Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 17 May 2022
That is exactly in the vein and spirit of what I am trying to convey to the Government. If we, together, get all the pieces of the jigsaw in place, we can start to build to ensure the viability of the communities in the islands.
I have already said that crofters can play a vital role in meeting emissions reduction and biodiversity targets. I am not sure that the Scottish Government quite gets that, and I do not know whether it understands the points that Liam McArthur and I are making.
That is demonstrated by the way in which the 2013 petition on Iceland greylag geese, which have caused problems for island crofters, was ignored. Funding to tackle that problem has been continually reduced and has been described as not fit for purpose by Patrick Krause of the Scottish Crofting Federation.
I cannot stress enough how important crofters’ involvement is. Plans to decarbonise our islands represent a golden opportunity to use crofters’ expertise and knowledge of the land—after all, they are island conservationists—and to achieve the aims while providing vital support to their industry. They should be part of that.
Such knowledge would be especially helpful to peatland restoration efforts, which can play a large role in helping islands to reach the net zero target. We are way behind with peatland restoration. I have the figures to hand—21,000 hectares of peatland have been restored against an SNP Government target of restoring 70,000 hectares in four years. That is shameful.
Before I wrap up, I turn to the targets that the Government has set out. The targets are ambitious, but the SNP has missed its legal emissions reduction targets for the past three years in a row. If we are to take seriously proposals to decarbonise our islands, we need to see explicit detail of how the Government intends to deliver that aim.
The Government must be prepared to work closely with islanders. After listening to the cabinet secretary, I believe that work is on-going. However, the plans must be absolutely workable. I welcome the fact that Francesco Sindico, who is helping to lead the Government’s work, has made clear the importance of engaging with island communities on the plans.
There is an understandable lack of trust in the ability to deliver the targets. I want to make sure that the six islands will be absolutely supported, which is what my amendment speaks to. I really welcome the cabinet secretary’s intention to support my amendment; we will also support Rhoda Grant’s amendment.
I am pleased that the Scottish Government wants to support our islands to become carbon neutral, and I hope that they will achieve that goal. We stand ready to help them and to engage with islanders, island industries and all parties across the chamber that have an interest in the subject. For reference, I say that we will also support the Liberal Democrats’ amendment.
I move amendment S6M-04428.1, to insert at end:
“; calls on the Scottish Government to provide support and funding so that the islands and islanders can progress towards being carbon neutral, and further calls on the Scottish Government to publish plans for these islands to achieve these goals.”
14:57Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.