Meeting of the Parliament 06 December 2022
I have not seen such a quote from Stephen Flynn. If he said that, he is entitled to his view. However, I am sure that Liam Kerr is wise enough to recognise that he should not necessarily believe everything that he reads in the newspapers.
It is vital that countries recommit themselves to doing everything that they can to keep 1.5 alive and, ahead of COP28, to build a coalition that protects and drives progress against any further pushback.
The COP27 cover decision included mention for the first time of nature-based solutions, but there was little other recognition of the need to tackle together the twin crises of climate and nature. We need nature to mitigate the effects of climate change, and nature needs us to manage climate change in order to avoid its collapse. That has to be reflected in the outcomes of both the climate and the biodiversity COPs. COP15 begins tomorrow in Montreal, and it is vital that nations reach an ambitious global agreement on the protection and restoration of nature.
I have highlighted the fact that, although we have made progress, there is still much more to do. We need to work collectively to meet the international climate change challenge. The Scottish Government will now turn its attention to making good on the opportunities that COP27 has provided—as will the global community.
Although much remains to be decided about the how and the who of the funding of the loss and damage fund, its establishment was a genuine success and a rare positive news story. Nevertheless, COP27 came to a close with too many of the big decisions being deferred to a later date.
The goal of limiting change to 1.5° remains worryingly distant. We know that women and girls are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis. That is why Scotland has committed further funding to strengthening women’s participation in climate change policy and decision making. However, given that the negotiations on gender closed without any resolution, we are still no closer to addressing one of the fundamental inequalities of the climate crisis.
COP27 should energise our ambition at home and abroad. I look forward to hearing the contributions from across the chamber. I move the motion in Màiri McAllan’s name. I move,
That the Parliament notes the outcome of COP27; recognises the ground-breaking global agreement to give formal recognition to the fact of loss and damage as a result of the climate crisis and to establish a fund under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), alongside other financial mechanisms, to provide support to those countries suffering loss and damage; commends the commitment of the Global South and campaigners over 30 years in arguing for such a fund; notes that the agreement at COP27 follows the commitment by the Scottish Government at COP26 of £2 million for loss and damage, making Scotland the first developed nation to recognise its obligations in this area; is disappointed that COP27 was unable to build on the progress made in Glasgow towards keeping 1.5 degrees alive, and failed to extend the language of the Glasgow pact on a phasedown of unabated coal-use to include other fossil fuels, despite support from the EU, USA, UK and others for doing so, and calls for a coalition of action to be built ahead of COP28 to secure greater progress in global efforts to tackle the climate crisis; welcomes the focus on human rights during COP27 and urges the Egyptian government to take firm action to ensure that human rights in Egypt are fully respected, protected and fulfilled; notes that COP15, the biodiversity COP, begins on 7 December 2022 in Montreal and that it is vitally important that nations reach an ambitious global agreement on the protection and restoration of nature, including reaching agreement on protecting 30% of land and seas by 2030, and welcomes the conclusion of the Edinburgh Process, which collated views from over 400 subnational governments, cities and local authorities, and resulted in nearly 300 signatories to the Edinburgh Declaration committed to take action for biodiversity.