Quakers in Scotland urge government to act on climate
'46 Marine protected areas in Scotland, out of 233, in favourable or recovering condition.'
Earlier this month, Quakers in Scotland called on John Swinney, the new Scottish first minister, to take urgent action to tackle the climate crisis.
Gathering with thirty faith leaders, scientists and conservationists, Quakers made the call in Edinburgh after the Scottish government’s decision to drop its legally-binding 2030 emissions targets.
Susan Mitchell, assistant clerk of General Meeting for Scotland, said: ‘Our hope is that the parliamentarians and people of Scotland will find a collective sense of trust and purpose to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and work to restore our natural heritage.’
Ellie Kirkland, who chaired the event alongside fellow young climate activist Dylan Hamilton, said: ‘Flooding, wildfires, heatwaves, droughts – these aren’t far away problems, they’ve all happened in Scotland in the past year. And yet policy is moving backwards. It feels like a betrayal.’
The 9 May event at the moderator of the Church of Scotland’s residence mirrored similar concerns being raised by climate campaigners. Scotland’s environmental record has come under increasing pressure after the landmark power-sharing deal, the Bute House Agreement, between the Scottish National Party and Scottish Greens, collapsed last month. This led to Humza Yousaf resigning as first minister.
Charities including the Marine Conservation Society and the National Trust for Scotland have accused the Scottish government of repeatedly missing its deadlines to protect vulnerable marine life from overfishing and the effects of climate breakdown.
According to the campaign group Open Seas, damage is being wrought from trawlers inside marine protection areas (MPAs) that Scotland designated in 2014. This includes from scallop dredgers inside the MPAs.
Ministers have also significantly delayed action to protect priority marine features such as flame shell reefs found outside the MPAs, it said. Only forty-six of 233 designated sites have all their protected features in favourable or recovering condition, and many have not been surveyed.
James Harrison, a professor of environmental law at Edinburgh University’s law school, whose research the report was drawn from, has warned that Scotland was drifting away from EU standards. This includes the goal that ten per cent of seas should be ‘strictly protected’ by 2030.
