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Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee, 26 May 2009

26 May 2009 · S3 · Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee

Item of business

Climate Change (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Harper, Robin Green Lothians Watch on SPTV

I was glad to see Des McNulty's amendment 50 among the amendments in this group, but it does not go far enough. In his book "Kyoto2", Oliver Tickell sets out his concerns about whether carbon credit schemes are working as well as they should be.As we have discussed, if the bill is to be a success it must set emissions targets at the right level and set out a framework for how best to achieve those targets. Amendment 125 addresses that point.As introduced, the bill allows for an unlimited number of carbon credits to be purchased and credited to the net Scottish emissions account. In effect, that could mean—although I am sure it would not happen—that the targets in the bill could be met entirely through purchasing credits from overseas, which would mean that there was absolutely no incentive for emissions reductions in Scotland.We have consistently argued that countries such as ours, which have high current emissions, high historical emissions and huge potential for the use of renewables, must take the lead. We have clearly won that argument, as colleagues in the Government and the Labour Party have lodged amendments to include some form of restriction, but neither of their approaches is anywhere near strong enough.Amendment 125 seeks to ensure that, during the period 2010 to 2019, the proportion of carbon units bought in should be no more than 20 per cent of the net Scottish emissions account, that that figure should reduce to 10 per cent in the period from 2020 to 2039, and that during the period from 2040 to 2050 all reductions in the net Scottish emissions account should be made within Scotland—without any use of carbon units bought from elsewhere. I will be happy to address any concerns that there may be about that. Amendment 125 would also allow the percentages to be revised—but only to ensure that fewer credits are used to meet our reduction targets.The transformation to a low-carbon economy must begin at home, and preferably now. That is a fundamental factor in how we choose to meet our current targets.By fixing such a limit on the use of carbon units, we would not only be taking responsibility for our own actions but providing an incentive for business and industry in Scotland to adopt and develop the groundbreaking technologies that will be fundamental to the future of the world.Businesses in Scotland that are already engaging in carbon reduction believe that it has benefited them, but there is still a feeling among businesses in general that it is a problem. It is not a problem, however, but an opportunity for them. Scotland has the potential to be a world leader in tackling climate change—but only if we commit to solving our own problems by making reductions here instead of relying on the rest of the world to do it for us. The whole world cannot pay someone else to solve the problem: someone will have to take a lead. We should stand up and ensure that Scotland lives up to the minister's rhetoric with real action.

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Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee, 26 May 2009

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