bill but through guidance from Government.

Although the committee members did not all agree that the bill should progress to stage 2, I do not think that we should kick it into touch. It will need work, but that is not an argument for our voting it down today.

14:52

Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?

Does the cabinet secretary accept that commuting by train is critical if we are to give people the choice not to use their cars? Will she focus on the issue of timescales, which affects not only trains from Fife to Edinburgh but those from the Borders to Edinburgh? Those key commuting links need extra capacity, and we must ensure that that is delivered as soon as possible.

I, too, thank Monica Lennon for her work on the bill and for introducing it in Parliament. I know just how much work is required to introduce a bill in our Parliament. I also thank the expert witnesses who gave evidence to the committee, the stakeholders and all our parliamentary staff.

As members who have read the committee’s stage 1 report will know, there are key issues that need to be considered in relation to the drafting of the bill and its potential impact. The bill would create a new crime and there would be consequences for intentional or reckless severe environmental destruction, with the court being able to impose an unlimited fine, a prison term of up to 20 years, a compensation order or a publicity order.

Monica Lennon has made the key argument that the European Union environmental crime directive will see EU states strengthening their legislation and increasing their penalties, and it is vital that we do not fall behind other countries but send a clear message that ecocide is not acceptable.

There were several key issues on which the committee took evidence that suggested that we need a joined-up approach to section 40 of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 if the bill is to be passed. There was clear support for increased penalties, and the fact that the cabinet secretary has been working with the member on key areas where the bill needs to be amended is important.

The cabinet secretary made an important point at committee when she said that she hoped that the bill would never have to be used, because it would meant that such a severe event had occurred. However, the fact that we would not want to use legislation does not mean that we should not have it in place, because the deterrent effect is important. Therefore, the comments made by witnesses to the committee that we need an “apex” to our environmental crime legislation are also right.

The key issue, which has already been mentioned, is that there is a striking lack of prosecutions and convictions under section 40 of the 2014 act. However, Professor Campbell Gemmell said that we should not assume that the lack of a section 40 prosecution does not mean a lack of environmental harm being caused, and he made the observation that the number of public complaints has doubled while the number of prosecutions has significantly declined. That needs to be considered.