Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Official Report 1046KB pdf

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Earth Hour 2017

The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S5M-04248, in the name of Maurice Golden, on WWF earth hour 2017. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament welcomes the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Earth Hour 2017, which will start at 8.30 pm on 25 March; recognises that Earth Hour is a global effort and that Scotland and the rest of the UK will join more than 175 countries taking part; further welcomes the continued cross-party support for tackling climate change; notes that all of the country's local authorities will participate, including those in the West Scotland region; welcomes the action that is being planned nationwide by people and groups across a diverse range of communities, faiths and organisations; notes the view that everyone should take part to help raise awareness of climate change and the need to tackle it and the hope that as many landmarks as possible join in by switching off their lights for the hour, and wishes everyone participating in it every success.

18:28  

At 8.30 pm on 25 March, thousands of Scots joined millions around the world to mark earth hour. From all walks of life, people came together to highlight something that affects every man, woman and child on this planet: climate change.

The concept of earth hour was started by my good friend Andy Ridley in Sydney in 2007. We worked on a world first—well, it was actually a world second—with a circle scan measuring material flows in Glasgow. I could go on, but the debate is about earth hour. The first ever earth hour resulted in a 10 per cent reduction in demand on the electricity grid, thereby saving 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Earth hour has now grown into a global event.

It is no exaggeration to say that climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our age. It affects everyone, everywhere and every facet of our lives. It is fitting, therefore, that so many have come together to recognise that. In Scotland, the figures speak for themselves: every local authority, more than 1,000 schools, hundreds of businesses and organisations, more than two dozen public bodies and almost two thirds of MSPs took part in earth hour to raise awareness of climate change.

The global nature of the threat that we face was evident, as more than 3,000 landmarks around the world such as Big Ben, the Eiffel tower and the Sydney opera house dimmed their lights in support. In Scotland, we showed that we are part of that common struggle, with more than 160 landmarks joining in, including the Kelpies, the Forth bridge and Clydebank’s Titan crane in the west of Scotland. My Twitter post that evening had me smiling and beaming into my mobile phone camera, looking like an extra from “The Shining”.

Recognising local involvement is important, because this is a fight in which we all have a part to play. I am proud that four local authorities in the west have been recognised by WWF for their exceptional support. East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire all received WWF’s “Super local authority” badge, and I congratulate each one of them.

Most important, however, was the fact that almost 1,200 schools throughout Scotland, including many across the west of Scotland, took part in earth hour, showing enormous creativity in highlighting the serious issue of climate change. It is Scotland’s children who will live with climate change and who will soon take up the torch in tackling it. Their involvement is testament to the level of awareness and concern that exists among young people in relation to climate change.

The strength of feeling was evident earlier this year when a Williamwood high school pupil in East Renfrewshire—a young lady named Rumaisa Zubairi—won a YoungScot-WWF poetry contest. Her poem lamented a world that might be, in which climate change has ravaged our environment. It is a stark call to action for all of us, and it serves as a reminder that we are working to ensure that our children inherit a better world than we did.

We have made progress, and there is much to be proud of in Scotland in combating climate change. Since 1990, we have reduced emissions by almost 50 per cent, met our emissions target for the first time and seen generation from renewables meet more than half of Scotland’s electricity needs. Last week, Britain as a whole went a day without coal power for the first time since the beginning of the industrial revolution.

Perhaps the most important statistic is that the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 was passed unanimously, underlining the fact that climate change cuts across party lines and has the wide support that is vital to enable us to take on a challenge of this magnitude. That is also evident in today’s debate, and I welcome the opportunity to hear from members all round the chamber. However, we must not allow the progress that we have made so far to cloud our judgment regarding the task ahead of us. Tackling climate change is about more than cutting energy use or reducing emissions—it is about developing a sustainable future.

The “Draft Climate Change Plan: The draft third report on policies and proposals 2017-2032” sets out some bold objectives for Scotland, and that is to be welcomed. However, we must also recognise that simply setting targets does not get the job done. There needs to be a clear path to each target that allows for monitoring, analysis and, ultimately, completion.

We must increase our recycling rate; we must reduce transport emissions, which have not budged for around 30 years; we need to heat our homes more efficiently; we must engage better with farmers and landowners to create sustainable land management; and our economy needs to be more circular through maximising our nation’s resources. Scotland needs those ideas because the old ways are not working any more. Our success rests on no one person, political party or campaign group, but rather on the co-operation and hard work of each of us.

Earth hour reminds us that our world is as fragile as it is incredible. In her poem, Rumaisa Zubairi says:

“Our world is evolving, changing.
And we are changing it.”

For the sake of our children, let us make sure that we are changing it for the better.

18:35  

As the member who led the Parliament’s last earth hour debate in 2015, I congratulate Maurice Golden on opting to make his members’ business debate on this subject. He joins a select band of MSPs. Much to my surprise, I discovered today that he, I and Shirley-Anne Somerville are the only members to have highlighted this hugely significant and symbolic event through a members’ business debate—and earth hour is a hugely significant, symbolic event.

The 11th annual earth hour took place on 25 March—11 years of people, businesses and landmarks around the world turning off their lights at 8.30 pm to focus minds on climate change. This year, as we have heard, an unprecedented 187 countries and territories took part, more than 3,000 landmarks switched off their lights, and millions of individuals, businesses and organisations across seven continents took part.

Yes, this is a symbolic gesture that needs to be backed up by firm action, but whether through the act of turning off their lights or by walking past homes, businesses or landmarks without their usual glow, it makes people stop and think, and if considering the issue leads to behavioural change—individually and collectively—earth hour has achieved its purpose.

Buildings in my constituency that participated this year included the iconic Arbroath abbey and a multitude of schools. I am of course delighted that we here in Scotland are making good progress on our climate change targets and that the Scottish Government is committed to raising the bar still further through the climate plan and the forthcoming climate change bill, because far-reaching action is required across the planet to safeguard it for future generations.

Our generation was slow to react. We are playing catch-up. We need to ensure that the next generation is fully alive to the challenge that the planet faces. That is why the participation of young people in earth hour is so important. I recognise of course that pupils—and staff, for that matter—will not have been in schools on a Saturday night. However, there will have been lessons educating pupils about why their schools were participating. There will have been important classes about the potential impacts of climate change, encompassing the message that they can do a little, change a lot.

Members who have heard me speak before about tackling climate change know that I am a firm believer—as others are—that behavioural change is a key component. As we are aware, participating in earth hour is a voluntary act—it is about people taking action because they believe that we as a society have to do so.

WWF, the campaign group behind earth hour, has on its website a number of what it sees as earth hour heroes. I want to tell the story of one such hero—Ahmed from the Maldives. As members may know, the Maldives is a nation that is made up of a number of low-lying islands. It is majorly threatened by climate change. In his day job, Ahmed crunches numbers at a broadcasting company. He first found out about earth hour in 2009 and quickly worked out that it could become an ideal platform to revive a much-needed national debate on the climate.

Ahmed secured partnerships with the Government, with organisations and with the Scout Association of the Maldives and, over the years, he has engaged schools on every island in the Maldives. Who can forget the sight from 2009, when the Government of the Maldives held a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight to the world the threat that climate change poses to their country? The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform will no doubt be relieved that I am not calling for our cabinet to spend half an hour on the sea bed communicating with whiteboards and hand signals in order to conduct Government business, entertaining though that might be. However, that action by President Nasheed’s Government highlighted the whole climate change issue in a memorable way.

Here’s to 8.30 pm on 24 March 2018—next year’s earth hour—by when we should have a much clearer picture of how the nations of this planet are going to live up to the commitments that they made in Paris to tackling climate change. Of the 195 signatories to the agreement, only 143 countries have indicated thus far what they will be doing up to 2030, so as well as celebrating the symbolism of earth hour, let us be clear that progress needs to be made on the actions planned across the globe to tackle climate change.

18:39  

I congratulate my colleague Maurice Golden on securing this debate on earth hour 2017. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges that we face. It threatens us in so many forms—heavier rain, hotter weather and rising sea levels are the real effects of climate change that we have all noticed over the years. There are threats to our environment and to wildlife. Hotter summers with more droughts will undoubtedly have an impact on our natural environment and, potentially, on agriculture.

We all have a duty to the next generation to leave Scotland in a better state than we found it in. Earth hour is a fantastic initiative by WWF to raise awareness of climate change and provide an opportunity for us to think about ways in which we can address climate change. The point is that we can all do our bit: this year’s earth hour on 25 March saw thousands of schools, landmarks, public buildings and homes across Scotland turn their lights off for an hour.

We all have a responsibility to do our bit, whether that is recycling our household waste, turning lights off when we are not in the room or thinking about whether we really need to print that email or briefing—small things that not only are good for the environment, but save a few pennies in the process.

I was very privileged to spend earth hour at Murray’s monument. I am sure that the Presiding Officer is very familiar with the area. I drove from Minnigaff up into the centre of Europe’s first dark sky park and the biggest forest park in the United Kingdom. I am sure that the cabinet secretary will agree that it is a fine example of what could be Scotland’s third national park.

I am proud that my local authority, Dumfries and Galloway, was awarded a super local authority badge for its level of participation in the 2017 WWF earth hour. I take the opportunity to give a special mention to some of the schools in my constituency that took part: Shawhead, Closeburn, Dalbeattie, Wigtown and Drummore primary schools, and Stranraer academy. It is absolutely fantastic to see that our young people are engaging with such important initiatives.

It is incumbent on all of us as parliamentarians to ensure that we set ambitious programmes towards reaching a low-carbon Scotland, which will be so vital to our children’s future. The Scottish Parliament recently scrutinised the Scottish Government’s draft climate change plan. A range of weaknesses in the current draft have been highlighted by all four of the committees that were involved. WWF said of the plan:

“Although the plan presents an often strong description of a low carbon economy in 2030, there is a consistent absence of sufficient specific policies, in almost every sector, to ensure we achieve our climate targets through to 2032.”

It is simply not enough to paint a strong narrative without having the specific policies to ensure that we achieve our climate targets. It is incumbent on the cabinet secretary to fully consider the recommendations that have been made and to come back to Parliament later this year with a robust and ambitious plan that has the policies to back up the rhetoric.

I am delighted to have had the opportunity to participate in this debate on earth hour and the importance of recognising and tackling the many real concerns that climate change presents. It is all too easy for us to forget or shrug off our responsibility to protect the planet for the next generation. We cannot let that happen.

18:42  

In the words of WWF Scotland,

“Earth Hour 2017 provided a moment for all of us to think about what more we can do to address climate change.”

Earth hour is such a simple yet profoundly brilliant idea. It is unlikely that people will spend that hour alone; it is much more likely that they will involve those with whom they are spending that weekend or evening, or—just as likely—they will invite people to join them and make a party with a purpose out of it.

In my case, it was a candle-lit climate change chat with my partner Michael, my daughter Freya, my son-in-law Tanenchai, who is Thai, and my two-year-old grandson Maca. An hour can feel like a long time in a really good way. Part of the power of it was the sense that people were doing similar things across the world. It felt hopeful and inspiring. I want to thank WWF for the organisation that the initiative takes, year after year, to be, in its words,

“a symbol of care for our brilliant planet”.

I also want to thank Maurice Golden for this debate about a “common struggle”, as he put it. Concerns about climate change push us all together, whatever party we belong to—indeed, even if we belong to none. The debate gives us an opportunity to share thoughts on the way forward and to share some special projects. I want to share three with members, all from the past week, and to ask how we as politicians can help even more.

On Saturday I was honoured to cut the ribbon to open a yurt for Peebles community action network. The yurt will be a shelter for those helping in the community garden. One mum who was there told me of her daughter’s enthusiasm that morning, saying, “Olive’s face lit up as we entered the community garden. She is normally shy of new things, but not here. There was non-stop drumming for 20 minutes, and from that we have decided to go every month and make use of the vegetable beds and help out wherever we can.”

This year, Peebles CAN was lucky enough to get money from the climate challenge fund for its grow, cook, build and own project, which empowers local people and families to build a sustainable Peebles. The climate challenge fund is a large amount of money—some £9.97 million. Recognising that value, let us all fight for even more next time, so that such projects can be the norm across Scotland—I see the minister smiling at that. Let us also ensure that the Scottish Government behaviour change commitments in the draft climate change plan are acted on robustly.

On Saturday, I went to see a one-woman play at the Biggar Corn Exchange, which was performed by Edie Goodwin. It was called, “What the Frack?” Edie says:

“As a young person I see fracking as a hugely important issue—one that could have an immeasurably detrimental impact on health, democracy, life as a whole on this land that we share. So at the start of December when I found out that the Public Consultation was going to take place I decided that my contribution to the debate would be through theatre. I decided that I was going to write a play.”

That indeed she did, and Edie’s creation shows how individual fortitude and creativity can make a difference. She believed that she had to do something to tell the story of fracking so far and to talk about the dangers as she sees them, in order to counteract the power of big corporations. As politicians, we must listen to people as much as we listen to big money here and globally.

Tomorrow, South Lanarkshire and East Kilbride trades union council is taking a motion, as amended by the Public and Commercial Services Union, to the Scottish Trades Union Congress. The motion reads:

“Congress ... believes that a transition to a low carbon economy must be a just transition. This includes looking to support those communities and nations across the world that will be most immediately at risk. It also means ensuring that workers and communities in Scotland need to be assured that jobs will be created in low carbon industries as part of this transition.”

In the spirit of earth hour, let us be sure that that happens.

18:47  

I thank Maurice Golden for bringing the debate to the chamber this evening, after a somewhat challenging afternoon in the Parliament for the environment. I would like to congratulate WWF and welcome the efforts of all those who participated in earth hour this year. To have all 32 councils, 130 landmarks, 25 public bodies, 48 community events, hundreds of businesses and 1,000 schools in Scotland involved in earth hour is a major achievement. With 172 countries and 7,000 cities participating worldwide, earth hour is now a long way from the inaugural big flick event in Sydney in 2007.

However, it is important to recognise what earth hour is and what it is not, because the event has had its critics over the years, including from the wider green movement. Clearly, it is not a way to reduce the nation’s energy consumption by a huge amount, with most participating nations reducing demand by around 4 per cent during the hour itself. However, to focus on that is really to miss the point, because what earth hour delivers is awareness and debate. It has also inspired action. Russian activists used earth hour to publicise a petition to protect Russian oceans from oil contamination. The petition gained more than 120,000 signatures and eventually led to a new law being passed. Raising awareness, even if only for a single hour, can be a springboard for other forms of direct action.

There are those who see sitting in darkness for an hour as a bleak, back-to-the-cave, anti-technology message. It could be seen that way but, for most people, it is about stopping for a moment to reflect not only on the impact of energy use, but on how we often take technology’s positive contribution for granted.

Then, of course, there is the debate about power and decision making that earth hour often leads to. Switching off lights around homes and monuments will clearly not decarbonise an energy system that is run by corporations and tempered through Government-regulated markets. However, even as symbolic a gesture as switching off appliances begins the journey towards the democratisation of our energy system. The smart meter roll-out across the United Kingdom builds on that simple act of switching off and grows awareness of patterns of demand in our homes and businesses. From that step comes the design of white goods and electric cars, for example, that can balance supply and demand through smart systems that are linked to renewable energy generation in buildings and through the national grid. We can then build solutions on a community scale to use generation from wind farms and from solar and hydro, providing financial benefits that could be so much more widespread. Alongside renewable electricity, we can finally start to deliver on renewable heating, taking waste heat that currently warms the sky to homes where people currently live in fuel poverty.

With all those positive directions for energy, there are real opportunities for individuals, consumers, tenants and councils to drive progress, on their own or collectively through co-ops and municipal energy companies.

A true energy democracy can build on the historic legacy of Tom Johnstone who brought power to the glens and delivered Scotland’s first renewables revolution. We can build political support for Governments worldwide to switch investment away from infrastructure that locks in emissions for generations to come and reinvest in low-carbon infrastructure, from railways to renewables, that will allow us, as citizens, to always make the right choices. That is what I see in the darkness of an earth hour every year: a bright future with energy citizens, and the wellbeing of future generations at its heart. I look forward to that becoming a reality.

18:51  

I thank Maurice Golden for securing chamber time to discuss the issue. As he said, thousands in Scotland joined thousands around the world to turn off their lights and stand up for protecting the planet. Here in Edinburgh, many landmarks, organisations, businesses and people took part in WWF’s earth hour. More than 1,000 Scottish schools participated, such as Craigentinny primary school in my constituency. For students there and across Scotland, earth hour provided an opportunity to spend the day learning about environmental issues and how important it is to protect our planet.

Edinburgh restaurants shut off their lights and held special events by candlelight. Edinburgh residents took to Twitter to post photos of themselves celebrating earth hour by reading or doing work by candlelight. Edinburgh’s greatest landmark, Edinburgh castle, went dark just after lighting up green in support of the environment.

Those activities were on top of 81 members of the Scottish Parliament taking part in earth hour. It is reassuring that something as vital as protecting our environment and fighting climate change is such a shared priority among all the parties and the constituents who we represent. Scotland has done a tremendous amount to be a leader in environmental stewardship and in tackling climate change.

Reducing the amount of energy that we use is a good way to fight climate change. By way of personal example, I have changed my approach to the matter over the years. When I was a child in the 1980s, I found a friend’s father quite scary, possibly because he was a black belt in karate, but also because he had a cast-iron policy that lights should be off in an empty room. He would shout aggressively at all his family members to make sure that they complied with that policy. As a child, I compared what was going on in that home with my home, where all the lights were on and nobody seemed to be too bothered about it.

At the time, I felt glad that my family lived that way, but if we fast forward a few decades, I now religiously turn off all the lights in empty rooms. Although my beseeching my kids to do the same seems to have fallen on deaf ears so far, if I judge by the amount of time that I go around after them turning off bathroom lights, unwatched TVs and unused radios, I hope that what I say will sink in eventually. If I can change—even if it took a while—that is reassuring and gives me hope that we can expect further behavioural change on the issue.

Earth hour is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to protecting the planet. I commend all the MSPs who took part in it and WWF for working in close partnership with the Parliament. It has reinvigorated our commitment—in Edinburgh, across Scotland and around the world—to supporting the environment. Let us all continue to work in partnership in supporting the environment and ensure that Scotland remains a global leader in environmental stewardship.

18:54  

I declare an interest as a farmer and as a food producer with an interest in climate change and environmental enhancement and protection that goes back at least 25 years.

I congratulate Maurice Golden on securing the debate, which allows him to demonstrate his enthusiasm and that of the Conservative Party for proactive environmental improvement and efforts to address climate change. I also thank WWF for its helpful briefing note.

For me, the journey began in the 1990s, when I was the chairman of the Ayrshire farming and wildlife advisory group, known affectionately as FWAG. That is why I was very much in favour of earth hour 2017. I congratulate everyone across Scotland who took part in it. I congratulate Conservative-led South Ayrshire Council for its six-year campaign on the issue, which is why it has been awarded a super local authority badge by WWF.

More important, I congratulate all those who took part in earth hour in my Ayr constituency, and particularly our enthusiastic and dynamic school pupils and their teachers. From the list that I have been given, it appears that almost all primary and secondary schools in Ayr, Prestwick and Troon took part in some way in marking earth hour. It would take too long to mention them all.

In addition, South Ayrshire Council staff in Ayr, Prestwick and Troon, as well as NHS Ayrshire and Arran staff, took part in this now significant event in the South Ayrshire calendar. I congratulate them, too. All the events and projects are important, not only because they encourage awareness among our local people of what a magnificent place we live in but because they may inspire our schoolchildren to go out and make a difference to our planet’s future.

What needs to be done to meet our climate change targets is beyond doubt. If we inspire our school leavers and students to be part of the generation that defines itself by its efforts to tackle climate change, that will not just involve self-interest on their part but affect the very future of the earth as we know it.

Low-carbon policies are more essential than ever and a determined commitment will be needed from us all to tackle emissions from areas where we have thus far been less than successful in Scotland. The insulation of homes and buildings must continue to be improved; money that is spent on that will provide many bangs for the same buck because, in addition to reducing emissions, it will reduce fuel poverty and improve all areas of physical and mental health. By encouraging the use of electric vehicles, we have the potential to deliver much-needed reductions in transport emissions. A combination of regulation and investment to develop that is overdue. That particularly applies to short journeys. I was surprised to be told recently that using an electric quad bike, and not a petrol one, could save up to £3,500 a year per bike on a farm. That is remarkable.

That takes me back to agriculture and food production, where I know that more can be achieved as a result of continued development of co-operation and collaboration, not just in the production of food from farming but in better off-farm supply-chain management.

Under James Withers’s leadership, Scotland Food & Drink is successfully finding the markets for our finished food and drink production. The difficulty for food processors will shortly become the sourcing of sustainable and economic authentic Scottish produce to meet the growing demand to create our high-quality end products.

There is much to be done to develop sustainable low-carbon policies, particularly in the fields of insulation, transport and food production. It is a challenging area of work, but it also provides an opportunity for our future generation. That is why the catalytic and inspirational effect of earth hour is hugely worth while and vital. I again congratulate Maurice Golden on bringing the motion to Parliament.

18:58  

I admit that I was not sure whether to commiserate with or congratulate Maurice Golden on tonight’s debate—commiserate with him for being a month late or congratulate him on being 11 months early. I am not quite sure whether the debate will count for two years’ worth—Graeme Dey is obviously the one keeping the stats on that—but I am surprised to find that it is only the third such debate in the history of the Parliament.

The success of earth hour is obvious, and I do not need to repeat some of the stats that have been referred to. The participation of hundreds of millions of people across the planet demonstrates that success. In Scotland this year, as part of earth hour, a massive 4,600 people backed a strong Scottish climate action plan for the Scottish Government. It is a strong show of support for the Government’s continued action on climate change.

I am delighted to add my congratulations to WWF, and to everyone who made this year’s earth hour a success. My house is always in darkness for earth hour, apart from a few candles perhaps, and it is not really a difficulty. Mark Ruskell was correct to point out that it reminds us that we sometimes take technology for granted.

Scottish Government support for earth hour this year enabled WWF Scotland to co-ordinate engagement across the country, from local government and the wider public sector to schools and local community groups. We have heard about lots of examples of that.

The Scottish Government switched off St Andrew’s House, Victoria Quay, Atlantic Quay and Saughton House. Glasgow City Council is also to be commended for its choice of earth hour to launch its partnership with Pittsburgh to share experiences and learning of how to create more sustainable and low-carbon cities. That was a fine way to mark the occasion with an action that people might not have been thinking about. Everybody was thinking about switching off but, in another sense, Glasgow City Council found a way to switch on, which was very good.

Maurice Golden was right to emphasise the enormous buy-in. As he recognised, Scotland is a world leader in tackling climate change and has made strong progress against ambitious statutory targets. It is no small thanks to the cross-party commitment in the chamber that we have achieved this. Scotland is one of only a small number of countries that have enshrined long-term emissions reduction targets in legislation. Because we have done it, we might assume that it is normal, but it is quite rare. Sweden is the only one of the EU15 states that has achieved greater reductions than Scotland.

Members have talked about our draft climate change plan, which sets out how we propose to drive emissions down further by 66 per cent by 2032. The plan, together with our energy strategy and a new climate change bill in response to the Paris agreement, will deliver a low-carbon transition for Scotland that promotes social inclusion and sustainable growth. Of course, as a number of members have also said, we can never pause. We have to keep moving on this one. The 2015 Paris agreement has seen 195 countries adopting the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal.

Despite the slightly depressing news that occasionally emanates from the White House in this particular policy area, it is worth remembering that there are other American actors who have different agendas. The First Minister met Governor Jerry Brown of California earlier this month, and they agreed to work together to support the Under2 Coalition, which now covers more than 1 billion people and a third of the global economy, to help prepare for a major summit in 2018. That is important. Earth hour demonstrates that, when we act collectively, we have the power to make a difference. That is true internationally, as well as at the local and individual level.

Of course, influencing everyday actions is key to delivering our climate change ambitions. We know the key actions where individuals and households can really make a difference; they range from home energy and travel choices to reuse and avoiding food waste. The outcomes and associated actions in the climate change plan must be supported and owned by the people of Scotland. We know that the majority of people do not discuss climate change regularly, although many are actively involved in climate-friendly behaviours at home, work or in their communities.

As part of on-going engagement with the public, starting in summer 2016, we initiated a series of climate conversations across Scotland to take the temperature of public views on climate change and actions that might be needed to tackle it. That pioneering approach is the first of its kind in the UK, and it represents a step change in our approach to public engagement. The conversations are continuing across Scotland, and we have developed free resources, including a how-to guide, to help as many organisations and community groups as possible to participate in the climate conversations.

Claudia Beamish talked about the climate challenge fund. Since 2008, the Scottish Government has given funding of around £85.8 million to 622 communities across Scotland to take forward local action on climate change. I do not think that there is anything like that anywhere else in the world. That is another thing that we need to remind ourselves: this country is sometimes pioneering.

Maurice Golden quoted some poetry. I will close with a very short MacDiarmid poem called “The Bonnie Broukit Bairn”. Some might know it, and some might not, but it is appropriate for this debate:

“Mars is braw in crammasy,
Venus in a green silk goun,
The auld mune shak’s her gowden feathers,
Their starry talk’s a wheen o’ blethers,
Nane for thee a thochtie sparin’
Earth, thou bonnie broukit bairn!
—But greet, an’ in your tears ye’ll drown
The haill clanjamfrie!”

Fixing climate change will stop the earth greetin.

I hope that the official report got that bit.

Meeting closed at 19:05.