Meeting of the Parliament 05 February 2026 [Draft]
I join others in congratulating Monica Lennon on getting a bill to this stage, as I know only too well that, irrespective of the complexity of the bill, it takes an awful lot of work, commitment and effort to do so. As a signatory of the bill, I echo the sentiments of the NZET convener—this was a debate worth having and that needed to be had. I thank the committee for the work that it has done in allowing that debate to take place and in testing the evidence that has been received. I put on record my thanks to all those who have given evidence.
The bill has highlighted what happens in the current legal landscape and has identified the sorts of crimes that we mean when we talk about ecocide. In doing so, it has confirmed what appears to be a worrying lack of action to date in addressing those crimes. I will turn to that shortly. As the convener acknowledged, the bill aims not just to punish but to deter. Although there are some issues there, I think that that is a desirable dual purpose.
The evidence that was provided to the committee showed that there was broad support among stakeholders for the idea that instances of serious environmental harm ought to be dealt with through commensurate criminal penalties. That view is shared by Scottish Liberal Democrats. In that context, I note the evidence that the committee received from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, which suggested that, in recent years, the existing legislative provisions have been sufficient in dealing with cases of serious environmental crime, while other legal and regulatory experts pointed to areas of the criminal law that could be applicable.
There has already been quite a bit of discussion about section 40 of the 2014 act, but I find myself in agreement with what Mark Ruskell said. One of the issues that will need to be teased out if the bill progresses to stage 2 is how, in practice, we ensure that we do not have overlaps in the system that end up creating confusion, which would work against the aims that we all want to be achieved.
I do not underestimate the complexity of striking that balance. I find myself in some sympathy with the convener, not least because of some of the interactions that we have had at the Conveners Group on the work pressures on committees at this stage in the parliamentary session.
I note the views of the cabinet secretary and the support of the Government at this stage, and I note the confidence and the willingness of Monica Lennon as the member in charge to work at pace to try to address the issues that have been raised by all speakers to date. On that basis, the Scottish Liberal Democrats are prepared to support the bill at stage 1 to allow it to progress.