Chamber and committees

Yes.

That is helpful. Thank you.

Good afternoon. CCS is not new, yet despite the provision of billions in support over the past decade, it remains largely unproven and untested at scale, globally. What are the main reasons behind that? Why are companies not putting more investment into CCS? Members of the public ask about the extent of the public subsidy that is being sought. Could the Scottish project proceed without large-scale Government subsidy?

Thank you.

I was waiting for broadcasting to move to Colin Pritchard. I have one more question for the panel after that.

Good morning. Some of the biggest supporters of carbon capture, utilisation and storage also support developing new oilfields such as Cambo and maximising the economic recovery of oil and gas. How do you respond to people’s concerns that reliance on the fossil fuel industry for carbon management will delay the just transition away from those fuels?

That engagement is important. Wet wipes have been mentioned already. Last week, I asked the minister about them and what other items might be covered by future restrictions. You quoted a figure of 94 per cent of the public being in favour of a ban on wet wipes, so it looks as though the public is way ahead of the Government on this issue. What more does Zero Waste Scotland think could be done to minimise the use of single-use wet wipes? When should the Government in Scotland look at the issue again and add them to the list of restricted items?

What we have heard so far is quite encouraging, in the sense that businesses are already engaging and are prepared. As we have heard, Scotland is not a first mover on some of the issues, so we know that we can learn from practice elsewhere.

Zero Waste Scotland has been involved with disability organisations, including Inclusion Scotland, which has made a written submission. As a result, we know about the plastic straws advisory group, which I will ask Iain Gulland about in a second.

Jim Fox highlighted the example of Capri-Sun, which I am sure many of us, especially those with small children, will be familiar with. With regard to the targeted exemptions, someone who buys a Capri-Sun in a cafe or a place where they will be sitting in might request a straw, which for those cartons is quite narrow and little. What is the expectation on businesses with regard to having a range of straws to meet people’s requests? We understand that, under the request system, to avoid any stigma, employees will not be able to ask people why they need a straw. Will businesses have to look at the issue in a lot of detail, or can they just have one plastic straw in the cupboard?

Thank you for that clarification.

But you might have to now.