NOVEMBER 2020

SCOTLAND'S CLIMATE ASSEMBLY

-Pre-engagement Overview CONTENTS 03 Introduction 05 Method

Diet and lifestyle Biodiversity and rewilding. Tree planting. Soil. Peatland. Carbon sequestration. 07 Food. Agriculture. Allotments. Fishing. Consumption. Ownership.

Work and travel 14 Active travel. Public transport. Cars. Air travel. Infrastructure and city planning. Working environment. Green jobs. Wellbeing.

Homes and communities 20 Heating. Improving our homes. Water use. Communities and decision-making. Communities and infrastructure. Sharing.

Energy 26 Fossil fuels. Alternative energy. Carbon capture. Just transition. Global justice in energy.

Mechanisms of change and fairness Mechanisms of change and fairness 33 Systems change and economics. Tax. Business. Regulation. Decision making. targets. Incentives and subsidies. Education. Media. Fairness and inequality. Green jobs. Covid-19. COP26. Population. Assembly.

42 Informing Scotland's Climate Assembly INTRODUCTION

Grounded in Scotland's Climate Change Act (2019), Scotland’s Climate Assembly is currently bringing together over 100 people who are broadly representative of the Scottish population. The Assembly Members are tasked with learning about, discussing, and making recommendations on how we can best tackle climate change. Specifically, the Assembly is considering ‘how should Scotland change to tackle the climate emergency in an effective and fair way?’.

In 2021, the Assembly will report to the Scottish Parliament on the outcomes of their deliberations. While participation in the Assembly as a member, expert lead, or speaker is by invitation only, a public engagement exercise was run in October 2020 in order to include the views of wider society.

The general population has a genuine stake in the outcomes of the Assembly and therefore it is important they have the opportunity to have an input into its proceedings. It was also a chance for those who initially received an invitation but did not make the final selection to still participate.

The public were invited to suggest what they think the Assembly should discuss, who should speak at the Assembly, as well as their ideas on how Scotland should reach net-zero.

The online platform, Dialogue, was launched at 3pm on 9th October 2020 and closed at 3pm on 26th October 2020. All ideas and comments published on the platform are available to view at https://scotclimateca.dialogue-app.com/how-should-scotland- change-to-tackle-the-climate-emergency-in-an-effective-and-fair- way. They can also be found in the Annex.

The platform involved the submission of ‘ideas’ by registered users. The contributor had the opportunity to provide a title for their idea, and say 'why the contribution is important'. Registered users could rate the idea on a five-star scale, and/or provide comments. All contributions to the website were pre-moderated in accordance with the published moderation policy before appearing on the site. The site was visible to members of the public, whether or not they registered as users.

Fourteen ideas were pre-seeded by Scotland’s Climate Assembly to inspire people to engage with the themes already in consideration for the Assembly. Users were encouraged to join an existing discussion on an idea similar to their concerns, but were free to add their own idea. Moderators locked discussion on ideas where it was thought they were duplicating something already on the site and signposted contributors to comment on the existing idea instead.

The Assembly’s first weekend took place nine working days after the Dialogue closed, consequently analysis of the Dialogue took place after the initial meeting allowing more time to put together a detailed report.

This was not an issue as the first weekend focused on ensuring all Assembly members understood the basic science behind climate change and most of the evidence was prepared by climate scientists.

The intention was for the Dialogue to feed into the subsequent meetings, more details on how the consultation is being utilised can be found in the ‘Informing Scotland’s Climate Assembly’ Chapter.

This report outlines the key themes that emerged from the public engagement exercise and is intended to simply provide an overview of what was discussed. It does not involve an analysis of the effectiveness and plausibility of respondent’s suggestions. METHOD

Over the course of the Dialogue engagement exercise, 244 ideas were published on the site, with 1,008 comments added and 455 unique users registered.

Users had the ability to add new ‘ideas’ as well as comment on existing ideas. When posted, new ideas were moderated and either accepted, rejected or locked in line with the moderation policy guidelines (Annex A). They were subsequently assigned ‘tags’ so that they could be easily categorised on the site.

Comments on existing ideas were also moderated before being added to the site. Topics were taken from a thematic coding framework (Annex B) that was developed to correspond with the subjects in the pre-seeded themes.

The thematic coding framework was updated as new topics emerged during the challenge. An ‘optimisation' exercise was conducted once the challenge was closed in order to add any missing tags and to rationalise the topics to ensure consistency. Additionally, similar topics were grouped to account for differences in word choice or spelling e.g. ‘reduce and reuse’ and ‘reduce, reuse, and recycle’. Once the website was closed for submissions, researchers continued to carry out further thematic analysis.

In future Assembly meetings, Scotland’s Climate Assembly will divide evidence sessions into three streams into which Assembly members will be randomly assigned for discussion and consideration. These three streams are ‘Homes and Communities’, ‘Work and Travel’ and ‘Diet and Lifestyle’. Ideas from the Dialogue exercise were therefore categorised into these corresponding streams. Additional categories of ‘Energy’, ‘Mechanisms for Change’ and ‘Fairness’ were identified to capture all other ideas.

Within each category, the data was further divided into subthemes, for example ‘Energy’ included the subthemes ‘Fossil Fuels’ and ‘Alternative Energy’. To avoid duplication, each comment was not individually coded but all comments were considered and all unique comments were included in the analysis. An overview of commentary on the ideas and as well as notes on any new themes that were identified in the comments have been collated and included as part of this report (Annex C).

Respondents were self-selecting and therefore do not represent a representative sample of the population of Scotland. Participation did not require evidence of residence in Scotland, or ask people to report their demographic characteristics. It is likely that the group who engaged with the platform were almost all digitally connected given that all publicity for the Dialogue was online. Because of this, caution should be used in interpreting the findings.

However, it must be understood that the platform was designed to solicit ideas from the public on what they felt the Assembly should consider as well as their climate solutions, and not as a way to measure their attitudes. All quotes used in this report are verbatim, although some have been shortened. At the end of each chapter is a selection of resources and case studies that the public used as evidence which they hoped would be shared with the Assembly.

Finally, this analysis does not set out to be a detailed examination of all the ideas and their relative effectiveness or relevance. This is an overview of what those who engaged with the platform said to us. Given that this report is meant to encompass all of the responses for consideration in the designing of future Assembly meetings, the analysis does not definitively quantify the balance of opinion on the platform. DIET AND LIFESTLE

Many respondents focused on the need to preserve our land and improve biodiversity, changing the way we grow and consume food and suggested that we should have a systems change towards a circular economy, which focuses on reducing consumption and recycling. All tags which related to systems change will be discussed in the ‘Systems and Other’ chapter.

Other prevalent themes included allotments, fishing regulation, consumption and ownership.

This chapter considers the following themes: • Biodiversity and rewilding • Tree planting • Soil • Peatland • Carbon sequestration • Food • Agriculture • Allotments • Fishing • Consumption • Ownership • Resources

Biodiversity and Rewilding

Many respondents agreed that we need to increase regulation in our natural areas to improve biodiversity and protect local species and habitats. Rewilding was also a strong argument for restoring Scotland's nature.

Increasing regulation of large hunting estates was often mentioned as a way to increase biodiversity. Many suggested that the Highlands is no longer wild because it is managed by large estates. They felt it could be reforested, to both increase biodiversity and act as a carbon sink.

“[hunting estates] have completely ruined the last bit of wilderness in the North of Scotland and destroyed the balance of natural co- existence there” Similarly, a ban on new golf courses, labelled as green deserts, was mentioned as they massively reduce biodiversity.

Other methods, suggested by contributors, for improving biodiversity included: • Making built up areas more nature friendly: sustainable drainage systems, rewilding of grass verges and parks, licence requirements for at-home pesticide use or stop pesticide use altogether, protection of wildflowers, allowing neglected areas to be reclaimed by nature • Reintroduce beavers, lynx, wolves

Users also thought it was important to create a healthy relationship with nature and to improve access to it to make people more willing to protect it. One user quoted David Attenborough:

“No one will protect what they don't care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced” David Attenborough

Another suggested way of reconnecting with nature was to create protected community cemetery woodlands just outside of towns.

“Set aside 10 acres none agricultural land close to towns for the development of Community Woodland Cemeteries. These areas would become 'habitat protected' for the nurturing of local wildlife and help with species diversity. … As plots are sold they pay for themselves.”

Users highlighted that working to rewild and increase biodiversity would create new green job opportunities.

Tree planting

Reforestation was mentioned many times with the proposed combined benefits of increasing biodiversity, rewilding and acting as carbon sinks. However, people were concerned about the type of trees planted. For example, many suggested that Sitka spruce should stop being planted:

“I would like the Scottish govt to stop paying landowners a premium to plant Sitka spruce in order to meet carbon deadlines. It is TERRIBLE for biodiversity, harbours predators, takes over curlew, lapwing, oystercatcher habitat, destroys soil, creates dead zones and can then only be used for Sitka planting in perpetuity.”

Some suggested that wide-leaf trees should be planted, others were more concerned that natural woodland should be restored, with a mixture of local tree species to allow natural habitat to recover.

Another point mentioned was that individuals should stop buying products which have caused deforestation/ the destruction of the rainforest. Instead, people should focus on locally grown sustainable produce. Soil

Users agreed that the quality of our soil needs to be improved, and that we should prevent the topsoil from desertification. Some suggestions included:

“development of soil management systems that will minimise GHG emissions from soils”

“find new ways of maintaining soil fertility that do not depend on the hugely energy demanding Haber-Bosch (or similar) process to make nitrate rich fertilisers.”

Peatland

The preservation of peatland was a key theme highlighted. Many users highlighted that peat is a good carbon sink, and that it should be preserved to decarbonise Scotland. Many also suggested that we should grow more peat as a way to sequester carbon quicker. Banning peat burning on grouse moors was also suggested. A specific suggestion for an area of peatland preservation was the Caithness and Sutherland peatland, as it is a large carbon sink and wild area of Scotland.

A user also mentioned that peat can still be found in horticulture/gardening soil and that this should be banned – they pointed out a target was set in 2010 to remove all peat from this soil, which was not reached.

Carbon sequestration

Among points made above (reforestation, peatland preservation), another method of carbon sequestration was a recreation of the Azolla event, as indicated in the below quote.

“blooms of the freshwater fern Azolla are thought to have happened in the Arctic Ocean. As they sank to the stagnant sea floor, they were incorporated into the sediment; the resulting draw-down of carbon dioxide has been speculated to have helped transform the planet from a "greenhouse Earth" state, hot enough for turtles and palm trees to prosper at the poles, to the current icehouse Earth known as the Late Cenozoic Ice Age. Wikipedia”

Food

Contributors expressed a need for the way food is grown, marketed and consumed to change. Respondents felt consumers should be made aware of the impact of importing foods. An example suggestion, supported by many users, was the introduction of a traffic light system on food packaging so consumers could make informed decisions about purchases. Respondents asked for greater awareness to be created around food waste. They hoped consumers could be educated about buying the right amount of food and not throwing any away. Another user suggested food waste could be turned into biogas (discussed in more detail in the ‘Energy’ Chapter).

Agriculture

Many users focused on having a shift towards local, organic, seasonal produce as ways to reduce our carbon footprint and reduce food miles. It was suggested that we should create a national natural farming programme as a method of creating more jobs in rural communities as well as a method to supply organic food. Respondents felt that Scotland currently relies heavily on food imports and that eating local instead would reduce food miles and also provide Scotland with more food security.

Contributors also mentioned that Scotland should also reduce the amount of factory farming and reject imported beef from farms which are cutting down the rainforest. Others suggested that we should move towards a plant-based diet because agriculture is one of the largest GHG emitters.

Respondents felt that the milk industry should also be reformed. It was suggested that in Dumfries and Galloway, the milk farms get larger every year and the respondent felt that animal welfare was a concern. The user thought that we should be moving towards more sustainable milk production, improving animal welfare.

Other sustainable farming practices suggested include: • Stop importing soy for animal feed • Focus on grass feeding ruminants • Focus on pasture management to reduce GHG emissions • Protect water bodies from run offs • Develop soil management systems • Drainage management • Ban insecticides and pesticides

Allotments

Allotments were suggested by users as methods to supplying people with seasonal local produce as well as a method to improving lifestyle and wellbeing.

Users thought that allotments should be available in every town and city for everyone. They highlighted that waiting lists are very long and many flats don’t have access to green spaces and so can’t grow any food. The user suggested that more should be available to create a sense of community and reduce food mileage. They also suggested that support should be available for those who want to grow e.g. tools, advice. Fishing

Users thought that fishing waters and coasts should be preserved. Rationale suggested for this was to improve biodiversity and sequester carbon.

One user suggested re-establishing the three-mile limit on bottom trawling and dredging all around Scottish coasts to improve sea life and habitats:

“Seabed habitats are vital as fish spawning grounds and nurseries, and they are significant carbon stores rival to any on land. The top 10cm of Scotland’s seabed holds more carbon than all the peatlands, soils and trees Scotland combined. These habitats protect our coasts from storm surges and wave action, and can ameliorate the rising ocean acidification that is being caused by global warming.”

Others suggested that we needed to create regulation to prevent overfishing, with the possibility of increasing the price of fish until stocks were replenished. Respondents hoped tighter regulation would last for 10 years.

It was also suggested that if Scotland were independent, it would control 25% of European fishing waters. In this case, the contributor proposed that Scotland take on a Stewardship role, to protect our oceans and provide good examples for others to follow. They hoped this role would move Scotland away from a profits driven market and instead focus on resource preservation.

Consumption

Consumption was heavily discussed, with themes such as reduce, reuse, recycle, circular economy and local consumption.

Users thought that the government should support Scottish manufacturing and increase regulation to ensure everything is sustainable and that products are fit for purpose, especially clothes. The population could then rely on local workforces, to create new green jobs and pay a fair wage (& stop relying on overseas cheap labour).

“It should never be the case where it is cheaper to discard a product than to buy spare parts and repair.”

Consumption of packaging was also discussed often. Users suggested that if it could not be reused/recycled, it should be banned and that single-use consumables should be banned altogether. Another possibility highlighted was that tax on single use consumables could be to disincentivise purchase, or that plastic could be made from hemp to be biodegradable.

Respondents focussed on the need for the government to create effective legislation in this area – whether it was banning packaging outright, or ensuring packaging could be returned to companies to be reused. Reducing landfill was corroborated in another idea where a user suggested introducing council repair, reuse and recycle schemes such as the Moray Waste Busters. They hoped local councils could assist people to find old/unwanted items for repair and upcycling. They also thought that this would create green jobs.

Issues with recycling were also highlighted; a user suggested recycling should be standardised across Scotland because it is not clear about what can and can’t be recycled.

Another user highlighted the need to reduce food waste and suggested the government should provide local composting sites. The locality of the sites would reduce carbon emissions from transport and the organic matter could also then be used locally.

Ownership

Land ownership was a key theme in the dialogue. Participants thought there should be large government buy-out schemes to allow for small scale local farming. This would benefit biodiversity, GHG emissions (due to a reduction in overseas importing) and create green jobs.

“We have an inequitable land distribution. Most of Scotland is owned by a select few landowners, many of whom do not even live in Scotland. Ordinary people have no chance of owning land because it is too expensive and there is no land available for sale.” RESOURCES

Food & food security https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet-commission /https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/food-insecurity-index/ https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/how-much-food-waste-there-scotland

Consumption https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8qjng8/revision/1 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/299414

Land https://www.thebrideproject.ie/ https://farmersforstockfreefarming.org/

Ownership https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/scottish-land-reform-going-nowhere-brian- wilson-2910514

Oceans https://www.ourseas.scot/

Waste https://moraywastebusters.org

Biodiversity Cairngorm Connect project

Soil ‘Kiss the Ground’ on Netflix WORK AND TRAVEL

The main points highlighted by respondents included improving public transport (buses, trains) and active travel (cycle and walkways) accessibility, to reduce reliance on cars. The theme of systems change is seen throughout each section; respondents often highlighted that it is a change in our ideals and lifestyle that is needed to take action against the climate.

Increasing tax on unsustainable travel was also a key theme. This included increasing taxes for frequent flyers, an increase in aeroplane fuel tax, road and car tax, which will be discussed in the mechanisms for change chapter.

This chapter considers the following themes: • Active travel • Public transport • Cars • Air travel • Infrastructure and city planning • Working environment • Green jobs • Wellbeing • Resources

Active travel

Respondents were keen to create better cycle and walking networks to encourage active travel. The main rationale for this action was to decarbonise our travel, especially commuting to work. However, other benefits were also mentioned, including benefits to wellbeing, including fitness, mental health, and therefore a reduction of the pressure on the NHS.

Users thought that cycle and walking networks need to be safe, well signposted, well connected and well maintained, to promote public use and deter reliance on car travel. The Dutch cycle systems were used as an example of good practice, which particularly highlighted the importance of youth engagement.

“The [Dutch] schools have rates of over 90% of children cycling to school. Its normal, thats what they do.” “Its also important to remember, that when the Netherlands started building their path networks, many adults didnt engage with them at first, behaviour change is difficult for people, especially the older you get. The change was driven by youth engagement, using the infrastructure, making it normal.”

Another suggestion was that city centres could be pedestrianised, or low traffic neighbourhoods could be made, to allow for more opportunities for active transport.

Public transport

Respondents thought that there needs to be a more positive image of public (and active) transport to inspire more people to use it. One respondent suggested that any elected individual should not drive, as they are role models, and that they would be happy and healthier, environmentally friendly policies would also be created quicker.

The ownership of our public transport systems was a key theme for respondents. Many felt that we need a systems change in our society to shift the norm from driving everywhere. Ideas highlighted that public transport should be brought back under public ownership and should not be profit driven. Users said that public transport would then be safer for individuals, and workers would be paid a fair living wage.

Affordability of public transport was also a key theme. Some participants wanted cheaper public transport whereas some wanted free. Points in favour of free public transport argued that it would alleviate social isolation and reduce poverty:

“free public transport would have a dramatic effect in reducing social isolation and lifting people out of poverty.”

Importantly, participants agreed that public transport links need to be extended and improved to allow for a reduction in car travel. Respondents said that these transport links should also be connected to cycle and walkways for a mixture of public and active transport.

Bus capacity was also highlighted by participants, particularly the importance of having space for bikes on buses. Users said that this would increase the hybrid approach to travel, and would incentive more people to use this approach, as some do not like cycling home in the dark/ live too far away to cycle the whole way.

“recognising the importance of cutting journey times and allowing people greater ease and freedom of travel. It also encourages active travel among those less used to it, removing barriers through reducing the fear of getting 'caught in rush hour traffic', 'cycling home in the dark', 'going too far'.” The integration of transport links was well supported. A respondent highlighted that in some cases bus and rail links were not connected, making using multiple methods public transport (e.g. train then bus) un-viable due to time commitments – therefore driving a car was an easier option. To help reduce car travel, the respondent said that timetables should be linked to make public transport easier to use.

Expansion of railways was also highlighted by participants, as some areas in Scotland are not connected by rail. They suggested that connecting areas of Scotland by rail would also make public transport a more viable option.

There was a mixture of fuel suggestions for public transport, including hydrogen and electric. The general consensus was to reduce dependence on fossil fuels (for more details see the ‘Energy’ chapter).

A suggested method of creating good public transport habits was to raise the driving age to 25.

“By that time, better habits in personal transport will have been established … Better transport options will be embedded and end the 'rite-of-passage' that is passing a driving test at the crazily young age of 17.”

Cars

Some respondents thought that personal car use should be banned, with the exception of disabled use. They said that this would decarbonise our travel and put more of a focus on active/public transport.

Alternatively, other respondents mentioned creating car taxes which depended on how environmentally friendly the vehicle was.

Many focused on the electrification of cars. Specifically, users thought that EV charging points should become more accessible for people over Scotland. A respondent also implied that the EV charging points are often mains powered, which is powered by fossil fuels. An idea was that the EV charging points in the Highlands and Islands are often close to burns which could provide hydropower for the charging points.

“In Scotland's rural areas many of the existing and future charging points are located in settlements. These settlements have usually developed around a river or burn which was the water supply for the settlement. Many of these watercourses, especially in the Highlands and Islands have the potential for hydro-power generation. This provides the opportunity to develop small scale hydro schemes, with a storage system, to provide power to the electric vehicle charging point.” Reducing speed limits on roads was also suggested because this would reduce the amount of fossil fuels being burned, helping to decarbonise and disincentivise car travel. Users also suggested this would make driving and roads safer therefore improving wellbeing.

“a priority action could be a reduction in the speed limit on our roads to 60mph for dual carriageways/motorways, 50 instead of 60mph for all other roads not subject to lower limits, 40mph zones would become 30mph and 30mph zones would become 20mph zones”

Air travel

Respondents thought that air travel should be heavily taxed, including aeroplane fuel. Another point mentioned was that the carbon footprint for every flight should be made clear – for example, this could be printed on every ticket, so the purchaser can make informed decisions about choosing to fly.

Respondents also thought that the public should be generally cutting down on air miles all together, with penalties for frequent flyers. One idea was to have a voucher system; each person has an allocated amount of air miles for every 10 years which would hopefully reduce the amount of flying.

Infrastructure and city planning

Many ideas focused on the need for better infrastructure and city planning to decarbonise our society. Examples include:

“Review all major road building projects and divert money towards active travel networks e.g. more coverage of safer cycling and walking infrastructure as well as better public transport links.”

“Make the environmental impact a much weightier consideration in the planning process for local and national government.”

Large roads were also seen as problematic due to the destruction of habitats, deforestation, increased GHG emissions and the isolation of rural communities (as the user suggested that large roads often connect cities only).

Another point highlighted the need for improved housing estate planning. The user suggested that new houses are built in places where tenants must rely on their cars. The hoped our planning system could be changed so that neighbourhoods are not built around the need for personal cars.

Suggestions for infrastructural changes to the public transport system included: • Priority bus lanes on motorways to reduce the number of cars commuting to/from cities • Reopening/ creating new railways to serve communities not already connected to rail who have a high dependence on cars • Use railways to transport goods rather than lorries

Working environment

Many respondents highlighted that working-from-home (WFH) and reducing commuting reduces pollution and GHG emissions. The effect of WFH on people's mental health was mentioned, as it can be potentially detrimental and increase feelings of loneliness. Local work hubs was a suggested solution for this:

“Establish co-working spaces across the country, where people can work for a geographically distributed company, yet have local colleagues.”

A 4-day working week was also suggested as a new way of working, which would reduce commuting as well as improve mental wellbeing.

Green jobs

Users thought we should retrain those who work in big carbon polluting industries to move Scotland away from fossil fuel reliance and create greener jobs. The user thought that opportunities should be given to unemployed people, who could help educate about climate change.

Wellbeing

Many ideas focussed on creating a sense of community in our societies to create a sense of togetherness. Ideas included creating networks to pool resources and different skillsets.

Another user mentioned it’s also worth looking at the benefits of changing our lifestyle to our health. They mentioned that reduced air pollution meant less respiratory diseases, active travel contributed to healthier individuals and adopting universal basic income or shorter work week reduced stress. The user said that this would then reduce the burden on the NHS. RESOURCES

Travel https://www.transportforqualityoflife.com/u/files/8%20A%20Radical%20Transport%20Response%20to% 20the%20Climate%20Emergency.pdf https://www.getglasgowmoving.org/reports/freebuses.pdf#page=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9pAPIUYXxQ&app=desktop http://tipiglen.co.uk/crit2.html - user highlighted this was observed 2 decades ago and still no change HOMES AND COMMUNITIES

Respondents showed a keenness to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and to upgrade their heating systems. However, users identified several barriers for doing so, including costs and unclear guidance. Communities was the least stream-lined topic and most dispersed across the Dialogue, intersecting with several other themes.

This chapter includes: • Heating • Improving our homes • Water use • Communities and decision-making • Communities and infrastructure • Sharing • Resources

Heating

Respondents requested “a review of the market distortions favouring gas” and called for the end of gas boiler installation, particularly in new builds, stating not doing so would lock in over 10 years of carbon emissions. Suggested alternative fuel sources included geothermal energy, heat pumps, solar heating systems and hydrogen boilers. Users expressed their frustration at the costs of alternative heating systems.

Some respondents claimed it was currently unclear which alternative was most suitable when trying to replace an existing boiler and felt it was up to the Government to make it more evident.

“Currently if you have an ageing gas boiler (which is a huge source of heating in cities) there is no simple change you can make. You probably have to have some sort of combination of heating devices ( say solar and air pump) as a replacement and at the moment only those willing to do a lot of research themselves are finding the way out. meanwhile if your boiler goes you need to make a fast decision and you can be sure the gas companies will be making it easy and cheap to get a replacement gas one.” “Westminster and Holyrood need to commit to preferred types of domestic heating quickly now as conversion will take quite a long time. It's a big task but not an impossible one. The conversion to natural gas was achieved fifty years ago.”

Some people expressed frustration at the lack of control/power people had to make changes to their homes, particularly when living in private rental properties. It was suggested that incentivising landlords to upgrade from existing boilers could simultaneously mitigate climate change and alleviate fuel poverty.

As already discussed in the ‘Energy’ chapter, community ownership of energy was a common idea by users and was frequently suggested for heating schemes.

Improving our homes

As many users pointed out, a significant amount of energy is lost when heating our homes. Respondents agreed that through retrofitting we can reduce the energy demand and reduce energy waste.

“We will need 4 times the amount of wind turbines if we do not insulate buildings first.”

Many felt that double glazing and insulation was a priority, suggesting there should be “generous loans and grants for house retrofits, and also to support not-for- profit trusted community-led initiatives”. Retrofitting was seen as a costly expense that homeowners were reluctant to commit to as it would take several years to see a return on their capital. Additionally, contributors identified other barriers for home improvements as illustrated below.

“Why do you need planning permission to replace the glass in your sash windows with double-glazed units?”

“Why is VAT 20% on energy-efficient products like insulation, while much less for polluting gas?”

The efficiency of new builds was also frequently mentioned, with respondents claiming that energy efficiency standards and quality control checks of new builds was poor. Users felt that “reducing our reliance on cheap, poorly built and poorly insulated homes is a must, our current model which relies on homes being built by companies, not people, means standards are continually driven down in favour of profit.”

Many users called for legislative commitments and tighter regulations on energy efficiency standards, demanding that all new buildings should be carbon neutral. In particular, passive houses (Passivhaus) were viewed as the model standard to aim for. “Mandating Passivhaus for new buildings is essential if we are going to meet the Government's climate change commitments. It is essential that our new buildings meet the highest standards needed to minimise energy demand and prevent waste; wasted energy during the buildings lifespan and wasted materials resulting from defective construction. The Passivhaus standard provides a rigorous approach which ensures that energy demand and CO2 emissions are minimised, ensures healthy indoor air quality, (which has never been more important) and good thermal comfort (at minimal cost). Passivhaus buildings are also more resilient to the increasingly extreme weather events associated with climate change; particularly in terms of temperature extremes which is becoming significantly more important.”

It was suggested that failure to commit to higher standards now would result in costly retrofitting further down the line.

Respondents noted that retrofitting and building energy efficient homes has the added benefit of creating more skilful green jobs. However, several warned that workers must be well trained to meet the necessary standards.

“A few years ago, I considered building a Passivhaus-type home, but was unconvinced local workmen had the skills to do the job”

Water Use

Water usage was less frequently discussed on the platform, although some respondents did mention that water use was connected to energy use and climate change mitigation.

“Water treatment to produce tap water takes energy and chemicals (which need more energy, reagents and natural resources to produce). To then use this drinking water to flush toilets, wash laundry, and water the garden is incredibly wasteful of these resources”.

Water was a greater consideration when discussing climate change adaptation, with users raising concerns over water availability as Scotland’s climate changes and we experience changes in rainfall patterns.

“While Scotland may currently have plenty of water available to treat as drinking water, this situation may not remain the same in the future as the effects of climate change become more pronounced. Some areas may experience seasonal water shortages.”

Rainwater harvesting was a solution put forward by many that would help both mitigate and adapt to climate change. Similarly, others suggested grey water from baths and sinks should be recycled for other purposes. Additionally, it was argued that residents in Scotland should be charged for water usages based on meters readings rather than receiving flat rate unmetered charges. It was hoped that this would encourage people to use less water in their homes. “Scottish water regularly tell people to save water - people do things if they are incentivised - people switch out the lights and buy A rated appliances with the promise of cheaper bills - why would they pay £50 to get a dripping tap replaced when their water bill stays the same?”

Communities and decision making

A common theme across the Dialogue was the need for communities to be more included and active in decision-making. It was felt that local groups were only included late on in the decision making processes and only to simply “comment” on plans. Respondents desired communities work with decision makers from the very start and communities should have power over local issues such as land use and budget allocation.

“Community empowerment is key. Communities need to be supported and empowered by enabling them to not only access the necessary information on how to create local plans/ organisations and projects but also how they can put their plans into action. Regional climate action network hubs are a good idea in this regard. A national database of 'good practice'/ case studies and mentors would be great.”

Current democratic systems were seen as failing local communities and respondents requested greater funding. Some felt that regional citizens’ assemblies could be a tool to facilitate community action.

“Currently community councils are toothless and resourceless, and in rural areas affected by depopulation, often disregarded locally as a bunch of elderly volunteers.”

“We need climate assemblies for each region not just nationally!”

Communities, infrastructure and ownership

Community ownership and community led initiatives were widely discussed across numerous themes. For example, participants thought that communities should be supported in buying and managing land. Respondents felt that access to nature was important for wellbeing and would encourage people to protect nature. It was suggested retiring farmers could be encouraged to hand land over to communities.

Users had several other ideas for community land use: • community rewilding projects • provide green spaces, such as parks and gardens • access to allotments or small scale growing and animal husbandry

As already discussed in the chapter on ‘Energy’ and ‘Work and Travel’, respondents also felt communities should have ownership over energy but also ownership of transport. “Invest in community-owned, free public transport networks and massively increase cycle paths and secure bicycle storage spaces”.

“Allow for and facilitate community-owned and community-run energy, transport and food systems for local solutions that benefit everyone.”

Sharing

Users felt that by promoting a sharing culture we could simultaneously tackle throw-away habits and foster community cohesion. Respondents felt community wardrobes, shared fridges, tool libraries, toy libraries and car and cycle share schemes could reduce consumption and landfill waste.

“Promote a sharing economy…Many items people buy and then throw away are rarely used. Most cars sit idle in parking spaces all day. If items were shared then less would need to be made. the cost of use would also be reduced and sharing helps build community”

However, contributors also identified financial barriers for these schemes.

“There are significant funding issues with all these. they take grant funding as they aren’t sustainable as stand-alone businesses. I’d love to see the Scot Gov invest in them, it would be very costly, so they would have to find the money from somewhere, oil perhaps, taxation on plastics?” RESOURCES

Heating

District heating networks, e.g. The Wyndford Estate in Glasgow, which also has a Heat Trust scheme to protect consumers if things go wrong.

Dandelion Energy - https://dandelionenergy.com/

Retrofitting

Energiesprong pilot scheme in Nottingham ENERGY

There was an overall consensus from contributors that in order to mitigate climate change the use of fossil fuels must be phased out. There were further contributions about how to best manage this transition and which alternative energy sources were most appropriate for a greener energy mix.

There was some overlap and intersection between dialogues about energy and other ideas. For example, hydrogen fuel was a frequent talking point under travel as well as within energy- specific discussions. This is unsurprising given that the use of energy underpins many aspects of our everyday lives and therefore discussions around energy will be mentioned in subsequent sector chapters.

Respondents hoped that the Assembly would consider total energy use across Scotland, including exportation of oil and gas. One participant said:

“In discussing Energy, please start by helping the members of the Citizens Assembly to understand the total energy flow picture (not just electricity) and ensure their understanding of the balance of total energy supply and demand, and the concept of energy transformation (and their associated losses)”.

This chapter considers the following: • Fossil fuels • Alternative energy • Carbon capture • Just transition • Global justice in energy • Resources Fossil fuels

Respondents suggested that the use of fossil fuels was the “core driver of climate change” and that in order for Scotland to achieve net-zero, fossil fuel usage should be dramatically reduced and replaced with renewable energy sources. Participants expected this transition to be well planned and one participant illustrated the importance of this planning in the following comment:

“Reducing the various different uses of fossil fuels in the wrong order could be a very expensive mistake, both financially and environmentally. This needs to be managed in a scientifically and economically appropriate way.”

Contributors referenced Scottish and UK subsidies to the fossil fuel industry and called for financial support and licensing to end.

“Scotland should (in addition to ending all fossil fuel subsidies) end all new licenses for fossil fuel exploration…Multiple sources of evidence show that there are already too many extraction sites for coal, oil and gas for humankind to meet the Paris goals”

While the Scottish Government was seen as part of the problem by some, others saw it as part of the solution. Respondents called for state intervention, suggesting that the Scottish Government should buy majority shares in oil and gas companies or nationalise them. They hoped this would enable the Scottish Government to oversee and speed up the transition to net-zero in the industry. Contributors argued that a market-led approach meant companies were driven by profit and any positive transition efforts were seen as lacking. One participant described this dilemma with the following comment:

“Any plans to decarbonise the economy needs to address the fact that the oil and gas industry has no intention whatsoever of voluntarily doing this. Every claim they make about investing in green energy or zero carbon targets turns out to be tokenistic or greenwash when compared to their actual actions. Governments must intervene if they are serious about reducing emissions and this is a solution which has already worked in a country not that different from Scotland”.

Other interventions included reconfiguring “the retail market for electricity” by making electricity increasingly expensive the more that is used. For example, one respondent suggested using a system that costs consumers “1p/unit for the first 10 units each day; 20p/unit for the next 10 units” and so on. Another user remarked:

“Nearly all washing machines, for example have a timer included, but there is no incentive to use the timer as the price is the same no matter the time of day, but [the] wholesale price varies according to demand. If the price were lower at say 3 am in the morning for the retail buyer then people would use their timers and spread demand for power. This would have a big impact on spreading demand and so reducing the need for peak generating capacity which is expensive and reduce power being dumped at time of low demand..”

There was a view that to meet Scotland’s energy needs using green energy there needed to be significant investment in building the necessary infrastructure. It was hoped that some of the existing structures used for oil and gas could be repurposed for renewables. One user suggested a method to reducing energy demands was to create an energy map of Scotland to determine where the highest energy demands are, to take action there first.

Alternative energy

While the need to transition away from fossil fuels was widely agreed upon, there was considerable debate around which alternative energy sources were most reliable, clean, and affordable. Respondents asked for more funding into research and design to “accelerate the process of innovation” for fuel alternatives.

Renewables

Scotland was seen as well-placed for renewable energy and wind, tidal, solar and hydro-electric energy generation received significant support. However, they weren’t without criticism, for example wind and solar energy were seen as unreliable as they depend on the weather and daylight hours. Some suggested that industrial batteries were a suitable way to store power to ensure renewable energy was in constant supply. There were several concerns over the sourcing of materials to build renewable technology and the impact that the mining and manufacturing of these resources has on people and biodiversity across the world.

“We cannot fall back on colonial tropes and put the burden of the mining and producing the necessary materials on the Global South and less economically developed regions.”

“The opposite is true for ‘renewables’, whose composite materials are not easily recyclable and end up in the landfill.”

There were also fears that investment solely in renewable sources would be insufficient for reducing emissions. One respondent suggested: “Germany has invested large sums in renewables and not only hasn’t reduced its emissions, but opened new coal plants and will need to base its energy production on imported gas. Meanwhile France, Sweden and Ontario-Canada have mostly decarbonised their grids decades ago with nuclear.”

Decentralising energy and investing in community owned energy schemes were celebrated ideas by respondents. However, participants felt there were barriers to this.

“The problem comes down to balancing power demand with power supply. To make the project viable there needs to be a buyer of last resort to buy any surplus power and to supply power to the community if there is a shortage. Such a balancing facility does not exist from what I understand”.

Nuclear

There was significant disagreement over whether nuclear energy was a suitable energy source, with one user describing it as “an emotional topic”. Some suggested nuclear power was a clean, reliable option. It was claimed nuclear could produce higher yields with a smaller carbon footprint and a smaller impact on biodiversity when compared to renewables.

Others raised concerns over the dangers of mining uranium, of waste disposal and the risk of accidents. Some distinction was made between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission, with fusion viewed as safer and cleaner. It was proposed that nuclear could be a clean energy source used to complement other renewable supplies to provide reliable power, as illustrated in the following:

“We should invest in nuclear fission as the primary source of energy, using it to pick up the slack of renewable.”

However, others felt funding from nuclear should be diverted to support renewables.

Biofuels

There was also disagreement over the use of biofuels. Decarbonising heating in our homes was considered a challenging task and biofuels were offered as an intermediary phase. Respondents suggested food and sewage waste could be used to create methane which would then be used for cooking and heating. This was seen as a win-win, reducing landfill waste and supplying non-fossil fuel dependent energy. However, others were sceptical of this approach arguing that we should be aiming to reduce our food waste rather than repurposing it and that biofuels were not as green as some were initially implying. “While methane from food waste is good to a point, food waste should not be encouraged and cannot be carbon neutral in reality when taking into consideration all aspects of food production, storage and distribution”.

“However, biogas is not all methane but contains carbon dioxide and water, both of which have to be removed from the biogas before it can be injected into the gas grid. This involves the use of energy and the parasitic load has to be calculated to determine the net energy benefit from biogas. Once these factors are taken into account biogas becomes a lot less attractive”.

There was also critique of growing organic material to use as biofuel. Some questioned the sourcing of wood from non-sustainable forests. Others argued that biomass was a non-renewable source as harvesting forests reduced carbon sinks and produced carbon dioxide in the process. Additionally, there were concerns that growing crops for biofuels could lead to land conflicts.

Fracking

Given that fracking is banned in Scotland, it is unsurprising it received little mention on the Dialogue. However, one user did imply that companies were importing fracked gas from the US and that this should not be allowed.

Hydrogen

Respondents were generally positive towards the use of hydrogen and hoped that renewable energy could be used for electrolysis. The hydrogen produced could then be used and stored to produce energy when needed, particularly for industries that were harder to decarbonise such a freight/air travel and sea travel. Participants cautioned against the use of oil and gas to produce blue and brown hydrogen.

Carbon capture

Several respondents made the case that as well as transitioning to green energy sources, Scotland will need to capture and store carbon dioxide. Nature based solutions, such as peatland restoration for carbon sequestration, are outlined in the ‘Diet and Lifestyle’ Chapter.

Contributors put forward carbon capture storage and direct air capture as possible technological solutions. Some felt that fossil fuel companies should be the ones to invest in the technology as they have the resources, i.e. money and infrastructure to do so. It was also proposed that the captured carbon dioxide could be redistributed towards agriculture and horticulture growers to increase crop yields, if used in sealed units to prevent carbon dioxide from escaping into the atmosphere. Some respondents stated that research into and the development of carbon capture technology is still in its early phases and were consequently more reluctant to rely on it, as summarised in the quote below. They also were concerned that it was being used to justify a slow transition.

“CCS will require a huge amount of capital to establish it at the scale that is required. I think R&D should continue, but it has to be seen at this stage as ‘nice to have’ rather than an essential part of the plan to decarbonise energy production. It’s a huge gamble to make given that it is unproven as scale, extremely costly and has no guarantee to work”.

Just transition

Respondents acknowledged that the domestic oil and gas industry supported a significant number of careers in Scotland and expressed concerns over job security as Scotland transitions away from fossil fuels.

“The assembly needs to be able to tackle the question of North sea oil extraction in the context of the climate and ecological emergency”.

Citizens’ called for a “strong process of job relocation”, which engages and consults with all workers “to ask what they need to make the change to non-carbon jobs”. For a just transition, citizens hoped support and education would be offered to help workers gain employment in climate friendly jobs, particularly in renewable energy.

“A recent survey highlighted 80% of workers would get out of the oil and gas industry. This is on par with the general population being concerned about climate change. This to me looks like we have a significant proportion of workers in the industry and the general population echoing the same message.”

Global justice in energy

Most of the conversation around energy focused on matters within Scotland’s borders, with energy on a global scale given less consideration. However, a small number of users did highlight the need to look at global inequalities in energy use.

“Recent work by Hopkins et al demonstrates that a target of between 13 and 18 GJ/cap/yr is deliverable to every person on the planet and meets the requirement of being within planetary boundaries. This would also ensure a decent standard of living is achievable to all on the planet”. RESOURCES

Energy Use https://bit.ly/2HmbUEg https://www.electricitymap.org/ https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/299414/REP_Absolute_Zero_V3_20200505.p df?sequence=9&isAllowed=y https://www.cat.org.uk/info-resources/zero-carbon-britain/research-reports/zero-carbon-britain- rising-to-the-climate-emergency/

Fossil Fuels https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/23/uk-has-biggest-fossil-fuel-subsidies-in- the-eu-finds-commission https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/nov/01/oil-majors-must-cut-production-by-a-third- to-meet-climate-target-study https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/23/opec-predicts-massive-rise-in-oil- production-over-next-five-years Plymouth Council’s initiative in setting up community-owned energy co-ops. Low Carbon Hub runs a Community Energy Fund to grow a portfolio of community renewable energy projects.

Alternative Energy https://commonweal.scot/big-ideas/energy-make-scotland-renewable-powerhouse Stirling, A., & Johnston, P. (2018). World Nuclear Industry Status Report

Just Transition https://foe.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SeaChange-final- r3.pdffile:///C:/Users/z616983/Downloads/platform-oil-gas-workers-report-web-compressed.pdf https://www.gmb.org.uk/sites/default/files/Broken%20promises%20and%20offshored%20jobs%2 0report.pdf MECHANISMS OF CHANGE AND FAIRNESS

There was a general consensus among respondents that our economic system needs to move away from growth and GDP, and focus on wellbeing and the environment. Many users also highlighted that Scotland should be a global leader in sustainability and change.

Respondents thought that there needed to be increased regulation for businesses and banks and that there needs to be changes in our decision-making processes to involve more citizens and increase the pace.

There was discussion about targets; mostly that the targets need to be brought forward to prevent the disasters of climate change.

Some speaker suggestions were also suggested and can be found in the resources section.

This chapter considers the following themes: • Systems change and economics • Tax • Business • Regulation • Decision making • Targets • Incentives and subsidies • Education • Media • Fairness and inequality • Green jobs • Covid-19 • COP26 • Population • Assembly • Resources Systems change and economics

Users agreed that our society needed to undergo a deep systems change, with many suggestions about how Scotland could become a sustainable society, which was still economically stable. There was also reference to Covid-19 and a green recovery.

Many mentioned the need for a circular economy or a systems approach, one which focuses on sharing resources and nature. Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics model was frequently mentioned, with users highlighting its implementation in Amsterdam.

“We need deep societal change to achieve net zero and everyone needs to pull together, in a similar way that we've done during the Covid pandemic.”

“A democracy that responds to communities rather than billionaires and corporate lobbyists”

“We need to adopt a whole systems approach that considers 100% renewable heat, power, transport and resilient and adapted communities. Thinking in a joined up way with communities and their interests at the centre.”

Many users focused on reforming our economic system and the need to move away from a society focussed on profit and GDP to benefit the climate and social inequalities, therefore focussing on wellbeing.

“We urgently need to rethink our approach to economics to halt climate change. The best way to do that would be to move away from a GDP orientated economy, where the idea of economic growth is replaced by the importance of environmental sustainability and restoring nature.”

Users thought that this system would stop the endless growth to create a better society. Many terms for this were discussed – there was discussion about the term ‘degrowth’ and that perhaps this was not the correct term to use as it used negative language.

Similarly, the respondents focused on the idea of creating a wellbeing economy:

“Creating a wellbeing economy involves returning responsibility to citizens, just as a citizens assembly does. It involves restoring buildings and lands to community ownership, restoring privatised energy, transport and production systems to public (community or national) ownership, and involves taking back control of how we produce our energy, food and everything else we need, rather than leaving decisions about these to those who are only (and legally) guided by the pursuit of ever increasing wealth for themselves.” The systems changes proposed by respondents also involved economic reform. Ideas suggested that Scotland needed to stop the endless growth of the economy allowing the focus to move to wellbeing.

“Repeal the legal obligation for companies, charities etc to make profit maximisation the key driver of their decisions. Legislate to make the wellbeing of people and planet the foremost consideration that guides companies, charities, governments action in place of the current drive for profit.”

Another argument for a wellbeing economy highlighted that this gave more responsibility to citizens, as seen in the citizens assembly. The respondent thought that citizens would start to feel less hopeless, as they are being listened to and have political involvement.

The respondent also mentioned needing a system change relating to ownership; buildings and land would be restored to community ownership and privatised energy, transport and production systems restored to the public. This extended to ensuring that the NHS remained in public ownership and ensure no political party can privatise it in any way. The user thought that private companies shouldn’t be allowed to make a profit at the expense of peoples basic needs.

Other users mentioned that although shifting towards a wellbeing economy was supported by Nicola Sturgeon, in her 2019 TED Talk, there has been no evidence and no signs of policy that this is happening.

Users requested Common Weal (Common Weal - Our Common Home) to speak at the assembly. The respondent thought that more people should be aware of this and that Scotland needs to discuss and implement effective policies for progress.

Another idea was that we need to recognise and decolonise our society:

“The climate and ecological crisis is a symptom of our colonial and industrial mindset. So in order to fully resolve the environmental and social issues that threaten us, we must truly decolonise our society. In particular we need to end debt, property, institutions and nation states as per Yin Paradies seminal work: https://www.academia.edu/43930499/Unsettling_truths_modernity_de_coloniality_and _Indigenous_futures_Yin_Paradies”

Tax

Respondents thought that taxes should increase for industries that are having an adverse effect to the climate, environment, GHG emissions, deforestation or human rights violations. This idea included banks investing in and profiting from these harmful practices and travel which relies on fossil fuels (air, car). Contributors thought that this increased tax would help to incentivise active travel. Respondents thought that the profits should help fund climate restoration projects and reduce inequality.

Another user suggested that we needed to balance blockers and enablers:

“Society has a clear sense of what is good and what is not and call Blockers to those who use the power of money with no sense of social and environmental responsibility and Enablers to those who act socially and environmentally. If the Government put too much money trying to foster what is good, somehow all that money will end up in the same pockets with a risk to increase inequalities. I think the best approach is taxing what is not socially good and investing those taxes in what society things is good.”

Respondents thought that this tax could also extend to tax on single use consumables to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. Furthermore, the idea thought that products could also be collected off the streets, which could be an income source, and they mentioned that this is already set up in Canada.

Other respondents thought that there should be a carbon tax on raw materials, and that the profits could support sustainable woodland regeneration. Some highlighted that the tax should be reflective of the carbon footprint of the product and that this footprint should be made clear to the consumer, and, for example could also extend to meat and dairy products.

Business

Respondents agreed that we should focus on Scottish businesses rather than using overseas cheap labour to cut down on emissions and create more green jobs. They also suggested that:

“Social enterprises and community organisations should receive the bulk of government investment spent on green initiatives, reducing emissions and mitigating climate change. They can be trusted to make maximum impact and do not have vested interests. Where they don't exist they should be established with green investment money.”

The user continued to say that businesses are currently dominated by multinational corporations with vested interests. Giving social enterprises these responsibilities would then mean they would be tackling energy production, recycling, waste, carbon storage/sequestration, reuse, rewilding, and construction to make these areas more sustainable and create more green jobs.

Regulation

Users thought that it should be a legal requirement for local authorities to have a climate action plan. It was suggested that this should include: • strategies to reduce consumption • strategies to increase recycling • policies to use more renewable energy • create sustainable housing • encourage transport alternatives • increase allotments and community gardens • create local climate change committees of local interested residents

It was also thought that it should be a legal requirement that all corporations should demonstrate how they will become carbon neutral by 2045.

Other ideas and comments highlighted that individuals should have to enter an annual figure reporting their carbon footprint based on a government methodology into the national database. Users thought that this increased regulation would ensure individuals, as well as businesses, are also reducing their carbon footprint as much as possible.

The regulation of the military was also discussed by participants. Users thought that we should also acknowledge and regulate the effect of the military on the climate.

“Military activities across the globe generate a huge carbon footprint; the US military is the largest institutional consumer of fossil fuels globally.”

Respondents also thought that countries should report their military emissions and reduce them. They also thought that military investment should be redirected to renewables.

Decision making

Users thought that the amount and pace of democracy needs to be increase. Citizen’s assemblies were seen as a good way to involve the public in decision making, and they were widely supported among respondents. Respondents were keen for communities to have a real say in budgets, spending and priorities.

Another idea was that we should create an Article of Peace with Nature, by which the natural world would be placed above humans. In this idea, citizens would have the right to appeal for any law to be examined for ecological safety by expert judges, and struck down if it is considered unsafe. Users thought that this would provide an essential protection for citizens, future generations, non-human species, and ecosystems, against unsafe decisions by politicians.

Targets

There were varying responses to the target of net-zero by 2045. Some thought that this was not early enough, whereas others thought that net-zero isn’t enough and that Scotland should be striving for absolute zero, to repair the damage already done. Another suggestion was that net-zero shouldn’t be the target, instead we should be preventing warming to no higher than 1.5 degrees. Users thought that we shouldn’t be able to offshore emissions and that they should be classed as Scotland’s if they are part of the supply chain.

Incentives and subsidies

Users thought that we should recognise and reward farmers for mitigation of emissions and sustainable farming. This included incentivising farmers for sustainable farming practices – grow organic fruit, veg and legumes and more of a plant-based diet. A user responded saying that new sustainable projects shouldn’t be the only ones who are awarded, existing sustainable ones should also e.g. https://www.thebrideproject.ie/.

Comments also included that subsidies should be stopped to polluting companies, building/maintaining airports – instead the money could be redirected to retraining employees of that company to create well paid green jobs.

Respondents also thought that: • Subsidies should be provided to help businesses understand where they could reduce their carbon footprint • Incentives should be given to people who choose rail over air travel • Rewards for proven energy savings • Provide investment grants to encourage the growth of sustainable buildings

Education

Respondents thought the population should be educated on matters of climate change, ecology, diet and consumerism. Users commented that STEM and climate should be widely taught in schools and universities and disseminated via social media, prime TV, radio and high-profile figures could act as figureheads for the cause.

“We need information everywhere, such as notices in supermarkets advising on buying choices, notices on motorways alerting us to air pollution, notices on single use plastic and so on.”

Another suggestion was that schools could have an outdoor area to give children the opportunity for outdoor learning. Contributors felt this would support systems thinking from an early age and foster a relationship with nature.

Media

Some users focused on using the media to disseminate information and create more awareness about climate change. The ownership and agendas of the media was also highlighted by users and how this could sometimes be detrimental to climate change communication.

“We do not have a free press, either in Scotland or in the UK. The media is captured by a few climate-denying billionaires. They are desperate for initiatives, such as Scotland's Climate Assembly, to fail.”

Fairness and inequality

“Tackling the climate crisis must go hand in hand with tackling the crisis of social inequality”

Fairness and inequality were both themes discussed in the dialogue. Users thought inequalities in society needed to be addressed and that Scotland should move towards equity of income and assets, which could involve increasing taxes.

Users also extended this inequality to energy use, highlighting that there are many people who do not consume as much energy as the richest few.

Respondents also thought supporting women to support the climate was important as women are often in a position to make large domestic decisions that impact on sustainability and the environment, they are often responsible for education of the next generation. Users thought that there should be support networks for these women which are well funded and backed by evidence.

Ideas also extended this support to refugees because there are many refugees fleeing due to the climate crisis, and the country could offer them care and respite. The user thought that Scotland had a responsibility and duty of care and this is a problem that will only increase.

Green jobs

The theme of green jobs has been discussed throughout each of the chapters as it often links with other themes, it also heavily links to mechanisms of change and fairness, so a short summary of some of the coded ideas is below.

Users thought it was important to engage and consult with people openly and educate on climate friendly jobs. Those who work in oil should be retrained and the transition should be slow to avoid repeating what happened in the coal industry.

Covid-19

Users focused on ensuring a green recovery from Covid-19 and that this shouldn’t be ‘going back to normal’ because there are so many changes that need to happen. Suggestions included using the furlough scheme to investigate rolling out universal basic income and keeping the path widening and road closures to encourage active transport.

COP26

Users thought that Scotland has a real opportunity to show leadership at the next COP.

“The countries of the global south especially are depending on us to face up to our responsibilities as one of those industrialised countries who have contributed most to the climate crisis. We must also stand up to the fossil fuel lobby that has always sought to limit climate policies. These companies should have no place in the COP climate negotiations due to their own vested interests in making sure that these policies are weakened.”

Population

Population control proved to be a contentious subject in the dialogue. Users thought the western style of living is unsustainable. and that the population needs to be reduced because more people use more resources, which we don’t have. This point was contentious, and many people highlighted ethical reasons as to why this was a difficult conversation to have. Users suggested that using education would be a good way to reduce population.

Assembly

Users mentioned that the assembly needed to cause action quickly and instil a sense of urgency in the population. It was also important to users that the assembly actually has real power to make the changes.

Respondents thought that the assembly should discuss targets and timescales for Scotland’s various institutions to move out of investments in the fossil fuel industry. Respondents thought that it is important to understand investments and how much they fuel climate change.

“Scotland should be leading on policies around divestment and investing in a just transition to renewable energy and fossil fuel free future.”

“I propose that the assembly be invited to arrive at a list of 5 priority actions that should be implemented with as immediate effect as possible (recognising that in some cases emergency legislation is likely to need to be passed).”

It was also important to users that the assembly have a broad representative of speakers provide evidence at the assembly (some suggestions in resources section below). RESOURCES

Speaker suggestions

Prof Kevin Anderson (University of Manchester) Prof Julia Steinberger (University of Leeds) Dr Jason Hickel (University of London) Dr Katherine Trebeck (Strathclyde University) Robin McAlpine (Common Weal) Donald McPhillimy (Rewilding Scotland) Sir David King Rowan Williams, (former Archbishop of Canterbury, to give a social, spiritual and relational view of the climate crisis). George Monbiot (Journalist) William Hutton (British academic and journalist)

Degrowth https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2020.1812222http://www.paecon.net /PAEReview/issue87/Hickel87.pdf Lawhttps://www.stopecocide.earth

Consumerism https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54268038

Wellbeing economy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJzSWacrkKo&feature=youtu.be

Emission targets https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2020.1728209 (need to be brought forward)

Decolonising society https://www.academia.edu/43930499/Unsettling_truths_modernity_de_coloniality_and_Indigen ous_futures_Yin_Paradies

Environmental impacts of the military https://www.sgr.org.uk/index.php/publications/environmental-impacts-uk-military-sector INFORMING SCOTLAND'S CLIMATE ASSEMBLY

This report has summarised and thematically grouped contributors ideas and comments from the Dialogue. It illustrates that the general public have unique insight into Scotland’s response to climate change and their suggestions can be of value to Assembly member’s deliberations. The next stage is to use the data outlined in this report to inform the evidence base and identify speakers for each Assembly weekend.

Thus far, developing the learning journey for Scotland’s Climate Assembly has involved the ongoing input from many different organisations and individuals.

The Evidence Group has been set the task of identifying the relevant content and materials needed to allow Assembly Members to make important and credible decisions on climate action. Alongside Involve and Democratic Society, who make up the Design team, the Evidence Group are working to ensure that the Assembly’s evidence is accurate and comprehensive.

Together they have divided the Assembly into three streams; ‘Work and Travel’, ‘Diet and Lifestyle’ and ‘Homes and Communities’.

Assembly Member’s will explore each stream through four different pathways developed by Forums for the Future.

• ‘Climate Mobilisation’ -Looking at state emergency powers that could be used to maintain habitable climates and access to resources. • ‘Collaborative Communities’ - Using public participation and commons management principles to build community trust and respond to climate change. • Technological Optimism’ - Using innovation and research to advance technological responses to climate change mitigation and adaptation. • ‘Civic Provision and Regulation’. -Tackling climate change through state economic regulation and state delivery of public services.

Decision Centralised making: Climate Civic provision & Mobilisation regulation The role of profit: The role of profit:

Low High

Collaborative Techno Optimism Communities

Decision Decentralised making:

Each idea or comment from the Dialogue that puts forward a policy suggestion will be categorised into its relevant stream and pathway. For example, a frequent flyer levie would fall under the pathway ‘State Provision and Regulation’ in the stream ‘Work and Travel’. Alternatively, growing food locally in community gardens would fall under ‘Collaborative Communities’ in ‘Diet and Lifestyle’.

Following this, the Evidence Group will review the policy suggestions taking them into consideration as they decide the final content for each Assembly weekend. They will work to ensure that the policies put to the Assembly are balanced and represent diverse views on climate change.

Finally, the Evidence Group and the Secretariat will identify suitable presenters who can speak to the plausibility of the policy suggestions under each stream and pathway. Scotland’s Climate Assembly will provide a follow up summary highlighting which ideas were taken from the Dialogue and covered in the Assembly. ANNEX A

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The views and opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the views of Scotland's Climate Assembly or the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government cannot be held responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of information posted by external parties. ANNEX B

Travel Public transport Active travel Cars Electrification Air travel Shipping Pollution

Home Heating Insulation Double glazing Water use

Energy Renewable energy Biofuel Fossil fuels Fracking Hydrogen Wind energy Solar energy Hydroelectric energy Carbon capture storage Nuclear

Food Agriculture Meat/Dairy consumption Plant-based diet Animal welfare Food security Local production

Covid-19 Green recovery Recession

Working environment Working-from-home Commuting

Green jobs Just transition Retraining Employment Consumption Circular economy Reduce, reuse or recycle Biodegradable Plastics Manufacturing Waste Growth-economy Land Biodiversity Tree planting Peatland Deforestation Coastal erosion Flooding Forest fires Fishing Soil Infrastructure Railways Roads Telecommunication Power cables Flood defences

Community Co-operatives Devolution Tool libraries Community fridges

Wellbeing Mental health Diet Exercise Air pollution

Systems Education Media Tax Research and design Carbon pricing Decision-making Inequality Intergenerational justice Systems change Ecocide Militarism

ANNEX C

What Is Your Idea? Why Is Your Idea Important?

Walking, cycling and Walking, cycling or scooting is good Switching from using a car, van or motorcycle to walking, cycling scooting for our health as well as good for the or scooting can lower emissions, lessen congestion in our cities planet. How can we make it easier and towns, reduce air pollution and encourage regular exercise. and safer for those who can to walk, However, many people also rely on cars for everyday life and cycle and scoot more? longer journeys, and cars are particularly important to those with limited mobility. Additional links:

* [LINK: https://www.greenerscotland.org/gree ner-travel/active-travel]Greener Scotland on Active Travel[END LINK] * [LINK: https://vimeo.com/141912425]Active Travel Benefits [video][END LINK] Transport Walking, scooting and cycling aren’t The way we travel is one of the most important ways that we can always possible, particularly when you change how much we contribute to climate change. [LINK: need to travel further distances or for https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-greenhouse-gas- those with disabilities. Instead, we emissions-2017/pages/3/]Transport (including international may opt to use cars, public transport, shipping and aviation[END LINK]) is the largest contributor to boats, or even planes. How do we Scotland’s carbon footprint. reduce our emissions and make travelling accessible in our interconnected world? Improving our homes We want our homes to be both According to [LINK: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy- comfortable and sustainable. How can efficiency/home-improvements]Energy Savings Trust[END LINK], we ensure that our existing homes as 40% of us worry that we can’t keep our homes warm enough in well as new buildings are energy and winter. Making our homes more energy efficient could help save water efficient and able to adapt to the households money in the long run and reduce emissions. changing climate? Currently, our homes account for [LINK: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-greenhouse-gas- Additional links emissions-2017/pages/3/]14.9% of Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions [END LINK]through fuel combustion for heating/cooling and garden machinery as well as fluorinated gases released from * aerosols/metered dose inhalers. Edinburgh talks climate: energy saving [LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5 E5puhFMH0&feature=emb_logo]https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5E5pu hFMH0&feature=emb_logo[END LINK]

Food Greenhouse gases are emitted at Food production accounts for [LINK: every stage of food production, for https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food]one- example during land clearing, through quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and takes up half farming practices and during of the planet’s habitable surface.[END LINK] In [LINK: transportation and selling. Climate https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-greenhouse-gas- change is also predicted to impact emissions-2017/pages/3/]Scotland[END LINK], the agriculture

food availability, by reducing crop and sector is the second largest emitting industry. But agriculture can pasture yields in some parts of the also be part of the solution: with the right farming practices we can world. How can we reduce emissions reduce emissions and even capture carbon. and ensure our food system is sustainable and secure?

Additional links:

* [LINK: https://eatforum.org/eat- lancet-commission/]The EAT-Lancet Commission on feeding a future population of 10 billion [END LINK] * [LINK: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/food- insecurity-index/]An interactive map of food insecurity [END LINK]

Learning about climate How should we educate people in We will all experience changes in our daily lives due to climate change Scotland about climate change? What change. Education can help us understand why these changes are would you like to know on the subject? happening and what action is most effective. Working Covid-19 has caused changes to our Changing our working patterns can reduce the need to commute working habits with many of us now and the need to heat and light office spaces, which can help working from home. How have these decrease emissions from offices, but can also cause loneliness changes impacted our quality of life? and increase emissions from homes. How can we maintain productive, healthy working environments and keep carbon emissions low? Recovering from Covid- The coronavirus pandemic has turned Covid-19 has created challenging circumstances for many and we 19 our world upside down and we have are all keen to move forward. Our recovery from the pandemic all experienced rapid, unprecedented should not put our climate at risk. changes to our lives. When Scotland recovers from this shock, what kind of society do we want to rebuild? How does this align with our low carbon future? The products we make, The products we make and buy use In 2018, Scotland produced over 11 million tonnes of [LINK: buy, and resources, both in the materials https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/waste/waste-data/waste- throw away they’re made from and in the energy data-reporting/waste-data-for-scotland/]waste[END LINK], 2 million used to make them. From collecting tonnes of which was from households. [LINK: the raw materials for a product to https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-greenhouse-gas- making it, packaging it, transporting it emissions-2017/pages/3/)]21.4%[END LINK] of Scotland’s to a customer (individuals or emissions come from business and industrial process. businesses), to disposing of it at the end of its life, each stage of a product’s life has an impact on climate change. How can we reduce that impact?

Additional Links

* Life Cycle Assessment: [LINK: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ z8qjng8/revision/1]https://www.bbc.co. uk/bitesize/guides/z8qjng8/revision/1[ END LINK] Energy We need reliable energy sources like Energy is 4th biggest contributor to Scotland’s emissions at 14.9%. electricity and fuels to run our homes, Scotland currently exports both oil & gas and renewable energy. In businesses, and industry, but fossil 2018, [LINK: https://www.eas.org.uk/en/fuel-poverty- fuels are a core driver of climate overview_50439/#:~:text=The%20Scottish%20Parliament%20pas change. There are trade-offs to sed%20the%20Fuel%20Poverty%20%28Targets%2C,Scottish%2 consider with all kinds of energy, so 0Ministers%20to%20prepare%20a%20Fuel%20Poverty%20Strate it’s likely we’ll need a mix, and gy.]11.3%[END LINK] of the Scottish population was estimated to different areas of the country have be in extreme fuel poverty. better access to some energy sources than others. Where should we get our energy from? Green jobs Some industries will grow, and others High levels of employment in good quality jobs will determine the will need to cut back as we fight to wellbeing of Scotland, something that has become even more tackle climate change. How can we important in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Scottish create good green jobs, especially for Government has committed to the principles of ‘[LINK: those whose industries may change? https://www.gov.scot/groups/just-transition-commission/]Just Transition’[END LINK] in its climate change strategy. Land use There are many demands on our land: Pressures on land vary across Scotland, and sustainable solutions cities, towns, and villages for people to will not be the same everywhere. For example, agriculture and live, work, and socialise in, space for related land use is responsible for [LINK: industry, for growing food and https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-greenhouse-gas- materials, space for nature and for emissions-2017/pages/3/]23.9% of Scotland’s emissions[END people to enjoy that nature. Each of LINK], but forestry is an overall sink at -23.6% these demands has an impact on climate change.

Land is different across Scotland, and some land is better suited to one role than another. How should we manage changes in land use to meet our emissions targets and meet those demands fairly? Our communities How can we help communities to Community networks have been a vital resource for many during adapt to the impacts of climate the Covid-19 pandemic. Both the impacts of climate change and change, and to contribute to reducing the actions to mitigate it will affect communities, and they will need Scotland’s emissions? to be involved in decisions that affect them.

Who should do what? Much conversation around climate Those who experience the impacts of climate change and change focuses on individual action, mitigation the most are often not those who are most responsible but responsibility is shared across all for emissions. Meeting our net-zero target must account for this sectors of society, business, and inequality. government. How should we allocate responsibility for action? Infrastructure The infrastructure we build might Greenhouse gases can stay in the atmosphere for over one include things like transport networks, hundred years. This means that even if we stopped emitting today,

energy routes, water systems, housing we are already committed to some level of climate change and because our historic emissions will continue to have an effect. Our developments, telecommunications, infrastructure is going to need to withstand changes in rainfall and flood defences. How can we patterns (contributing to flooding risks), warmer temperatures, and ensure that these new projects higher sea levels. contribute to a well-functioning society for all, and are built in a green way?

Additional links

* [LINK: https://www.adaptationscotland.org.uk /why-adapt]Why adapt? by Adaptation Scotland[END LINK] * [LINK: https://adaptationscotland.org.uk/clima tereadyplaces/]Climate Ready Places resource[END LINK] A Peace with Nature Climate chaos, mass extinction and Peace with Nature is a wholly new constitutional idea. By Constitution ecological breakdown result from accepting it, and giving citizens the right and means to appeal for human attacks on nature. These make conflicting laws to be overturned, Scotland would set a new global no sense as nature is far more standard that would steer humanity away from extinction and powerful than we are, and she is towards a safer future. starting to respond to abuse with fires, floods, storms and new diseases. Tipping points involving methane release in the Arctic, fire in the rainforests, and deep heat in the oceans, are fast approaching and will have overwhelming consequences. Everything will only get worse if we continue the abuse, paying little or no attention to the science and wisdom of ecology. It is time to build peace instead, not as an empty slogan, but as a constitutional principle with practical ways to put it into effect.

An Article on Peace with Nature should be written into a new Constitution for a self-governing or fully-independent Scotland, and as a model for all other countries to follow. The key practical point is that a Court of Ecology would then be set up to which citizens would have the right to appeal for any law to be examined for ecological safety by expert judges, and struck down if it is considered unsafe. This would provide an essential protection for citizens, future generations, non-human species, and ecosystems, against unsafe decisions by politicians. The effect of this would be to place ecological law at a higher level than human law, and establish

that the people are sovereign while nature is supreme. Finance and taxation Create a tax specifically for The burden of climate change is too often shouldered by those corporations that are directly or who had the least part to play in it, while extremely polluting indirectly having a very negative effect corporations benefit from tax breaks and subsidies. These on carbon emissions, pollution, corporations should pay for the harm they have caused, instead of deforestation, or human rights passing their responsibility onto individual citizens. violations. This includes banks and corporations investing in and profiting from these harmful practices. This tax will help fund climate restoration projects and reducing inequality.

End all subsidies to polluting companies, redirecting these funds to retraining the workers from these companies so they can access well- paid green jobs instead.

Move away from growth economics and instead prioritise welfare and sustainability as the key economic factors. The Sustainable Scotland has the ability to be global We did it! The current decision making generation, together with Society thought leaders in all areas of the their parents, are the central cause of the climate emergency. The sustainable economy to address the statistics prove it. Many decisions taken in the 20th and early 21st climate emergency whilst building a century have delivered simplistic answers to deliver consumer better society for future demand - driven by aggressive marketing to meet investor return generations. We have the natural and requirements - with little regard of the consequences. The bottom intelligent resources, the land, right hand corner of a profit an loss spreadsheet will always win weather, ability and spirit. The over the environment unless policy dictates otherwise. But after sustainable society's key objective 30 years in the renewables industry, starting as a volunteer in a should be to address the climate subsidised, despised by some, fledgling industry, I have seen that emergency both can win, with wind and solar now not only environmentally but whilst enriching biodiversity and financially the most attractive form of electricity generation. We will meeting the needs of the many rather always make mistakes but that is fine if we learn from both than the few. This objective should be these and the amazing successes (such as the energy the cornerstone for every revolution) to review, share and implement the lessons learned policy and political decision, engaging across every element of the economy so everyone is a winner. But business, community and all key we must also recognise that "nothing comes for free" and to stakeholders proactively to deliver address this global emergency there will be a need for global thought leadership and a future compromise from all sides as the impacts of our personal western proofed society. The "next" lifestyle's is having global consequences, often to people very generation should be central in the remote from the source least able to deliver the solution. process as it is they who will inherit what our generation has done. Pensions and Investments Scotland's Climate Assembly should Poorly debated topic yet it has such a big impact. Scotland should understand the scale of and be able be leading on policies around divestment and investing in a just to discuss targets and timescales for transition to renewable energy and fossil fuel free future. Scotlands's various institutions to move out of investments in fossil fuel Scotland's future wealth should not be associated with or locked industry, e.g. council pensions, etc. into industries that have stranded assets they cannot extract/mine/etc. it's important to know the impact of our invstements and how much they are fueling Climate Change.

System Change - Move from an Scottish economy As David Attenborough pointed out on the BBC on 8 October - towards a based on the idea that economic [LINK: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment- Wellbeing growth can help address our climate 54268038]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment- Economy or our inequality problems to one that 54268038[END LINK] - the idea that greed leads to joy is a is based on directly ensuring the mistake, and endless economic growth sets us up for wellbeing of people and planet. environmental collapse.

And in 2018 Scotland declared itself a Wellbeing Economy Nation - along with Iceland, New Zealand and more recently Wales. See as a starter Nicola Sturgeon's challenging TED Talk 19 Sept 2019 at [LINK: https://youtu.be/gJzSWacrkKo]https://youtu.be/gJzSWacrkKo[END LINK]

Hope we can join up these themes and look at the bigger picture beyond personal behaviour change. What systems need changing and how? Hemp Growing sustainability with hemp to Scotland has all this beautiful land which we could grow hemp for clean up our environment... We have all industries... It would open up jobs from farmers to refinery.. Cbd all the natural resources available to dispensers to education training. This is an untapped market .. We help our economy creating endless can make biofuel... Most things could be achieved by growing opportunities hemp..... There's a vast range available... Scotland needs to come together and throw out capitalism... People talk about co2 emissions climate control.. Hemp can fix this... Hemp will heal Scotland Various Increase the number of EV chargers Encourage EV travel car, vespa, van etc across the City of Edinburgh For SMEs that require to use such vehicles incentivise vans (tax Make commercial EVs accessible and efficiency etc) affordable for small businesses Link the bus/trams and all network across the City Infrastructure link up is critical LRT is City owned, reflect this in fares, make it free for City Make public transport free for citizens citizens to encourage use to encourage less private car driving Plan ahead, don't close roads in reaction to change when closure Explore arterial route changes in is too late, it moves the pollution problem on the roads, fix the advance of cities expanding, under current beforehand. Integrate home building decisions with especially by City airports, travel planning, in advance. Dundee/Edinburgh Review, risk assess, review again! Thoroughly review and engage re LTN proposals to ensure Sorry, a little traffic focussed here! Trees Prioritise trees over travel Where possible, always prioritise trees over travel e.g. Ocean Way, Edinburgh, Trams to Newhaven. Even cutting down and re- plenishing shall leave a void SMEs SME relief for climate efficient entities Encourage SME growth by incentivising ecological design and and start ups innovation, tech sector especially and encourage sustainable office space (less tax, lower cost for start ups). Encourage climate discussion at start up stage. Offer grant incentives for climate aware entities, especially start ups. Early years education Embed climate change into pre-school Enhance and expand current curriculum efforts and builds awareness from the earliest learning ages

learning, support funding for this per LA Geothermal Heating - There has been a huge expansion of Geothermal heating requires skilled installers to implement the Subsidy & new housing estates across Scotland systems which means new high quality jobs will be created if it is Loan Options and it seems that the majority are to be implemented. being connected to mains gas supplies, which seems like a missed The system is highly efficient, the technology to implement these opportunity. systems is available now and could be scaled up to reduce the carbon footprint of houses in Scotland. In the USA companies like Dandelion Energy - https://dandelionenergy.com/ - are showing how innovative technology and financing can be combined, to both reduce the initial cost of Geothermal Energy and pay for the system over an extended period of time. Freshwater Cultivation of Aim to reproduce on a useful scale It might be slow (800k years) but it is thought to have worked Azolla something like the hypothesized once. Azolla Event (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla_ev ent).

"The Azolla event is a scenario hypothesized to have occurred in the middle [LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eocene]E ocene[END LINK] epoch,[LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla_ev ent#cite_note-Brinkhuis2006- 1][1][END LINK] around [LINK: http://tools.wmflabs.org/timescale/?Ma =49]49[END LINK] million years ago, when [LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algal_bloo m]blooms[END LINK] of the freshwater [LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fern]fern[ END LINK] [LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla]Azo lla[END LINK] are thought to have happened in the [LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Oc ean]Arctic Ocean[END LINK]. As they sank to the stagnant sea floor, they were incorporated into the [LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sediment] sediment[END LINK]; the resulting [LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawdown _(climate)]draw-down[END LINK] of [LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_di oxide]carbon dioxide[END LINK] has been speculated to have helped transform the planet from a "[LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhou

se_and_icehouse_Earth]greenhouse Earth[END LINK]" state, hot enough for turtles and palm trees to prosper at the poles, to the current [LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhou se_and_icehouse_Earth]icehouse Earth[END LINK] known as the [LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Cen ozoic_Ice_Age]Late Cenozoic Ice Age[END LINK]." WIKIPEDIA

The basic idea is for rapid CO2 sequestration with natural plants. Would have to be on a massive scale, though at a base level it is just growing ferns in a bucket. Stop buying fossil fuel We need to stop purchasing new fossil We need to get to net zero by 2050 but we need to make burning fuel burning products now. substantial reductions well before then. products. There is no reason that new cars for A product with a 30 year life span will take about 30 years from example need to be petrol or diesel as switching from fossil fuel to renewable low carbon fuel to switch there are plenty of electric options. the countries entire fleet from fossil fuel to renewables.

There is no reason that space and With our 2045 target in Scotland this means cars with a 15 year water heating systems should burn life span need to stop being fossil fueled by 2030 at the gas or oil as electric heat pumps can latest. Heating systems with a 20 year life span need to be fossil provide these. fuel free by 2025 and ferries with a 30 year life span need to be fossil fuel free by 2015.

We have missed the date for ferries already. So we need to bring forward the date for other things.

Given the urgency of the requirement to cut out fossil fuels, I belive its simpler and more effective to go for a no new fossil fuel policy as soon as possible ie in 2020 or 2021 at the latest. All food should be Agriculture is the most destructive Because agriculture is the most destructive human activity. from human activity (statistics show it sustainable causes more pollution in Europe than We can change our diets to benifit: sources all the cars and vans put together). It is also one of the cruelest, factory The environment farming is morally wrong and only accepted as we are so disconnected Our health from the source of the food we eat. Our local economy Palm oil products and imported beef are contributing to the continued The animals destruction of the rainforest. It does not have to cost individuals much money to make the Scotland took a stand by rejecting change. Highly processed foods are linked to many health GMO recently and could further our problems, high blood pressure, cancer etc. These products ought commitment to nature by rejecting to be clearly labelled and if they have contributed to loss of imported beef from farms created by nature/rainforest destruction they should be banned/labelled. For cutting down the rainforest. We could example, 'the rainforest was cleared to bring you this packet of insist all products containing palm oil biscuits for 99p'. People could then decide to buy a locally baked be clearly labelled. biscuit instead?

Could we also reject factory farmed

meat and subsidise local, organic and free range products? Plus an advertising campaign (with the help of celebrity chefs?) to promote eating less meat and buying local products.

Schools could also be brought on board to teach vegetarian/sustainable/cruelty free cookery.

Decommissio ning plans for Detailed plans drawn up to Moves us away from fossil fuel reliance and promotes broader carbon heavy decommission our big carbon education. polluters polluters. Often it is sited about jobs at these plants supporting local communities. As part of the plan training and jobs need to be part and parcel, with an emphasis on STEM in schools, to build a sustainable modern workforce, who have the understanding of climate impact reinforced through education. Take effective action - allow It's important to allow for different It's important to have as many as possible contributing to positive for different ways of viewing problems - in this change. approaches context the important thing is that actions have are effective in easing This is a well researched framework which deals with how all the climate and nature emergency. sectors of the economy can contribute to a solution - internationally. Project Drawdown proposes ways of being effective using existing I'ts presented in a positive way and people and policies can then technology and techniques. I don't draw in as many as possible. think it's entirely right in every detail but it ranks actions and costs them. Many are cost neutral or cost saving as well.

https://drawdown.org/solutions/table- of-solutions

This table gives global suggested targets of CO2 that could be sequestered by the various methods.

Many are clearly applicable to Scotland. Sustransition Recognise lokus of control for Reduce, recycle, reuse and participate in!!! everyone and direct toward sustainable life styles

best

oguz British summer time The experiment retaining BST year It has been trialed in the past and has been shown to give positive should be round from 1968 to 1971 environmental outcomes. retained all was abandoned before the year round results were analysed due to media It is a change which can easily be enacted as all that is needed is and political pressure. to not change the clocks in October (it could be done in October 2021). Our body clocks do not need to adjust to the new times. We The subsequent findings showed would all benefit psychologically from more afternoon winter that there was a daylight. significant national reduction in energy consumption, giving an environmental The cost would be negligible and more than offset by the energy gain. There was also a reduction in savings. road casualties and deaths, a fact that could be important if increasing numbers are cycling and walking to workplaces and schools Flow Country That the unique flow country of The flow country of Caithness and Sutherland represents one of Caithness and Sutherland be afforded the UK's last great areas of truly wild land. greater protection particularly in planning legislation. However this sense of wildness has been eroded through poorly thought out policies over the past number of decades. Some of these have been acknowledged and remediation carried out but other threats continue.

At over 200,000 hectares this area of blanket bog, that has been forming since the end of the last ice age, represents a huge carbon sink. It also represents in my opinion much of the soul of this part of Scotland. It is a unique landscape that supports a great range of biodiversity that could not be supported anywhere else.

When it is considered that the flows can hold carbon to an amount three times that of Britain's woodlands it surely must follow that the preservation of such a landscape must be a priority in Scotland's approach to climate change. Find a way to support an I have done two applications on I think the idea is important because we need to accelerate the idea rather InnovateUK about a Renewable process of innovation to the pace it is required. 10 to 15 years to than an Energy device that can be working fully develop a product is by far too much in the current Climate excuse not to 24/7 addressing the 2 biggest Emergency. challenges the energy industry is facing right now with one single device.

The idea is good and bring a lot of traction but after more than 2.5 years, the concept has not even be demonstrated. This confronts with the idea of a Climate Emergency and my perspective is that the whole company in early stages is or may be one single individual.

Without the right support, innovation is innovation as usual and looking to the

past, we might be thinking of some 10 to 15 years to fully develop a product.

The Climate Emergency is of much bigger impact than COVID19 and this tiny organism has caged all human beings at a time. To my understanding, the innovation teams should look for the potential of a tool understanding that at early stages there could be many questions without a clear answer because that is what early stage means. Structuring the Since the innovation process is self Innovators lose a considerable amount of time sailing through all innovation structured by what is known as TRL the funding bodies and ironically when they find a suitable fund, process (Technology Readiness Levels), I the application process will let them know that is too early or too would expect a TAP (Technology late to apply with regards to the TRL status of the idea. Assessment Process) to understand where the idea is within that process Structuring the innovation process will give innovators a very well and a clear guidance on how to designed path to go through. Currently they are sailing and progress from there, pointing to a TRL spending the most valuable treasure they have, which is their time managing process where the because especially in the early stage, the whole company is just innovator has to go through in a very one person. well structured process from where they are to the very end of the process.

Balancing Blockers and In a recent conference I heard about For this, I will use an example. Enablers Blockers and Enablers. Let's say that extracting 1 kg of aluminium from the mine costs 5 Basically, society has a clear sense of (whatever monetary unit) and lets say that recycling 1 kg of what is good and what is not and call aluminium from cans that are currently thrown away on our streets Blockers to those who use the power costs 7 (of the same monetary units). of money with no sense of social and environmental responsibility and The strategy will be taxing 1 monetary unit to the mine and Enablers to those who act socially and incentivise the recycling industry with one so that both now cost 6. environmentally. With this strategy, there will be less aluminium cans on the street If the Government put too much and the net contribution of the Government will be 0. money trying to foster what is good, somehow all that money will end up in the same pockets with a risk to increase inequalities.

I think the best approach is taxing what is not socially good and investing those taxes in what society things is good.

'Our Common Home' - In November 2019 Scottish think tank With 9 years to go until the point of no return on (lack of) climate Common [LINK: action Scotland continues to lack any other concrete, progressive Weal's Green https://commonweal.scot/]Common plans for comprehensive transformation beside 'Our Common New Deal Weal[END LINK] has released [LINK: Home'. It is now vitally important to discuss, bring forward and plan https://commonweal.scot/our-

common-home]'Our Common implement concrete policies; the time for discussion has passed. It Home'[END LINK] a comprehensive, is time to build. costed, strategic Green New Deal Plan for Scotland, covering local democracy, homes and buildings, heating, energy, transport, food, resources, trade, learning and more.

Common Weal was about to embark on a Scotland-wide tour when Covid- 19 hit - the message contained in[LINK: https://commonweal.scot/our- common-home] 'Our Common Home'[END LINK] needs to be more widely heard, understood and discussed. It represents a concrete 25 year plan with practical steps Scotland needs to embark on right now, as well as mentioning the the constitutional barriers in the way of further progress. Corporate social Increase the level for existing Transfer of public funds to private enterprise and shareholders is responsibility enterprises. For example, TESCO not being spent on measures required to address climate change. provide 60% of all food consumed in Highland Council region. They could take on the responsibility and cost of addressing the plastic packaging and wraping associated with food. National Farm Service Stimulate and support interest, Nature defecit disorder and lack of knowledge/experience re awareness and involvment in local farming are barriers to people adopting behaviour changes food production. required to address climate change

This could create employment, develop local food production as a career option, reconnect people with nature Natural Farming Develop a national natural farming Start with education. Field trip and hands on experience. Make programme natural farming a viable career pathway. Set up institutions to support this work. Benefits the land, the people, the economy. Reclaims the right to local, seasonal and natural food for all levels of income. Grow peat Peat growth is a very fast way of A natural way for long term carbon sequestering can contribute to sequestering carbon. Ideal for mitigate climate change. Scotland. Point is lots of marginal land was drained in the past, and peat disappeared. So we can reverse that: in selexted areas: prevent drainage, soak the soil, stop grazing, and pest will grow back. Grow peat Peat growth is a very fast way of A natural way for long term carbon sequestering can contribute to sequestering carbon. Ideal for mitigate climate change. Scotland. Point is lots of marginal land was drained in the past, and peat disappeared. So we can reverse that: in selected areas: prevent drainage,

soak the soil, stop grazing, and peat will grow back. Bring forward the date for The current target of net zero If the target date for zero emissions is not considered then we will Zero greenhouse gas emissions is fail to meet our obligations under the Paris climate agreement, fail Greenhouse insufficient and we need to massively to meet our moral obligations to the poorer people in the world and Gas increase our ambition, bringing fail to meet our moral obligations to future generations. emissions forward the target date for zero emissions.

We passed the safe atmospheric concentration of CO2 of 350ppm in the late 1980's (1). In addition, as a rich nation in the global north, Scotland has been responsible for a significant proportion of the excess emissions beyond this point (2).

Scotland's current target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 was developed using a bottom up approach. So it has resulted in a proposed pathway which will see more than double Scotland's fair share of the remaining carbon budget (3) if we are to meet our Paris climate agreement obligations. These obligations are themselves already a failure for the global south and future generations.

Accordingly, the target date is insufficient and needs bringing forward.

(1) https://arxiv.org/abs/0804.1126 (2) https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lan plh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30196- 0/fulltext (3) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10 .1080/14693062.2020.1728209 Reforest Scotland Reforest Scotland with broad leaves Trees are the lungs of the world but over the last thousand years trees as a substitute for meat they have been removed both to fuel the industrial revolution and production. The majority of the to create arable land for agriculture and meat production both of Scottish countryside is used for meat whom add to global warming. Reforestation by broadwood trees is production either by farming or the only effective way to offset climate change. Creating shooting estates and the concept sustainable forestry can create employment in rural areas, being put forward is to convert this enhance the biodiversity of the land both is animals and plant land to forestry to reduce CO2 species and save our wildlife from mass extinction. It could also emmisions and to protect and boost tourism as a vital part of our econimy. If we reforest Scotland enhance the natural enviroment and now we are doing of our best for the generations to come. its wildlife. biodiversity and access to to protect biodiversity if we halt the climate crisis but do nothing to protect, preserve and nature encourage biodiversity we will still be heading headlong into an and unimaginable crisis.

to improve access to nature improving access to nature, improving greenspaces in our towns and cities will bring people in closer contact with nature. “No one will protect what they don't care about; and no one will care about what they have never experiened” David Attenborough Biogas All sewage and food waste should be It will reduce waste to landfill and create energy at the same time. processed by anaerobic digestion to create biogas (methane) that can be fed back into the gas grid for cooking and heating.

[LINK: http://www.biogen.co.uk/Anaerobic- Digestion/What-is-Anaerobic- Digestion]Anaerobic digestion explained[END LINK] Rainwater Harvesting The collection of rainwater per Water treatment to produce tap water takes energy and chemicals household (or per building) by a (which need more energy, reagents and natural resources to rainwater harvesting system produce). To then use this drinking water to flush toilets, wash (collection from gutters/drainpipes and laundry, and water the garden is incredibly wasteful of these storage in underground/above ground resources. Collection of rainwater per household or per building tanks) for use in toilet flushing, laundry has dual advantages: (1) it reduces the rate of use of tap water, washing, and outdoor uses (e.g. and therefore also that of associated energy and reagents, (2) it watering the garden, car washing, reduces the amount of rainwater runoff that makes its way into etc.) to minimise the use of drinking water treatment facilities and that then has to be treated. While water, and associated energy and Scotland may currently have plenty of water available to treat as resources used in the processing of drinking water, this situation may not remain the same in the future water for tap water distribution. as the effects of climate change become more pronounced. Some areas may experience seasonal water shortages. Rainwater harvesting safeguards against these shortages. Legislate for reuse, repair, Unless a product can be reused, This would create new industries for spare parts, repairs, and and recycle. repaired, or recycled then legislation recycling/upcycling. It will reduce costs of transport and disposal should prohibit its manufacture, use, as well as reduce pollution from waste materials getting into the or sale. environment.

Manufacturers and traders have to show to appropriate government authority that there are facilities for repair or recycle before a product can be licenced for manufacture, trade, or import. It should never be the case where it is cheaper to discard a product than to buy spare parts and repair.

This would create new industries for spare parts, repairs, and recycling/upcycling and reduce costs of waste transport and disposal and also reduce flytipping and pollution.

Government scrappage schemes, while helping some businesses, promote waste. Remove peat from A target was set in 2010 to remove It should be important to the British government and to Holyrood

horticultural peat from retail gardening/horticulture because in 2021 the UN international climate change conference growing by 2020. There has been no evidence will be held in UK (Glasgow?) and it would be embarrassing to medium that either the horticulture industry or admit nothing much has been done over 10 years to try and the government has made any effort achieve the peat reduction target. towards achieving this target and today most gardeners buying growing Peat is a carbon sink and it's excavation releases not only CO2 medium will find that it contains peat. but also methane. Reducing carbon emissions from fossil fuels is only one part of the problem; the other is the removal of the carbon It is time to legislate and, if necessary, sink. Studies have shown peat land stores more carbon than any to provide public support to develop other habitat. growing medium from local and sustainably sourced ingredients. Another reason for protecting peat land is to preserve the biodiversity of that particular habitat and to conserve the regulatory effect that peat habitat has on water storage, quality, and flow beyond. Ban muirburn A complete moratorium on the burning Scotland's peat holds vast amounts of carbon. Across Scotland on of heather on grouse moors is needed grouse moors the practice of burning the heather, purely for the pending a full and thorough scientific benefit of those who shoot grouse, releases vast quantities of investigation. carbon into the atmosphere. Heavy household Houses with majority of the carbon This is a win win. footprint footprint are private rents If private landlords were helped/made to upgrade boilers the Landlords refuse to change boilers in climate benefits thousands of private let's of the poor and low paid. The poor benefit many who.are heating poverty. Degrowth Shift from a growth based economy to Economic growth structurally inhibits the necessary action to an economy which operates within effectively tackle the climate and ecological crisis in a fair way. As planetry limits. A planned shift which a result we need to shift to a post economic growth society and winds down environmentally and degrowth strategies facilitate this. socially harmful industries and increases socially important sectors; shortening the working week and increasing employment through a job guarantee and minimum wage; tackling inequality through progresive taxes; expand public services and tackle climate and ecological breakdown. See: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10 .1080/14747731.2020.1812222

Adopting a planned degrowth strategy would mean that Scotland could develop a genuinely sustainable society where everyone flourishes. It is currently impossible to tackle the climate and ecological crisis in a fair way whilst pursuing economic growth in a system which also places most resourses in the hands of a few rich people. See:

http://www.paecon.net/PAEReview/iss ue87/Hickel87.pdf

http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/162490/

Blueprint for Farming Create a Sustainable Blueprint for Methane Emissions account for 14% of green house gases. farming. Methane holds 100 times more heat in the atmosphere than CO2. By creating a model that helps farmers move away from Livestock Land is taken up by farmers for to Plant based farming, we lead the world in solving the crisis. livestock. We need to incentivise farmers to move to more sustainable farming practices. The Eat Lancet Report states we must move to a more plant The Lancet Eat report states that we based diet to sustain the planet. must move to a more plant based diet to sustain the population as well as Scotland could lead the at in incentivising farmers to make the the planet. transition to a lucrative plant based farming solution.

We must work with the farmers to move towards taking up sustainable Farmers will be turned into heroes. farming. Attractive incentive programmes must be given to encourage farmers to take up a new way of farming.

Farms should be converted into habitat, rewinding and growing of Organic fruit, vegetables, legumes and grains.

Scotland could promote new meals like Vegan Scotch Broth and other food at Food Fairs.

Restaurants and supermarkets should be involved to get behind the pioneering farmers who move to this sustainable blueprint.

Resource Based I saw a graphic a couple of weeks ago The way we live in society today is governed by the economic Economics ( I can't find it again to link to it but the policies our political systems allow us to vote for. The main political figures are unnecessary anyway) parties in the Western world follow a more or less neoliberal which highlighted how rich in framework where profit and markets rule. Government funding is resources Scotland is.There were 10 shunned unless there is a crisis. The climate crisis has been or a dozen areas where we punched caused by the race for wealth, power and profit without enough above our proportional weight and it regard for the impact these goals have on the sustainability of life got me thinking. The most eye- itself. This manifests itself not only in disregard for the planet, but catching statistic was the fact that an also for the individual, whether working, ailing or unemployed in independent Scotland would control todays society. The pillars of state support have been kicked away 25% of the European fishing waters. one by one. That is a startling piece of information. The market for a quarter of the To bring the option of meaningful change back to the ballot box, continent's fish requirement would be someone has to promote a new economic system where profit is under the control of the Scottish not the key element. The works required to mitigate climate Government. In the modern market change have one thing in common to health care and food place the potential for creaming huge standards and energy supply. To do them properly is not profits of this kind of control would be profitable. We cannot expect the private sector to involve immense, however, currently, fish themselves in these battles without coercion or support from the stocks are dwindling despite quotas Government's fiscal spending and the legal system. and legislation for over 40 yrs.

It seems to me that economic thinking has to change from a profit driven motive to one of resource sustainability. The fact that Scotland controls 25% of the European fishery, should be viewed as a responsibility in stewardship of the fish stocks.We have to accept the task of ensuring that there are enough fish to put food on the table not only in Scotland today or in 10 or 100 yrs time, but in the countries across the UK and Europe in perpetuity.

We must devise an economic strategy where every fishing boat harvesting our waters is registered in Scotland and whether private or publicly owned are guaranteed a margin of profit. There will need to be at least a 10 year period where measures are taken to allow stocks to increase. During this time prices will have to rise or fish will have to be brought in from outwith Europe to make up the shortfall. Once stocks are at a sustainable level it wil be the responsibility of the Scottish fishing industry to ensure they are always at least as strong forever.

This is not just the responsibility of the fishing sector. The Government will have to finance the monitoring of stocks and security of the fishing grounds. This will involve the scientists, a Scottish Navy and a watertight legal framework to firmly control our waters and the ecology that inhabits it. It could be a perfect blend of the private sector, the science community, the military and our legal system.

The fishing sector is only one example of many. We could be talking water or renewable energy in Scotland, but in other countries it would obviously be other resources. A stewardship model would encourage a transition towards a global social capitalism that would drastically reduce obscene profiteering, would be a step further away from the vestiges of colonialism throughout the world and a step closer to humanity implementing policy for the good of all. It's the sentiment evoked in Burns's poem, 'A Man's

A Man' and I believe, it is the Scottish path to a climate enlightenment Public transportatio Increase support for research into These are well documented issues--environmental damage n, haulage alternatives for, and conversion of, old caused by extraction of fossil fuel sources, their impending and carbon-based engines. Research and depletion, climate change and pollution caused by combustion agriculture deliver more sustainable public engines and excessive road use, damage to human and must switch transport systems (e.g. reinforce and ecosystem health. to non- extend the rail system) carbon fuels Solar capture. Scotland has a 'silicon' industry. Electric transport needs energy.

Forty years of lack of funding worldwide for solar energy capture has prevented solar collectors of over 40% efficiency being cheap enough for common use. This situation needs rectifying. Renewable energy funding has often been diverted to dealing with the nuclear waste legacy.

Time for serious change here.

Economic rent as state When the community receives the rent 'Rent-seeking' is the process by which private individuals seek to revenue of land and natural resources (instead acquire free, unearned and untaxed capital gains from owning of private individuals) their use is rent-yielding assets, including land (all sites) and all natural controlled by charges and auctioned resources. But if - as proposed by Adam Smith and the classical licenses, leading directly to economists - these economic rents went to the community, then strong investment in those who use environmental resources would be made to make clean technologies to sustain the restitution in full, and would be forced by economic pressure and ecology. license limits to end over-use or abuse of our planet's resources and reduce or cancel the harm resulting from such over- use/abuse.

An example is to charge users the full value (the rent) of the capacity of the environment (sea/atmosphere) to absorb harmful gases. The exact value of this resource in each location may be found by inviting all potential bidders to biannual auctions of limited licenses. This is just one area in which society's rightful rents are currently privatised, allowing devastating harm to continue unchecked. With the revenue stream reclaimed for society, strong economic forces would be brought into play to reduce and even cancel damage to the environment and the climate.

Auctioning appropriately limited wild fishing licenses every two years is a second example which would conserve wild fish stocks by collecting the full rental value of that natural resource.

This approach is validated by classical economists such as those at the Land Research Trust. https://landresearchtrust.org/about-lrt/ All vehicles electric Set a year target for all electric Post independence Scotland needs to continue the worldwide powered vehicles only... government vision of us being inventive and assured. help.. We have the brains, we have the vision..we are renowned. After independence, we will have the

ability to provide cheaper electric, Volvo beat us to no petrol engines..but we can take that cheaper travel and potentially limit further..our energy resources are far more than oil..and probably speeds. more lucrative in time..free electricity subsidised by our customers...we won't use it all! Electrify all rail. .and oil as a back up. Provide cheaper fuel.

Norwegian model but without Norwegian prices... unless pay rates significantly rise!

Ensure all homes are To reduce emissions from homes and Housing is one of the biggest sources of carbon dioxide emissions insulated to address fuel poverty retrofit existing from gas boilers and other carbon fuels. Much of this is the result properly housing to reduce heat loss from of old houses being poorly insulated. To reduce this waste of walls, windows, roofs and other energy it will be necessary to retrofit insulation. It is difficult to see external surfaces. This will require how Scottish Government targets for net zero emissions could be extensive community involvement and met without such a programme of work. local skills and business development. It will alsostimulate new jobs. Rewild the Highlands Much of the Scottish Highlands is If we are serious about tackling climate change then we not only managed by large estates for the need to drastically reduce our carbon emissions, but also rapidly hunting of deer and grouse. The land increase the rate at which we draw carbon down from the management practices associated atmosphere. Large scale reforestation with a mix of native species with stocking the hills with artificially would be a swift and cost effective way of achieving this goal, as high numbers of these animals has well as providing multiple co-benefits including increased resulted in the characteristically bare biodiversity and employment opportunities in a region likely to hillsides that we are used to today. suffer disproportionately as a result of leaving the European Union. However, this is not the natural state of our mountain environment. Where grazing pressure is reduced, forest is quick to regenerate, bringing with it a host of benefits for biodiversity. Several forward thinking estates now manage their land under rewilding principles. If these practices were rolled out across the entire region, the resulting forest would absorb an enormous amount of CO2 from the atmosphere, as well as transforming the mountains from 'green deserts' to healthy, intact ecosystems, teeming with life and providing essential ecosystem services for Scotland's people. Mass education in Mass education via a climate We need deep societal change to achieve net zero and everyone climate and assembly and via experts in scientific needs to pull together, in a similar way that we've done during the ecology and ecological fields as well as Covid pandemic. This will only work if we're properly informed on respected public figures. The climate the facts and on the action we should be taking. Often the issues assembly needs to be both high profile are extremely complex but we all need to understand them to and permanently sitting and reporting some extent in order to make the right democratic decisions. We back on progress made and areas for also need help to understand the moral and emotional dimensions development and improvement. of the climate and ecological crisis. It is not just to do with science

Climate and ecological science and but to do with our whole civilisation. Unless we face this fully as a the practical and everyday society we risk sidelining the crisis and thinking it is someone ramifications of the climate crisis for else's problem when it requires all of us to act at once. ordinary people all need to be on social media, prime time TV and radio. We need information everywhere, such as notices in supermarkets advising on buying choices, notices on motorways alerting us to air pollution, notices on single use plastic and so on.

Transport and freight Bring all public transport back into It removes congestion and pollution from our roads and urban public ownership. Invest in publicly centres. Moving freight on to electrified rail improves traffic flow owned electrified light urban rail and makes it safer. networks and a connected national cycle network. Remove freight from the roads and put it onto rail. Pedestrianise city centres. Renewable energy Every process that currently uses Dramatically reducing fossil fuel usage is the primary method transition fossil fuels needs to either stop through which we can avoid further climate change. happening, or change to renewable energy. Reducing the various different uses of fossil fuels in the wrong order could be a very expensive mistake, both financially and There are no other choices. environmentally. This needs to be managed in a scientifically and economically appriate way. Some of these transitions are underway, such as electrification of heating and some modes of transport, but we need a plan for absolutely every form of fossil fuel consumption.

It's also important to do these in a sensible order, there are better and worse routes to net zero, which requires a thorough understanding of both the science and economics of the situation.

Some usage of fossil fuels will continue for longer as we need rapid reductions in usage immediately, but the more difficult to deal with uses still need a plan.

There will need to be support for these measures, including financial and technical assistance along with legislation against fossil fuel systems. With the long life of many systems (20+ years in some cases) these measures need to come in well in advance of the net zero target.

In practice, this requires large amounts of renewable electricity

generation, which will mainly be wind power for Scotland, while other regions may have different opportunities. This power, probably including a variety of interconnecters, storage and hydrogen electrolysis, will need to meet all our energy needs. Product packaging Some products are contained in There is too much waste going to landfill or incineration or into vessels that seem to be heavier, more land through flytipping and a great proportion of this is packaging expensive, more useful, and longer materials. lasting than the product themselves.

Product manufacturer should ensure that a reuse, return, or recycle is available for their packaging and the government need to legislate for this and, if required, subsidise local authorities to assist in collection, reuse, and recycling facilities.

In the past, consumers would supply their own containers to transport their purchases.

Stop planting Sitka spruce I would like the Scottish govt to stop Scotland's native habitat has been destroyed systematically by paying landowners a premium to plant intensive farming, over grazing, peat extraction and forestry. It is Sitka spruce in order to meet carbon time to put a stop to it and realise that eco tourism can far deadlines. It is TERRIBLE for outweigh the financial benefits of commercial forestry. biodiversity, harbours predators, takes over curlew, lapwing, oystercatcher habitat, destroys soil, creates dead zones and can then only be used for Sitka planting in perpetuity. The govt should incentivise to plant native woodland, not commercial forestry and allow biodiversity and habitat to recover. In our local area of Perthshire we already have hectares of Sitka but 4 more huge plantations are planned on top of curlew and lapwing foraging and nesting sights. Why? This is short term-ist profiteering at its worst and the govt pays them for it. Composting Local authorities need to Local compost sites will reduce transport costs of disposing provide local/community/neighbourhoo wastes. d composting facilities for unpolluted kitchen and garden waste. The resulting compost can be used locally and avoids the need to import growing medium from elsewhere. The finished organic compost can then be sold at subsidised price or used for amenity parks and gardens.

Council repair, reuse, Modern society too readily regards Apart from cutting down waste and the never-ending exploitation

recycle products as disposable and of raw materials and manufacture of goods that all require use of schemes. this results in environmental problems carbon fuels, such a scheme, whether it be community, charity, of dealing with waste and also the council, or privately organised, could also provide employment and energy used in mining, processing, training. transporting of mineral ores and timber to manufacture and distribute the items to replace those thrown away. What is discarded by one person may be regarded by another as valuable or useful.

Local authorities could assist in providing facilities for others to reuse, repair, and upcycle discarded materials and products to sell or to distribute to those who are in need of them.

An example of such a scheme is Moray Waste Busters. There should be similar at every council waste/recycle centre.

The council could act as a conduit for the disposal of larger quantities of waste materials to those who may be able to use them. Examples of such waste could include building rubble, soil, rock, gravel, timber, .....

How can I live sustainably Advice or guidance for ordinary people Putting this the best I can quickly: worried about climate change and environmental breakdown, how to live The electorate needs to live responsibly as far as possible if we as sustainably as possible to minimise are to have responsible politicians. "We get the politicians we their impact and maximise benefit for deserve". young people and the next generation. Recycling and low power lightbulbs is scratching the surface. I find Advice needs to take into account that it difficult to consume sustainably and ethically, I avoid palm oil, I some with few resources will be able avoid produce from Israel, It would be good to have to do little. There is a need to try to comprehensive advice down to local advice how best to shop. make available sustainable options for Sustainable recipes etc. the poorest. I have struggled to see how I can bank safely and sustainably, I How to consume responsibly, food, think I have an ordinary pension with standard life, where can I put perhaps local as far as possible, low it for the environment and where it will be "safe". carbon footprint, not containing palm oil, food companies to avoid and to It is no longer reasonable for capable adults to have freedoms favour. All aspects of consumer without responsibilities in a world with so many existential threats products. and increasingly threatened nature and scarce resources. We are up against the limits of the worlds ability to sustain us so our How to have sustainable financial freedoms to do as we like are at the expense of others. arrangements, where to bank, who to mortgage with, pensions, all your money ideally should be spent to reduce impact on environment. Again

what are the good and bad companies.

Who to vote for in order that your children, the next generation, have a future or a less bleak one.

Try and address all aspects of life

Citizen carbon Each citizen on the electoral register This would focus an individuals attention regularly on their footprint required to enter an annual figure individual contribution and responsibility for adding to carbon public reporting their carbon footprint based emissions. database on a government methodology (similar to WWF or carbon trust) into the national database.

Resource allocation Provide leisure air travel vouchers by Flying is an unsustainable regular pursuit and requires to be (aka specified number of air miles or trips regulated and reduced. rationing) for per person per 10 years to reduce leisure air flying. travel miles Rightsizing governance Decision-making at the local authority The pace of change is way too slow. level is very coarse-grained. There do not need to be 32 different ways of The status of some carbon reduction proposals for example on consenting developments that aid community owned assets is too low. decarbonisation e.g alternatives to gas boilers through building Consenting processes could be streamlined. standards. Renewable energy installations could either be pre- Priorities in permitted development rights changes are Covid approved, delegated to accredited rather than carbon reduction focused. installers or an empowered community level in the journey to a 75% reduction by 2030 far less net zero by 2045.

Through National Planning Framework 4, development plan status could be conferred on a range of community developments e.g. growing space/allotments, greenspace and riparian enhancements, renewable energy generation and storage where these are on community owned land and buildings.

Additionally the Scottish Government's current consultation...

https://www.gov.scot/publications/cons ultation-proposals-changes-permitted- development-rights-phase-1-priority- development-types/pages/3/

...on permitted development rights in planning does not tackle the following

issues until late next year. Phase 4 should be brought forward. Phases 4 and beyond – beginning Autumn 2021 & subsequently

* Micro-renewables (domestic and non-domestic) * District heating and supporting infrastructure * Energy storage (domestic and non- domestic) * Householder developments Heating Houses. Build houses that are fit for purpose so Older houses have very little in the way of insulation and by that i that they need as little heating as mean roof,floor and walls and heat loss is a mega problem which possible,houses can be airtight and all needs solved. heat in them constantly recycled,time for stricker regulations for housebuilding instead of token gestures.Start upgrading older houses instead of them leaking heat right ,left and centre.

I live in a 10 year old new build and the insulation in it is the bare minimum and things have not improved that much in that time frame,it is shocking that governments keep coming up with grants etc for a couple of years but does not really tackle the loss of heat from houses especially older houses as a major concern.

Time to tackle the problem head on. A garden for every single Provide enough funding to every Schools in Scotland are already setting a great example in outdoor school single school in Scotland to have an learning that the whole of the UK should follow. But every single outdoor garden, however small. school should have a garden - it shouldn't be just a few. It needs to be mainstreamed. It's needed to support systems thinking from an early age, the health benefits from outdoor learning, understanding of and participation in local food chains, and a driver of positive change in the curriculum. For sustainability across communities.

One small investment that can change all our futures from Day 1.

Scotland can show how it's done.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/333670 Rethinking our economy Tackling the climate crisis must go We urgently need to rethink our approach to economics to halt to tackle the hand in hand with tackling the crisis of climate change. The best way to do that would be to move away climate crisis social inequality from a GDP orientated economy, where the idea of economic growth is replaced by the importance of environmental We urgently need to rethink our sustainability and restoring natre. approach to economics to halt climate change. The best way to do that would be to move away from a GDP orientated economy, where the idea of economic growth is replaced by the

importance of environmental sustainability and restoring natre.

A move away from a focus on economic growth would allow Scotland to properly tackle racial and gender inequalities and ensure the wellbeing of our citizens while protecting our natural resources.

A move towards If you are a person who only has the Without gaining the popular support of the majority of the equity of bear minimum to get by, then to make population, there will not be the radical change in our behaviour income and choices of life style which may require patterns which will be required. assets additional resources isn't an option. In addition, capacity will be required to effect these changes and If you are a person or family with a that comes down to money. certain level of insecurity over income and longer term financial security you Without a move towards a more equitable society there will be little will be reluctant to adopt a change of support. lifestyle which might impact positively on the climate emergency. If these actions are seen as tackling the climate emergency and leading towards more equity then there is a chance for significant It needs to be recognised that few of support and involvement by the people of Scotland. us will change our lifestyles radically if we perceive that others more well off than oursleves are not making significant changes.

Therefore without a significant policy to address the widening wealth inequality both in income and assets, and linking this to the climate emergency, there will be little appreciable change in our behaviour to mitigate the climate emergency.

There can be many examples of how this could be achieved. For example, all imported consumables which have been transported more than a certain distance, plus the method of transportation, could have a surcharge added which would go directly to climate mitigation schemes.

Car travel is important to many people, who can afford to have a car, so that an additonal fuel levy directly earmarked for initiatives to minimise transport emissions and support alternatives for all who wish to travel, would provide capacity to develop these intiaitves.

I consider a major key for Scotland to

achieve significant change in tackling the climate emergency is to be seen to be fair and this will lead to it being effective. (Milk) farming reform Control/reform the growth of the (milk) We are surrounded by 3 big milk farms in Galloway. The farms get farming industry. bigger every year. The cows cannot be let out because there would be too many of them on a the grass (destroying the Can heat/ gasses be reused for ground/fields)- They cannot be walked to other grounds as they engery distribution? are too far. If the governments answer to the (milk) farming industry is to raise the cows faster (for milk) and slaughter them earlier - that cannot be the answer to the problem.

Silage making and slurry distribution (one farmer ships it from here to another farm in Aberdeen) - needs to be looked at.

The fields are constantly "smoothed" - every little bit valuable biodiversaty is being destroit to get a bit more silage (and dont damage the machinery). Power generation in Power Generation in Scotland Power generation by gas is efficient and relaible but produces Scotland and large amounts of CO2. The idea outlines a method of utilising CO2 Gas capture captured from such power stations and possibly other sources

Introduction

Elimination of harmful emissions from power generation is a worthy target, but sadly, not achievable with today’s technology. There are drawbacks in all forms of electricity production, some more than others, so it its worth examining each in turn. The use of “renewables” is being advanced by Governments as the way forward to an emission-free future. Renewables can be divided into the following categories:

Wind

Solar

Biomass

Hydro

The non-renewable power generation systems are:

Coal

Oil

Nuclear

Gas

So, looking at each of these in turn it

is possible to examine their pros and cons

Renewables – wind

Huge amounts of money are being invested in this form of generation but and undoubtedly when working at their peak, and if enough windfarms or offshore installations were built they could power the whole of Scotland but there are disadvantages:

They only work when the wind blows – obvious

They are at best 30% efficient

Onshore installations are unsightly

They are not entirely emissions free (0.2 kilotonnes/hour CO2 emissions estimated in UK)

They are expensive

Renewables – solar

It is unlikely that solar power generation will ever be viable in Scotland, but may possibly be usable as a back-up source. The disadvantages of solar generation are fairly obvious:

It only works during daylight hours

It is only 15 – 20% efficient

The manufacture of solar panels is not environmentally friendly

Solar arrays take up a lot of space

Renewables – biomass

This form of generating electricity is basically burning wood to generate steam to drive a turbine. Burning wood cannot really be considered as “renewable” as a) forests have to be harvested to provide fuel reducing CO2 sink, and b) As much CO2 is produced in this process as any fossil fuel burning system.

Renewables – hydro

Hydro is the most efficient way of

producing electricity from a natural source, being approximately 90% efficient. It is also almost (but not quite) emissions free. Construction of hydro schemes is very expensive however, but a country like Scotland could probably generate all its power demand from hydro or micro and mini hydro schemes if funds were directed that way, but for some reason wind seems to have gained favour. Countries like Norway and Switzerland have gained their prosperity due in large part to reliance on hydro power generation.

Non-renewable

Looking at non-renewable means of generation there are two means of generation currently used and these two generate the bulk of the electricity used in the UK (not sure of Scotland). The most reliable source of power working constantly, but not terribly efficiently (30-45%) is Nuclear. Nuclear generation produces about 15% of UK’s demand constantly not subject to variations of weather etc. It has, of course obvious safety considerations and the problem of disposing of spent fuel. However nuclear has gone seriously out of favour in Scotland and once Hunterston B has run its course it’s unlikely to be replaced.

So that leaves:

Non-renewable – Natural Gas

Gas produces up to 70% of the power demand in UK. It can be up to 60% efficient. About 40% of gas is sourced from the North Sea and most of the rest imported from Europe. Gas however has one big drawback – the amount of CO2 it produces – about 6 kilotonnes/hour on average in UK. Although very small amounts of NOx and SO2 are produced, by far the greatest proportion of gas emitted is CO2.

There have been several proposals and a few schemes built to capture and store CO2 underground in bedrock or to use it to extract remnant oil deposits, however there could be

another opportunity to utilise the emitted CO2.

CO2 effects on crops

Many studies have shown that increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 leads to increased crop yields. Therefore it is proposed that a system could be evolved to capture waste CO2 from gas fired power stations (in Scotland only Peterhead) and by a simple method of storage and distribution similar to the old coal gas days, send CO2 rich air out to agricultural and horticultural growers to increase their crop yields. The crops would have to be grown in sealed units to avoid escape of CO2 to the atmosphere. CO2 is fed from the stack of the pwer station via a scrubbing unit to remove NOx and SO2, thence to a dry seal gasometer similar to those used to store coal gas. From there it is distributed to farmers, fruit growers etc. via pipelines. The range over which it could be distributed is not known.

It is possible that other sources of CO2 emissions could be captured by the same method - e.g. domestic, industrial. It would be limited to natural gas burning sources producing nearly pure CO2 – coal and oil burners would not work with this system.

Conclusion

We should be considering building more hydro-electric schemes in Scotland, but this is unlikely to happen on a large scale.

Production of electricity by gas fired power stations can by efficient and reliable but produce large amounts of CO2. This can be removed and stored underground, but it is suggested here that it be used for agricultural purposes to increase crop yields. Ultimately gas fired power stations will be phased out, but this could be a method of extending their life.

David B. Spence BSc MICE MCIHT MCInstCES

October 2020

Make Scottish Land Communities have the greatest benefit Community management will ensure that small, remote and rural Reform work from community projects that deliver communities remain viable, enabling them to improve biodiversity real change, because they are the first and develop green projects. to benefit. The Land Reform Act is good in principle but hasn't achieved much. It should be made much easier for communities to buy land and assets for green projects and the creation of much needed homes and jobs. Land needs to be taken out of the hands of owners who are only interested in securing their own profits. Negligent and unresponsive owners should be forced to take action or face compulsory purchase. Money needs to be more easily available for communities to purchase assets when the opportunity arises.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/opini on/columnists/scottish-land-reform- going-nowhere-brian-wilson-2910514 Reduce population Reduce population and return to a If we don't reduce everything the planet is doomed and return to very simple form of living . It's the only simple living answer. More people use more resourses and it's the western lifestyle thats killing the planet. wind energy Wind is a very damaging form of Everyone thinks wind is the answer. It definately isn't power generation. Don't be fooled it will not help matter only compound them Reward farmers & Reward and recognize mitigation of Because this is helping climate change targets and is making us communities. carbon . All wind producers and more energy efficient and secure. surrounding neighbours should be recognized for this. Protect our oceans Reduce water usage Every living thing depends on our ocean , it absorbs over 50 times Do more to Reduce pollutants entering more carbon dioxide than our atmosphere and it produces half the the ocean from correct disposal to world's oxygen , covering 70% of earth surface it transports heat pesticides etc sprayed on land from the equator to the poles, regulating the climate/weather patterns protect our waters from over fishing -

support /invest in organisations that produce sustainable products only

Ban all single use plastic (unless medical)

ban the use of all no recyclable packaging

Ensure the environment/climate is part

of the curriculum and children learn more about the damage previous generations have caused

Support & invest in organisation to create environmentally friendly products

support local authorities /local communities to remove and recycle ocean plastics from our beaches, coastline and at sea. Prògram de dh'fhosglaidh Tha Riaghaltas na h-Alba a' dèanamh - Tha prògram leantainneach de rathaidean-iarainn ùra/ath- ean/ath- tòrr an-dràsta gus rathaidean-iarainn a fhosgailte cudromach gus còmhdhail phoblach a bhrosnachadh fhosglaidhea dhì-charbonachadh ach tha an t-àm agus gus sgaoilidhean carboin a lùghdachadh. n reile ann a bhith a' cur ri sin le prògram leantainneach ('rolling programme') de - Tha e cudromach gum bi lìonra rèile ann a tha a' ceangail na rathaidean-iarainn ùra is ath- dùthcha ri chèile agus a' brosnachadh gluasad bho chàraichean fhosgailte. gu còmhdhail phoblach.

Bu chòir na loidhnichean a leanas a - Tha rannsachadh air sealltainn gu bheil rathaidean-iarainn nas bhith air a' phrògram, mar eisimpleir: èifeachdaiche gus gluasad a bhrosnachadh bho chàraichean gu còmhdhail phoblach na busaichean. - Loidhne Chill Rìmhinn - Tha àiteachan ann an Alba far nach eil deagh cheanglaichean - South Sub Dhùn Èideann ann le còmhdhail phoblach - m.e Ear-thuath na h-Alba agus Glaschu/taobh an iar na h-Alba - Fìobh, na Crìochan gu Carlisle - Slighe a' Waverley bho Bhruach agus cha ghabh na beàrnan seo a lìonadh ach le rèile. Thuaidh- Carlisle Aig an àm seo, tha iomairtean gus rathaidean-iarainn ath- - Obar Dheathain- Eilean (Ellon) - fhosgladh a' toirt bhliadhnaichean mòra is obair ro-mhòr. Tha aig Ceann Phàdraig / Baile nam coimhearsnachdan, buidhnean iomairt is Comhairlean ri Frisealach iomairtean fada duilich a dhèanamh mus bi adhartas sam bith ann. An àite seo, bu chòir prògram a bhith ann aig an ìre nàiseanta far - Crois-rèile am bi an Riaghaltas a' gabhail an uallaich os làimh airson a bhith a' brosnachadh is a' planadh rathaidean-iarainn ùra agus bu chòir - Almhagh-Dùn Phàrlain prògram leantainneach ('rolling programme') a bhith ann.

- An Eaglais Bhreac - Inbhir Ghrèinnse Tha an riaghaltas ag amas air mu 125 mìle a de rathaidean-iarainn a dhealanachadh gach bliadhna. Bu chòir targaid a bhith ann - Ceangal rèile gu Port Adhair airson mìltean de rathaidean-iarainn a thèid fhosgladh gach Ghlaschu bliadhna, can 10 mìle gach bliadhna.

- Siostam thramaichean do Ghlaschu

Prepare now for giving Scotland has ample space and a This is an immediate, but also very long term, issue which has refuge to benign climate where refugees from received little attention from politicians or other people and refugees from the advancing climate emergency organisations in powerful positions. the climate could be offered care and respite. emergency If the Climate Assembly does not address this need, who will? Part of the Citizen's Assembly's focus should be on finding the resources, given Scotland's relatively high standard of living in the global context, to welcome and support these people,

and other lifeforms, over what will be a long period of the earth's history. Invest in Carbon filters Build the "carbon filtering" economy By enabling a market for people to buy and sell time on machines (see the example of how Microsoft (and of course to build the machines as well) that filter out carbon, have a commitment to be carbon you are enabling a future generation of new workers which will negative) The filters can be used to also help bigger corporations to offset their omissions. allow corporations to offset their omission sooner than later while they take time to transform their business. driving this with policy (e.g. Carson tax) will also assist, to ensure everyone is playing their part.

This is to work alongside longer strategic options of planting more trees, which is a long term solution.

Education To act for the climate, it must be All people must be made aware of their civic duties taught in schools and actively demonstrated there to give value not littering / clearing litter

clearing walkways

engaging in local climate oriented activities

appreciating and contributing to national campaigns Neucler Energy Neucler energy is a clean and Petrocarbon feeling should be purged and replaced by the sustainably form that could provide a sustainable true non-petrocarbom base yth support a renewed hydro and tidal Lloyd described. development that will keep Scotland supplied forever. Legislation to create cycle I would like to see legislation brought I believe that this is in the public interest and would have a and walking in to implement the compulsory positive impact on physical and mental health and on local networks purchase of land for the creation of economies with green tourism. Jobs would also be created in cycle networks and walking trails. order to create new cycle paths. Take responsibility Consider emissions produced in other We must stop "offshoring" our emissions and expecting that other for our global countries as part of our supply chains countries will be able to deal with them. This is a global issue. emissions as part of our own emissions. Emissions that we commission should be our responsibility, no matter where they are produced. The economy and banking Our economic and banking system is Until that system is changed to something like mutual credit/credit system a debt based system relying totally on commons with decentralised local institutions and an open credit economic growth. type network we will still be driven to over consume and the financial institutions will continue that drive and process in order to earn excessive incomes, thereby driving climate change. Require oil companies to At a recent COUNTDOWN online Both shareholders and governments are in a position to demand capture and event featuring Al Gore, Jane Fonda, this, and to do so on the grounds that purveyors of fossil fuels are store excess Christiana Figueres, Antonio Guterres, the prime contributors to the excess emissions issue that is driving CO2 and the Pope, Myles Allen, geologist climate change. 'Natural justice' demands that a portion of their emissions and contributor to the IPCC report, profits therefrom should go towards capture and storage. made the case that in addition to all

other remedies we will need to capture and store existing CO2 emissions if we are to have a prayer of keeping the planet habitable. 'Capture and storage' works, but is expensive. Oil companies have both the required money and expertise to do this bit of relatively 'heavy lifting'.

Use CO2(IRN BRU As your "own" Physicist Lord Kelvin, As a regular visitor of the Highlands, seeing the developement and Bubbles!) for found out and described in 1852! It is expanding of some rural villages, the Electricity grid is more and exhaust free better and much more efficient, to more charged, as most buildings are heated with direct (COP1) heating/cooli move energy than produce energy. heated devices using 2 to 4 kW each, and sometimes more. Going ng and And that is what we do in many cases, on with this, the Electricity grid need to become heavier, soon. providing hot most in refrigeration to cool things Also the amount of producing and providing renewable energy can water in stead (Removing the heat from it, as it is not be lower, and the use of local energy storage, can be improved, of possible to put "cold" in things ). when the peak demand is much lower. This also counts for the use (over)produci Strange that we still after way more of emergency generating for heating, like the use of a home ng it. than 1 1/2 century, not be able battery pack, small (boat camping) generator sets (Rural homes.) to reuse most of that heat, but throw it The use of co2 as refrigerant, is safe (most important), away in the atmosphere, and produce envirnemont safe, safe during calamity's specially at low charge. other heat, by burning stuff with all the Proven non envirnemental supprises in the future at end of life, like unwanted "efforts". Heatpump HFC's and possible propane based refrigerant mixes leave behind technology is used more and more, (PFAS by the flamammble reducing add's). Can be build with a but still struggeling to provide high maximum circulair use of the materials. Less maintenance temperature in most cases to compairing with most other types of heating systems, and less (waterbased) heat systems. And most milage on the road. No exaust, and modular (fast repairable and important, around 65 Degrees Celcius reuse friendly) building of the systems possible. Multiple heat (149 F) As those use often low sourches possible. Recovery of all the ventilation heat loss temperature based refrigerants. To possible. Also to store in waterbuffer, when not needed at that tackle this problem, the use of one of moment. As the system does provide year round legionella free our, and maybe biggest enemy Co2 is hot water, there is not much effect on the installed power of the axialy the solution to the problem system when extra energy saving measures are taken later on. himself! It is a part of our Non efficient working by becoming a more or less over powerd breathing air, and non flamable, and heatpump system, by later on taken energy saving meaures is no even used as fire issue in about all the cases. (Adaption to new demand also in very extinquisher. However it needs an extreme cases possible). The use of exchangeable parts possible. other way of temperature So also future proof also when a manufactorer deciding to stop management and control, it is axially production. On a row; 1. durable to build for long term use. 2. non possible to provide high temperatures toxic or otherwise envirenoment damaging refrigerant used. 2.high to water systems, if the watersystem is temperatures possible, and standard for total heating demand cotrolled for the use with a CO2 inclusive legionella free tapwater yearround. 3, Low heatsourche (R744) heatpump. And here is the temperatures possible during extreme weather. (tested at -25 for problem for most existing systems. As longer term) 4, Main heatsourche air, to prevend drilling and use of there has been testing, even in frostprotecting chemicals, but multiple heatsourches possible in a Scotland before, of this kind of wide temperature range. 5; Heat recovery from ventilation easy to heatpumps, without the result wanted, provide 6; Completely inside installation possible to protect the I was curious as involved in co2 system for corrosive envirnoments (West highlands salt air refrigerant transistion at supermarkets issues). 7;Non flamable refrigerant use. Safe to build. 8; Circulair in the Netherlands, where the use of materials possible, by leaving away plastics, or problems occured, as there was the use recycled plastics. 9; End of life strategy easy to include. 10; Ecocute system able providing hot Co2 is for heatrecovery the most energy efficient refrigerant on water. As I found out by contacting earth, no need for adding COP1"booster heating" for high and visit one of the manufacturers that temperatures. 11; low electric energy demand, about 1/3 of the the way of controlling cv watersystems present demand, relieving the demand of the electricity grid.12; as floor heating could be a lot better to Because of low electricity demand comparing to direct electric provide the heatpump much more heaters, easy to connect to and/or build for off grid systems, and

efficient working temperatures, than emergengy generators on rural places. the manufactorer and the coperating France providor at that moment did. Yes, there are disadvantages too. Like the high After installing a few of those systems, pressure resistance needed for the refrigerant, higer prices for the to test and develope a better control components. But in practise there is a fast growing marked for system for the water side system, it those kind of components, which is slowly but sure become more wann't simple to get manufactores of economic to use, also because the durabillaty of the components. heating systems, convinced of the (Stainless steel build mostley). Long term and futureproof thinkin need. But could. In search of a control needed, of costumers and financial product delivering parties. system, providing me the flexebillaty (Like a durable renovation, or newbuild energy saving and more important, durabillaty to options morgage possebillaty, to include the system for renovation develope in practice, I eneded up in and durable energy (bill) saving solution for long term. (Here in the the same old Scotland. In the mean Netherlands already possible.) time, the use and performance of this combination of systems, is tested during several (5 total) hot summers and cold winterperiods. (coldest 28 February ever recorded in the Netherlands included.) So a working and tested system in several forms like floorheating only, and combination floorheating in combination with (traditional) radiators. All works. Important; an other way of heating, however able to use around 1/3 of the electricity comparing to direct electric heating, is never a solution to prevent heat loss, but working both way's is will be a solution for existing homes, combined afortable energysaving actions, like prevending draft, better insulated glass, and a heatrecovering ventilation. All investments with energy so cost saving property's. Won't this system not work installed without this? I hear people think. So what is the difference with a standard heatpump?etc. Yes it will work, if there is enough power installed. (even Mega watt co2 heatpump installations are build.) But why not take all the nessesary and possible steps? This system was Nominated for the DuurzameDinsdag event in 2017. However the co2 heatpump providing factory did stop producing those, under pressure of the board of investors, for faster profit on a other (automotive) market, the heatpump used for this system, can be build even much more circulair, and better able to be repaired, and refurbished for a second life. All in a local setting, spread over the High and Lowlands in small durable businesses, as a kind of building block system, making it modular. and more flexible. Like connected to use the last part of

remaining energy from heatrecovering ventilation as in the picture on the website for example. The Sanden heatpump based system on the pictures is the 5 years ago installed one, replacing a 28kW combi gas heater. All the electricity used by the system is fully compensated by the 15 190 Wp solarpanels on the roof. The electricity use of the system on the coldest 28February, was 1300Watt for the 1990 type corner home, low permormance insulated, with 3 floors at -11C outside and 7 Beaufort wind from the east. Inside temperature 21Celcius, `Tapwater 65 degrees celcius. Measured in practice. A average watercooker device, takes almost the dubble amount. Despite earlyer investigation, in Scotland, a CO2 refrigerant system is able to perform in pracktise, also in extreme and cold weather with air as the source, and yearround useable as it does provide the hot water year round. Also a high temperature heatpump buffer is able to store more energy, and can be used as a energy buffering system. Website; [LINK: http://www.R744heatpump.com]www.r 744heatpump.com[END LINK] Ensure that NHS, Utilities, It's important that the NHS being Private companies must not be allowed to make a profit at the transport are nationally run is enshrined in the expense of the people of the country by running down service and nationalised Constitution of Scotland. Ensuring that paying shareholders' dividends. Any money raised can then be no political party in power can used to modernise, enhance and develop greener solutions. privatise it in any way, or any part thereof. Elderly Care, Utilities, transport and postal service should be nationally run too. A Social Enterprise Social enterprise and community In order to ensure this crisis is not dragged out for personal gain Led organisations should receive the bulk by business owners and shareholders we need to place the bulk of Response of government investment spent on our response to the climate crisis in the hands of organisations green initiatives, reducing emissions incentivised only to do the right thing for society. That means and mitigating climate change. They social enterprises and community organisations. Not including can be trusted to make maximum them as a bonus or a side-note but placing them in the lead with impact and do not have vested most of the available funding for decades until we have managed interests. Where they don't exist they to reinvent a greener economy. should be established with green investment money. They could be tackling energy production, recycling, waste, carbon storage/sequestration, reuse, rewilding, construction and more. All areas currently dominated by multinational corporates with vested interests.

Scotland's response to the climate crisis over the next generations is likely to represent one of government's largest items of expenditure. Many businesses already describe it as a market opportunity rather than an environmental emergency. Existing, highly polluting businesses do need to be part of the response because mitigating their emissions is necessary and will cost money. However, private enterprises, even well meaning ones, have owners and shareholders seeking to profit. Whether socialist or capitalist all economists accept that this represents a vested interest. Therefore, private businesses are not incentivised to make maximum environmental impact from each pound the taxpayer spends greening our economy. We wouldn't trust cigarette manufacturers to mitigate the harms of smoking, we employ health charities to do that.

We should be ring fencing our investment in green economy for social and community enterprise. Universal Basic Income A [LINK: It may seem unrelated to climate change but it could be a great https://www.theguardian.com/society/u enabler of a more equal society with sustainable economic model niversal-basic-income]universal basic within planetory boundaries. UBI will raise the population out of income[END LINK] (or UBI), whereby poverty and it will remove the stress that sacrcity places on people all citizens would be entitled to a capacity to look beyond their current situation. regular payment from the state, enough to cover such basics as food It gives people the agency to say “no” to undesirable work, and heating, unconditionally, without including much environmentally damaging work, and “yes” to any obligation to work. opportunities that often lie out of reach. With UBI we could all think long term, well beyond the next pay day. We could care for ourselves, others, and the wider world, as living in the Anthropocene demands

It will enable people to take a longer term view and make different choices. We could work less and consume less, and still meet our needs. Fear for the future would recede, meaning we wouldn’t have to work ever harder for fear of having no work in the future. But if you are going to enable people to care for their family, friends and neighbours and involve themselves in their community and environment, many of them will need the freedom to do the kind of work that currently brings no financial reward. Local environment To provide the ability for local We can only change what we can measure. dashboards authorities, communities schools health boards etc to present a dashboard of metrics showing trends in the environmental impact of their operation or community. this should be presented in commumal areas, for example in place of advertising. For

example, schools could present the number of journeys by walking and cycling to school. This would encourage every level of organisation to set targets and make progress towards the targets visible to everyone who has a part to play. Measure Human Well- Measure Human Well-Being instead of A change in our economic measures will help align policy to the Being instead GDP, change the economic targets to goal or environmental and human health. of GDP better align with sustainable development. Traffic light system for Have a traffic light system for carbon So people can be made aware of the cardon footprint impact of the carbon footprint of food, similar to that used different food consumed. footprint of for calories or fat and sugar content. food Four day week Reduce working week to 4 days. Several reports and commentators have identified various ways a four-day week could reduce our carbon footprint. Using data from 1970 to 2007 for 29 OECD member nations, [LINK: https://econpapers.repec.org/bookchap/elgeechap/14843_5f12.ht m]a 2012 study found [END LINK][LINK: https://econpapers.repec.org/bookchap/elgeechap/14843_5f12.ht m] [END LINK][LINK: https://econpapers.repec.org/bookchap/elgeechap/14843_5f12.ht m] [END LINK] that a 10% reduction in work hours may lead to declines in ecological footprint, carbon footprint, and CO₂ emissions by 12.1%, 14.6% and 4.2% respectively. promote a sharing promote a sharing economy, for Many items people buy and then throw away are rarely used. Most economy example car share schemes, cycle cars sit idle in parking spaces all day. If items were shared then share, tool libraries, toy libraries. less would need to be made. the cost of use would also be reduced and sharing helps buidl community. Ban the sale of Deforestation can seem like a far The rainforests are full of trees which take carbon out of the air unsustainabl away problem but many products in and are vital for stopping climate change. They are also the homes e products in Scottish shops contain ingredients that of many creatures who depend on them to survive. Scottish have caused the rainforests to be shops chopped/burned down. We could ban shops from selling products that have been sourced unsustainably or that are causing deforestation and instead we could spice sustainable materials and ingredients. Support Scottish Many of our products are produced Production creation brings with it a huge carbon footprint. Often manufacturin abroad, and in an unregulated this environmental impact is shifted onto poorer countries who g environment. If home-based have less of an ability to regulate the way in which items are production had greater support, then made. The environmental impact of clothing production in the last goods could be produced in a more decade has increased massively and a really positive way of environmentally friendly way. addressing this and creating jobs, is to support Scottish-based production. There could also be regulation gradually phased in, to make sure a product was fit for purpose. We desperately need to move away from cheap items that don't really do the job and break quickly, to well made,

simple and affordable alternatives. This would in time boost the 2nd hand/ pre-loved/ resale markets as items would more suitable for a longer lifespan.

I'm thinking specifically of clothing production, but this really applies to all sectors. Make built up areas nature As new housing estates go up wildlife As human beings take over more land to live on it would be good if friendly. tends to move out but it doesn't need other species were still able to thrive there. A healthy thriving and to be that way.Currently drainage complex ecosystem is a good way to make the biosphere more systems with gully pots in the streets resilient to the inevitable climate change it already faces. cause the deaths of millions of amphibians and other small animals eventually exterminating colonies . Sustainable urban drainage systems or SuDS as they are often called can include wildlife ponds, reed beds, swales into them for drainage, permeable paving and with added hibernacula and other good habitat can maintain thriving local ecosystems.

Other ways to encourage nature is to provide gaps in garden fences and walls for hedgehogs to move about.

Also new build houses can incorporate swift bricks and solitary bee bricks.

Pesticides are often used in private gardens and other places for spurious reasons. It would be good if a licence was required to purchase pesticides for use in gardens.

Mowing regimes that help pollinators and other insects by encouraging wildflowers on road verges and other public areas would also be beneficial.

Some areas of grass and other vegetation left long would also be beneficial by providing potential nest sites for bumblebees and other creatures.

Some gardens are already better habitat for wildlife than some intensively farmed land but could be a lot better.

As climate change with extreme weather takes hold it's important that networks of habitat are available so that wildlife can move around to

survive droughts, floods, disease etc. and recolonise new areas.

Healthy thriving biodiversity is needed to make the biosphere that supports us more resilient to the climate change that is already to some extent inevitable.

Water and wind power To reduce the need for gas in homes Depletion of fossil fuels and rising Co2 levels. By using the natural and industry forces of our planet, in particular the wind and rain we experience in Scotland for heating and power we can improve the air that we breath.This will reduce the chronic health conditions prevalent in Scotland such as COPD and bronchitis. It will also improve heart health as a follow on to improving lung function. Tax on single use This 'single use' tax will be used to Currently there is zero real motivation for the citizens to separate consumables ensure less to landfill and more to waste. Thus much of this raw material ends up in landfill. The - plastic and recycling industry. It will encourage funds raised from the tax can be channeled towards manufacturing glass bottle, consumers to separate out their waste start ups that utilise recycled raw materials and that will be utilising aluminium and to take it to the recycling centre. these additional raw materials. This will make inroads into these and tin cans. In addition all of these products materials that are shipped abroad (out of site, out of mind) This will collected off the 'streets' may give an create a sustainable recycling economy. income source to anyone who wishes to collect said items. The tax needs to be sufficient to motivate separation and collection of waste. This system is already up and working in Canada. c Bus bicycle Local buses have a bicycle carrier on This will help get people out of cars and on to public transport thus the front so that cyclists can use public reducing carbon footprints and simultaneously improving health. buses to get from a to b and then Whether this is to get to work without being covered in sweat finish the last few miles by bicycle and grime or into the countryside it is a partnership between two of the cleanest forms of transport. By taking, for example, 20 miles off the cyclists journey this is substantially adding to cycling safety. This system is used and works in some US cities. Using hemp & planting Planting more trees native to each Is Sustainable, has already worked in the past. Has been more trees land. evidenced from this year alone. Fossil fuels are polluting and finite. native to each land Using hemp more for biodegradable plastic, for concrete and for many other uses. Grows much faster than trees and has greater yield.

Have all cars and transport completely electric without using fossil fuels.

Everyone saw the changes at the beginning of global lockdown in terms of the Earth regenerating itself.

In Edinburgh Scotland alone, weather

balanced out, clearer air, better bloom of plants, gorse and heather. Go Dutch, learn the Its important to realise that we have to start at the begining. How lesson many times have you heard the expression "strong foundations", yet we still focus on grand infrastructure projects without first having addressed the basic requirement to make cycling and We have seen how the Dutch active travel, normal, safe, well connected, well maintained, well changed their society to the current signposted and attractive for families. amazing cycling based one we all recognise as the gold standard of city Look at our nice big shiny new path and bridge, weve even placed design and use of active travel. This some lovely big rocks and planted a few trees, what a great photo happened due to a confluence of a op!! Is this really the way forward, I know it isnt, history shows us few issues. Firstly, there was a fuel this. The Dutch experience is there, lets learn from it. crisis, which increased the amount of people cycling. Secondly, an So this is why we need to start with primary school children and organisation called stop the child their families, in the communities where they live. There will be murders became very vocal in trying to those that change to active travel when trunk paths are built, but tackle road traffic accidents and there will not be the huge change that we need, if we are to fatalities, particularly among children become a net zero country in the near future. Cycling is still seen on the school run and in the as a bit weird. If the majority of children cycle to school, then that communities where they lived. Lastly, oddball who cycles factor is nothing but a memory. We dont need they had a government who to change childrens behavoiur, we just need to train them, understood that cycling was an encourage them and support them. Thats what the Dutch did. answer to many societal issues and invested in it. The Dutch children of the 60's, are now the grandparents of today. They cycle to go shopping. They dont wear lycra, ride road bikes, We have the pandemic, and wear helmets and Hiviz, they dont need to, its far more relaxed lockdown, which has increased the and normal than that, its not a road war, unlike here in Scotlands levels of people cycling, we have a cities and towns. They dont have half the public health problems wide ranging cycling lobby and now our society has. Thier children and grand children cycle we have a renewed push from everywhere, even the royal family cycles. The schools have rates government to build cycle lanes. The of over 90% of children cycling to school. Its normal, thats what timing is perfect for change, but our they do. It started with the children, stop the child murders wasnt current direction wont bring the just a saying, it was a starting point, a focus. Its also important to change we need to see, in my opinion. rmember, that when the Netherlands started building their path We could end up spending a lot of networks, many adults didnt engage with them at first, behaviour money, that wont bring about the change is difficult for people, especially the older you get. The societal change we all dream of. change was driven by youth engagement, using the infrstructure, making it normal. The more they cycled, the more people cycled, a The lesson from Holland was that you critical mass. have to start with the children, in their communities. The organisation was What will happen if we continue the way we are. Sustrans, in called stop the CHILD murders, not partnership with local and national goevrnemnet will continue to commuters, people cycling to Uni or spend huge amounts of money on commutor links. Which are nice, the gym. They started by building or but its spending money that can be used to get significantly more converting paths and roads in their bang for buck. Bottoms on saddles, cycling becoming normal and communities. Not flash expensive aspirational for all. It wont generate modal change. We wont cycle super highways or long paths become a cycling nation, or not for many more years, when it will linking bits and pieces of areas with be too late. How many millions have been spent on behaviour town centres. We aren’t at that stage change projects in the recent past? Far too many to be honest, yet. The Dutch are building this sort of and for very little change.Im very lucky in that I am employed to path now, so why are we copying this, deliver cycle training, I'm part funded by this money, but I find it when we haven’t got the base paths in hugely frustrating that we dont seem to be learning and adapting place? the approach we need to drive the change we need to see.

They built paths from where the We must also remember, its not our planet, its our childrens and children live, to where they go to grandchildrens, and we have to build back better for them, to give primary school. The Dutch then linked

several primary schools or clusters them the best chance we can. Lets start with them, and stop and linked these clusters to their high focussing on ourselves for once. schools. These are exactly the paths and routes that we saw families using, cycling, walking and wheeling during lockdown. This is where we should start the cycling revolution, if that’s what you want to call it. We should build on and capitalise on what has started organically.

In my community of Abronhill in Cumbernauld, we have three primary schools, Abronhill primary, St Lucy’s Primary and Whitelees primary. If we improved the path network to the schools, you will have a nice wee network of paths for active travel. As we have denominational schools, we will have routes criss-crossing out of the area into others, where Cumbernauld High and Our Ladies high schools are sited. If you then built another set of paths say around the primaries in Kildrum and South Carbrain, all of a sudden, you have a large and well-linked network, people will use. Add other areas /estates like Seafar, Greenfaulds and Condorat, plus the other two High Schools, then the other housing areas the other side of the M80 then, within a few years, the town would be bustling with people walking, wheeling and cycling.

This is exactly how the Netherlands started, why we haven’t learnt that lesson is beyond me. I’ve worked in the cycle training and promotion area for six years, and even I didn’t get it. Just like my peers, I thought that building nice big paths that I could use was the answer. It isn’t about me and other adults, it’s about the children and their families. Lockdown taught us that.

When the government approach Sustrans and others with the cash for new infrastructure, please seriously consider what Ive said. It comes from a background of lots of experience and knowledge plus seeing the changes during lockdown. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a real difference, to build back better, to tackle air pollution and climate change. I just hope we don’t get it wrong, for the sake of our children.

Ban cars from schools, replace parking spaces with decent bike and scooter racks and insist that parents who still wish to drop off their children with cars use "park and stride", from designated carparks, like local churches and parks nearby. This will mean there are no cars at the school gates, so our children will be safe, walking wheeling and cycling to school. Normailising active travel for today and tomorrow.

Phil Jones Dialogue with oil workers To enable strong process of jobs With the potential pressure of workers' need for financial security relocation.Need to engage and consult we must engage openly.Aim to gain their support for new with all workers to ask what they need jobs.Education to enable understanding of the new climate friendly to make the change to non-carbon jobs. jobs. Community Woodland Set aside 10 acres none agricultural We need to reforest Scotland to meet our carbon commitments. Cemeteries land close to towns for the We need to reforest to allow for species development and bio development of Community Woodland diversity. We wish to develop an appreciation of the natural world. Cemeteries. By developing these forests as sacred areas free from exploitation we do all three. These areas would become 'habitat As plots are sold they pay for themselves. protected' for the nurturing of local wildlife and help with species diversity.

They will be an oasis of peace.

Plots sold and available for burial or ashes internment - though former is encouraged. Headstones not allowed excepting a small memorial plaque. With each plot a tree of choice is planted.

Over a relatively short period of time nature does the rest creating a wonderful place to visit and revere. Transport Public transport needs to be made Transport is a massive source of CO2 emissions. more affordable and efficient. Free for young people. Hydrogen used busses widespread and expand rail links.

more cycle lanes and cycle promotion. There needs to be electric car charging points more widespread.

there needs to be incentives like the above otherwise the public will not change their habits.

Review of major road Review all major road building projects Major road building projects in Scotland contribute to climate building and divert money towards active travel change, social inequality and the degredation of environment in a projects networks e.g. more coverage of safer number of ways including: cycling and walking infrastructure as well as better public transport links. * Pollution from road construction and traffic. Make the environmental impact a * Deforestation and impacts on ecosystem. much weightier consideration in the * Encourages more car journeys leading to higher GHG emissions planning process for local and national and more air pollutions government. * Diverts money away from active travel and public transport which is more accessible for those on lower incomes. * Increases flooding due to concreting over grass area. * Links up major towns and isolates rural communities which already have poor transport infrastructure. Biodiversity and wildlife 1. Creating/increasing biodiversity and Collectively, these ideas will affect the management of the habitat wildlife habitats: similar to the land, not only increase the native tree and shrub density reduced creation Cairngorm Connect project, carbon dioxide, but will also benefit the local communities, creating introducing a Scotland Connect jobs on environmental platforms project, creating habitat corridors for wildlife which at present are threatened. Scotland has some of the most endangered species in the world - wild cats etc - an appalling legacy.

2. Farming practices - banning of insecticides and pesticides, better use and improvement of soil practices, fewer sheep and cows. Encourage local affordable produce

3. Grouse moors - better use of the land, increasing biodiversity, stop the peat erosion. Remove annual heather burning, which produces so much carbon dioxide and pollution.

4. Tree and shrub planting in places which are not used or poorly used. Planting broadleaved and native pine species, not just monoculture Sitka or Norwegian spruce. Increase the amount of native species planted, help reduce landslips onto road and rail, whilst capturing carbon Food and the future for Land is a finite resource and must all Food is an essential part of life the more we can produce in a consumers be used to produce food in a sustainable way now will result in stability for the cost and supply sustainable environmental way that of food for generations going forward. Its not an option to have protects the county we love, the food shortages look what happened with panic buying this spring animals and biodiversity in it but just so now is the time to make sure we can produce as much of what as importantly produce a balanced we need locally, products that our climate can sustain going range of food that can feed our forward and guarantee our food supply. population when in season.

In the medium term world population pressure will result in traditional

exporting food countries not sending their surplus food to the UK(or Scotland) because someone else will pay more for it. Now is the time to build up our capacity for producing food along with the jobs that go with it to make Scotland’s food industry the most sustainable in the world.

We must not stop using our land recourse to produce food as some may have you believe, yes, we should grow tree's .... for wood, not to appease the conscious of polluters. Our food carbon footprint should not be penalised if farmers increase production in a sustainable way thus displacing imported food and thus growing “our” biggest industry.

Finally we need to look at what else farmers can grow to give consumers a balanced “Tasty” Scottish diet.

Finally we need a positive message for the next generation that are in School just now to see the food industry is a great career choice going forward with so much change happening in the world.

Electric power If we are going down the route of I'm tempted to say 'Cos I said so!'. Seriously, wave and tidal is of 'everything electric' an enormous the best in my opinion, though I am no expert on any aspect af amount of extra generation will be power generation. needed. There needs to be a substantial amount of funding to develop wave and tidal power, both constant and reliable. Legal requirement Every local authority, of whatever It is essential that 'ordinary' people are both convinced of the need for local political make-up, should be required to combat climate change, and enabled to 'do their bit' to achieve a authorities to to have a Climate Action Plan. This reduction in fossil fuel use, and other ways in which to achieve a have climate would include: more sustainable future. While legal measures may be required to action plan enforce policies, consensus community opinion, and action, is 1.Strategies for comprehensive more likely to achieve results than just legal action. recycling/re- use/refurbishment/composting of all domestic waste.

2. Policies/requirement in Adopted Local Plans, for renewable energy when granting planning applications, both for private, LA, and Housing Association houses, and industry where possible. This should include solar panels, ground source heat pumps, and area/commmunity

wind turbines.

3. Stategies for encouraging transport alternatives to petrol fuelled vehicles: more cycle/walking tracks, electric LA vehicles, sufficient charging points for all electic vehicles.

4. Strategies for increasing allotments and community gardens.

5. Local 'climate change committees' of interested residents, to suggest ideas and monitor progress. Mandate Passivhaus in Passivhaus is the world's leading low Energy consumption in buildings is a significant contributor of Building energy building standard. Upgrading carbon emissions. Whilst renewable energy is a good thing, simply Standards Buildings Standards to mandate decarbonising the grid will not work, if we continue to use more Passivhaus would be the most energy that we need to as there will be rising demand for electricity effective way for Goverment to ensure due to electric vehicles, it is imperative the electricity consumption and enforce improved energy in buildings is driven down - mandaing passivhaus would do that standards in new and refurbished effectively. It would also help to reduce fuel poverty. buildings Support women to Women play hugely important roles in Women are very willing to tackle the climate emergency I believe, support the many of the decisions we make as a and with a little investment in incentives and initiatives they could climate society that impact on the climate. contribute significantly to achieving the country's climate goals They are often in a position to make big domestic decisions that impact hugely on sustainability and the environment. They are often responsible for the education and development of the next generation; the first generation whose whole lives will be defined by the climate emergency. However, important actions taken by women in support of relieving the climate crisis are often taken individually, and I think we need to build communities and support networks that communicate what needs to be done and celebrate the quick wins and the country's progress. These support structures need to be well funded, with good science communication and feedback to all those involved. Media We do not have a free press, either in This is a massive subject, but until it is tackled, I don't see how Scotland or in the UK. The media is there can be any significant progress in mitigating the effects of captured by a few climate-denying the climate crisis. billionaires. They are desperate for initiatives, such as Scotland's Climate Assembly, to fail.

There are hopefully others, better informed, or more imaginative than me, who can put flesh on this and

make constructive suggestions as to how to begin to address this problem. System change Whilst I applaud the fact that this Real change can only come about when it is based on a strong Climate Assembly is taking place, I vision of the big picture. have serious concerns about the topic-based nature of the consultation. It feels as though there is no underpinning vision, and there is a very real danger that various topics will be picked off, discussed, targets set, but that will be it - no action and no foundational vision for change. It is a complete re-wiring of our economy and our mindsets which is required. The Assembly is being set up in a way which removes any possibility of addressing the climate emergency systematically and holistically. Net zero is not enough Many millions of years ago when CO 2 CO 2 is the main driver of global warming levels were as high as they are now there was no north polar ice We already have way too much in the atmosphere such that aiming for Net Zero is not enough We have increased the CO 2 so quickly that the disappearance of the ice is lagging behind

Unless we reverse the CO 2 levels the ice will go

The CO 2 is produced by the way the World pursues profit

We need to change Society so that we progress by not producing CO 2 such that it reduces

And the longer we take to do this .... but can such a radical change be enacted world-wide ? Make air transport pay Tax aeroplane fuel to the extent that Air transport is heavily subsidised - aeroplane fuel is untaxed, its way any other transport fuel is taxed. Stop airports get subsidies and grants. Airlines don't pay for the grants and subsidies for building and disturbance and pollution they cause. We could start by taxing maintaining airports and associated fuel and not giving them perverse subsidies. Then maybe tax infrastructure. them to the extent that their pollution damages the environment. It would mean more expensive flights but you really should be paying the full price for that weekend break in Eastern Europe, or those beans flown in from Kenya, rather than being subsidised by everyone else. End infinite growth Infinite growth is an unsustainable and Infinite exploitation of the finite resources on earth is a recipe for economy and politicised economic model that disaster. We are facing a climate catastrophe. This includes move to a exploits the natural world and the destruction of biodiversity in all its forms: habitat, variety of plant wellbeing people who live in it, for the benefit of animal and insect species, wellbeing of the earth itself as well as economy a small number of very rich people. the humans living on it. Human greed for more and more stuff is Scotland needs to end its addiction to the result of decades of spin to make us feel we each need more infinite growth and to construct an stuff to make us feel better. This is a lie. In the pandemic and

economy based on the wellbeing of its lockdown many people began to understand this is a lie. We citizens. This is a way to provide enjoyed a break from noise and fumes from traffic pollution, we meaningful jobs that don't destroy the allowed wildflowers(weeds) to grow which multiplied the food planet we depend on for life itself. supply for small birds and creature many times over. Those who New Zealand is an example of a began to delight in the natural world in their towns found improved country which tries to base its policies wellbeing and mental health. Job losses are tragic, but many of the in caring, kindness and respect. jobs lost are meaningless drudgery designed to generate profits Scotland should make more efforts to for shareholders rathe than for the workers and their families. go in this direction, immediately. There Scotland needs to give its citizens a chance of a better life. is no time to lose. Free press and truthful 70% or more of news outlets in It is important to tell the truth. We are taught this as small children reporting Scotland are owned and/or controlled - or used to be when I was a child. The UK Prime Minister is a across all by a handful of billionaires who are known serial liar. An independent media is important as a means media unable to face the fact that a climate of challenging lies from powerful millionaires (most of the Tory UK emergency exists as a result of Cabinet are) and politicians bought off by billionaire lobbyists. To extremely exploitative infinite growth live in a fair and just country, Scottish residents need fair reporting models of economics. They are and this can only be done by media not owned by the rich elite responsible for driving humans oligarchs. towards disaster, and naturally don't want this truth to be generally known. Scotland needs independent journalism to thrive and be encouraged and respected. If ordinary citizens were being told the truth about how the climate emergency could be slowed down, they would be fully supportive of any measures, provided they were seen to be justly applied. Currently we are being fed lies by our own government - this is obvious. Yet media reports do not call politicians to account. Larger development Planning laws could impose an Our cycle route and footpath network are very patchy. We need a s to provide obligation for new housing, industrial much more extensive and integrated safe transport system. This is links with and retail developments over a certain a way to contribute to achieving this at minimal cost. cycle/footpat size to link in with the nearest point in h network the local cycle and footpath network. This would result in a growth of the network and encourage residents and workers to walk and cycle more. A democracy that responds Citizens, communities, my own Citizens and communities that feel unheard become disengaged to neighbours; we are all experts in how from political life, and increasingly hopeless that their lives will ever communities our lives are affected by the toxic change for the better. People are accepting meaningless robotic rather than economic system we live in. We jobs on very low wages. It is important that this trend is reversed, billionaires should stop patronising and talking that jobs that have meaning are created - there is no shortage of and corporate down to people, but rather listen to ways to do this - merely the lack of political will to carry out what is lobbyists their own ideas. This can be done by necessary. For happiness and wellbeing of all, we need to move to peoples assemblies and other forms a form of democracy that values its people rather than denigrating of deliberative democracy. Citizens them. Assemblies need to become established as the norm, with every town running a peoples assembly to resolve contentious issues that arise. The current economic and political system infantilises the general public. This needs to stop. Respect needs to

be shown to all citizens and their voices heard, even if we don't agree with what they are saying. Whole Systems We need to adopt a whole systems Because it adds value to already planned and future projects if we Approach approach that considers 100% get beyond silo thinking and create collaboration between plans renewable heat, power, transport and and projects. Green and at scale infrastructure creates jobs. Local resilient and adapted communities. solutions can empower communities. Responds more powerfully Thinking in a joined up way with and quickly to the time critical climate crisis. communities and their interests at the centre. For example, as we deploy active travel infrastructure such as the Glasgow Avenues programme, we should be including district heating for communities in the works package. We should also be building in the adaptation solutions too. Also planting more trees for our urban and rural canopy. This creates jobs and improves health and well being and affordable heat for local residents and businesses. We get more value and green recovery this way. Government pronounceme Nicola Sturgeion gave a Ted talk Words will not avert the oncoming climate catastrophe. Only nts on the moire than a year ago telling how actions and a change in many policies will have an effect. climate proud she is that Scotland is in a emergency group of countries working towards a need to be wellbeing economy, yet there are zero matched by signs in policy that show this ambition urgent action has any chance of becoming reality. Investment in fossil fuel extraction continues apace, subsidies for oil companies continue, banks continue to invest vast £billions in oil extraction. Land reform is urgently needed to halt biodiversity loss. The continued legalised killing of our wildlife - 260,000 wild animals killed every year on driven grouse moors - is shameful and destructive of our ecology. Wealthy lobbyists ensure that their employees can continue to persecute our wildlife. Tax breaks are still available to the wealthy while benefits to those out of a job become harsher and more humiliating. All these trends need to be reversed in order to demonstrate a commitment to addressing the climate emergency. No more gas in new builds There should be an immediate Immediate and permanent avoidance of fossil fuel consumption prohibition on the installation and use together with the resultant avoidance of harmful emissions. of gas and oil in all new buildings. Grow Your Own Refresh and enforce the community The act states that all local authorities should have a food growing empowerment act 2015 section 9 strategy in place by April 2020. All local authorities should have Allotments plans to ensure that all towns and cities have allotments, so that people can grow their own vegetables, salads and fruit. This helps

reduce climate change emissions. There are many Climate challeneg funded projects developing sites run by charities. Local authorities need to step up. Standardize public Make it quicker and easier for people Some local authorities won't introduce recycling bins in main recycling to recognize where the recycle by streets and other public areas because they get contaminated by bins across having the same bins throughout the general waste and therefore the recycling material ends up in Scotland country. landfill. It requires extra motivation to stand in a public area figuring out what goes where every time we visit a new town. Standard, easily recognizable recycling bins throughout Scotland would make it easier for us to identify them wherever we are. Transform the Oil & Gas The oil and gas industry is the What to do with the domestic oil and gas industry is a huge Industry to elephant in the room when it comes to problem. We need to support livelihoods but also reduce emission, 'Not for profit' decarbonising our economy. It of which the industry is a huge contributor. Turning the industry supports a significant number of into a 'not for profit' is a way to orientate the purpose of the livelihoods, but at the same time the industry to citizens and respond to the climate crisis through the industry both directly and indirectly much needed rapid just transition. significantly contributes to the climate crisis through production emissions and emissions from its products. Also, no matter how hard they try, the corporations are beholden to maximising a return to their investors. Thus, oil and gas is still more profitable. This prevents the rapid and just transition to the industry that we need in order to respond to the climate crisis in a fair and equitable way.

Therefore I propose that all licenses are revoked and the Scottish Government set up a 'not for profit company' to oversee the continued oil and gas production. This is not nationalisation, but the Scottish people (through Scottish Government) will be the trustees. These will then directly oversee the rapid and just transition for workers and communities. The workers remain the same, but the purpose of the industry is there to serve the interests of the people of Scotland, rather than corporate interests. Profits from oil and gas revenues can be retain and reinvested into developing renewables, energy efficiency, mass ecosystem restoration which will support thousands more jobs.

We already have examples of this set up in public transport. Absolute zero not net zero Net zero emissions pathways in We are gambling with future impacts by sticking to net-zero Scotland are currently dependent emissions as a target. This is a fundamental aspect to Scotlands upon large scale negative emissions. climate targets which needs to be addressed. There is a real risk that these do not work as planned which would lock us

into a higher emission scenario. Also it means they cannot be used for repairing some of the damage we have already caused if they do work. Net zero targets are therefore risky and or harmful. As a result Scotland should aim for absolute zero emissions.

Absolute zero pathways for the UK have been identified by UK Fires (Authors from University of Cambridge, Bath, Nottingham, Strathclyde, Oxford and imperial college). However this report do not take our equity comitments into consideration, so the identified pathways need to be vastly accelerated in their deployment to achieve zero emissions. Decolonised Transformati The climate and ecological crisis is a We won't be able to truly end Scotlands climate and ecological on symptom of our colonial and industrial damage without decolonising. Plus we won't be able to end mindset. So in order to fully resolve interpersonal, local and international oppression without tackling it. the environmental and social issues This is fundamental to Scotland being able to fairly respond to the that threaten us, we must truly climate and ecological crisis. decolonise our society. In particular we need to end debt, property, institutions and nation states as per Yin Paradies seminal work:

https://www.academia.edu/43930499/ Unsettling_truths_modernity_de_colon iality_and_Indigenous_futures_Yin_Pa radies Fair and equitable For the world to transition to a system For Scotland to tackle the climate and ecological crisis in a fair Energy whereby we all live within planetry way we need to consider what a fair share of global energy is that Target boundaries, and for Scotland to tackle can be delivered sustainably. As a result we need to set a target the climate and ecological crisis in a that is aligned with a fair allocation on a global scale. Without fair way, we have to tackle global considering this, and without including a target based on the best inequalities in energy use. This is both available science, it is hard to see how Scotland can tackle the from a moral perspective and a crisis fairly. practical perspective. As a result we need to set an energy target for Scotland (energy per person per year) that is achievable by all across the world and stays within plantery boundaries. Recent work by Hopkins et al.(1) demonstrates that a target of between 13 and 18 GJ/cap/yr is deliverable for every person on the planet and meet the requirement of being within planetry boundaries. This would also ensure a decent standard of living is achievable to all on the planet, described in the research here:

"However, the current work offers a

response to the clichéd populist objection that environmentalists are proposing that we return to living in caves. With tongue firmly in cheek, the response roughly goes ‘Yes, perhaps, but these caves have highly-efficient facilities for cooking, storing food and washing clothes; low-energy lighting throughout; 50 L of clean water supplied per day per person, with 15 L heated to a comfortable bathing temperature; they maintain an air temperature of around 20 °C throughout the year, irrespective of geography; have a computer with access to global ICT networks; are linked to extensive transport networks providing ~5000–15,000 km of mobility per person each year via various modes; and are also served by substantially larger caves where universal healthcare is available and others that provide education for everyone between 5 and 19 years old.’ And at the same time, it is possible that the amount of people’s lives that must be spent working would be substantially reduced."

Clearly, as a rich nation, which has enjoyed an unfair share of global energy use so far, this target needs to be achieved within the next few years for Scotland to be meeting it's equity obligations.

(1) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science /article/pii/S0959378020307512 Give the Citizens' This is our last opportunity to attempt Because it will enact the people's empowerment. For too long Assembly to reduce the worst impacts of the decisions about everyone's futures have been made by a few true power climate catastrophe we have influential rich people. This has, predictably, led to the catastrophic generated. Scotland must take the breakdown of our climate and life on earth. The people know the lead and its people will determine the truth and what needs to happen. Let us determine the correct path way. But they need to be trusted to to take. make those big decisions and have confidence that their deliberations are worthwhile.

The determinations of the Climate Citizen's Assembly should be enacted by government as expressed by this most democratic of methods. Plastic and Excess Companies should be heavily taxed The world is drowning in plastic. Microplastics are found in Packaging on both the production and purchase incredible quantities in fish and wildlife, almost everywhere on Tax of plastic. earth.

The amount of unecessary/excess Plastic can be useful - sometimes necessary - but overuse is packaging on new items I buy is endemic and tied to disposable culture. incredible - fruits wrapped in plastic, staplers/scissors in a hard plastic With a little imagination an alternative to plastic can usually be wrap, etc, etc. This is a habit retailers found - often the alternative is "use nothing or REUSE something and customers need to be forced out instead" - and this would reduce plastic waste to manageable of by government intervention. levels that could be recycled.

In addition, Amazon and online Plastic takes thousands of years to biodegrade. We cannot retailers should be subject to strict continue using it once/using it pointlessly then throwing it into regulation on the amount of packaging nature to poison the foodchain for thousands of years. It is used. A couple of books should not obscene arrive in large cardboard boxes padded with styrofoam!

Takeaway outlets should not be able to supply meals in plastic containers most people will put in the bin.

Any plastic that is produced MUST BE FULLY RECYCLEABLE

Cigarette- style tax and Grade automobiles from economy Car ownership as such will have to be phased out over time, but at treatment for (electric, no frills) to SUV/sports cars present we have an economy and transport system that often car owners and apply strongly progressive tax requires families to have cars in order to access jobs, food and so regimes — so any private vehicle forth. We can, however, do something to change the positive bears a 50% tax, those costing over image associated with car ownership and begin to wean Scottish £30,000 attracts 100% tax, over society off its addiction to a violent, greedy and destructive form of £50,000 attracts 200% tax, etc. Tax transport—in the same way that we treat cigarette addiction. By on-road public parking steeply: using targeted taxes and a powerful public health campaign, we £10,000/yr for a license to park on can change the way car ownership is perceived from a status item, roads. Add a surcharge to council tax to a sign of dependency and antisocial behaviour. for any property with a garage or driveway.

Connect the tax revenue directly to repairing the damage caused by automobiles: health funding for victims of RTAs and lung disease; narrowing roads and reducing their impact on neighbourhoods and wildlife; providing safe and accessibile public transport for elderly or disabled people. Treat people who insist on using cars through addiction programmes. Make films that celebrate families who crush their cars and recycle them. Require all elected When an ordinary person takes up an There are immediate and longer-term benefits that spring from this officials to elected office, they become a role proposal. In the first instance, this will signal very clearly to the walk, wheel model for their community. They are whole of Scotland (and the world!) that the Scottish government or cycle to given special privleges, and they are takes the climate emergency very seriously and requires positive and for work. subject to extra scrutiny. We can use action of every single elected official, from councillors on up. this to change how personal transport Second, it will force anyone standing for election to take their is perceived. As a sign of holding responsibilities much more seriously; if being elected as an MSP elected office, any elected official is no means that you must cycle to Holyrood — or walk to the railway, longer allowed the use of a personal and then walk down to Holyrood—they will consider very carefully

automobile, but must use active and whether they wish to make such a commitment. If they do, they will zero-carbon transport for their official understand immediately how hopelessly inadequate Scotland's duties. transport system is now, and making that system better will become a subject of legislation and funding very quickly indeed! Our elected officials will become healthier, happier, and humbler people; hiding in a car is a very effective way of avoiding scrutiny. Over time, making the commitment to active zero-carbon transport will become a badge of honour, a symbol of integrity and commitment. accurate picture of the As someone who has been asked to current complete a carbon audit in order that carbon businesses may make improvements situation to their current emissions,I am very required confused at the term carbon audit and In order to make our climate change policy worthwhile and how basing future carbon output effective surely we need to have an accurate measure of the reduction and mitigation measures current status before we commit masses of time effort and money upon some of these audits seems to either things that aren`t properly targetted to achieve best questionable .The audit was more of results or even possibly not needed in the first place..... an output calculation.with no account taken for any mitigation The vast carbon reserves of the peatlands, the large amount of measures already in place and as woodlands we have here, the photosynthesising green farmland such , is not a accurate reflection of and hills surely provide sequestration worthy of consideration.A my current carbon emissions status . great start on the way to seeing scotland as a world leader in any future climate change policies. In order to make our climate change policy worthwhile and effective surely As someone who has been asked to complete a carbon audit in we need to have an accurate measure order that my business may make improvements to my current of the current status before we emissions,I am very confused at the term carbon audit and how commit masses of time effort and basing future carbon output reduction and mitigation measures money to either things that upon some of these audits seems questionable . aren`t properly targetted to achieve best results or even possibly not The audit was more of an output calculation.with no account taken needed in the first place...... The vast for any mitigation measures already in place and as such , is not carbon reserves of the peatlands, the a accurate reflection of my current carbon emissions status .This I large amount of woodlands, the feel is not the correct way to proceed .You wouldn`t ask the best photosynthesising green farmland and way to get to Edinburgh without knowing if you were in Dumfries or hills surely provide sequestration Inverness worthy of consideration.A great start on the way to seeing scotland as a world leader in any future climate change policies. Community Heating Work with local councils and housing We urgently need to find alternatives to fossil fuels for domestic Schemes providers to create sustainable homes. It is more economical to provide heating for a group of community heating schemes. These homes rather than each house having its own source. could be fueled by biofuel, wind, geothermal or solar power, and would provide hot water that would be piped to all houses in the locality for heating, as well as for domestic hot water. Geothermal heating is already successfully in use in Iceland. Residents would pay for heating, just as they currently pay for fuel. Cross Party Agreement Put the environment above party We need all political parties to put their differences aside when it on the politics. A cross party agreement on comes to the future of the planet and to work together to make Environment climate and the environment. decisions that are responsible and necessary to stop the climate

Agreement should be written into crisis getting to the point of no return. No matter who is in power, policy such that government there should be laws or policies in place that are the accepted & campaiging parties cannot use standard and can ony be reviewd and changed by further cross environment as a campaign tactic or party discussion. bargaining chip. The future survival of earth and its ecosystems should not be depend on who happens to be holding the reigns and whether or not environmental issues are a high priority to them.

This may be hard to achieve and a little idealistic but at the very least it's worth consideration. Second Chance Recycling centres have a covered dry Scotland needs to reduce landfill significantly. Scotland needs to area where items that are repairable reduce its carbon emissions. Giving items a chance of a 'second or could be otherwise useful could be life' reduces the energy required to recycle them thus reducing the left and collected free of charge by nations carbon footprint. anyone interested in utilising them. This could include a whole variety of Citizens using this either as contributors to the Second Chance will items that are not for the charity shops have the satisfaction of giving. Citizens as utilisers of Second and yet not quite ready for landfill etc. Chance will have a means to reduce there costs. Rewilding Highlands Soft tourism only and increase of Support rewilding projects and encourage green tourism. and Islands areas in Highlands and Islands allowed to rewild. Farming to be reviewed to encourage alternatives to traditional food like meat and dairy. The more green the less carbon monoxide. Allow nature to restore itself in those areas. Reintroduce more beavers, lynxs and even wolves. Encourage eagles and other birds of prey to settle. Shut down all hunting estates. They have completely ruined the last bit of wilderness in the North of Scotland and destroyed the ballance of natural co existence there.

Put a stop to all new development areas along the coast that are not an urgent necessity. No more golf courses destroying dunes.

Tree Height Trees that grow within 200 feet of This is important because it would encourage home owners to houses should be limited to a invest in solar systems or to upgrade their current systems to maximum height of 30 feet, this will larger units generating more kilowatts allowing less demand on the ensure that a lot of domestic solar grid and a higher probability of exporting surplus energy to the systems will become much more grid. efficient, allowing greater generation of renewable energy.

The current attitude of many councils is to forbid the croping of trees and the shadows cast by the trees particularly from September through to March here in Scotland, this reduces the efficiency of the solar systems greatly.

On rail, off road Reconstruct and maintain our railway To reduce the number of cars on our roads all burning irreplacable lines that were taken out by the fossil fuels. A train can take so many more people than a car. A government which instructed goods train can haul so much more weight than a lorry. Smaller Beeching to axe much of a wonderful vehicles powered by clean energy can be used at the start and transport infrastructure and heritage terminus to deliver the goods to destinations. constructed in the 19th century. Rail for goods and passangers. Daily tips A government piece on TV daily with a There is so much in the media about 'stop climate change', 'stop conservation/recycling/reusing/tip to global warming' but not as much about what each individual can inform the public (particularly adults)as do. Maybe the public would pick up tips if there was a government to what they can do to stop climate campaign in the media as an 'advertisement' e.g. do you really change and global warming. need that new pair of jeans? or, everything you put in the landfill bin does not dissapear (although it does from your house) so do you need to buy it in the first place? We really need to make individuals think about consumerism and how the way we live we can affect the market and therefore the planet. Aim for limiting Reduced carbon emissions by As the above statement there are a range of climate emergency global nations, companies and individuals events across all countries that are accelerating in scale and warming has been the main target for devestation to natural and human managed environments. 1.5centigrade international and climate change as main negotiations. The focus on net or absolute zero carbon targets gives a false output no just sense of security and control which we don't have. net zero The emphasis on reducing carbon carbon emissions often obscures the real The net or absolute zero carbon targets totally ignore the growing dioxide reason why we need to take action carbon emissions from melting permafrost and forest fires which which is human induced global have the potential to exceed human produced carbon emissions. heating and the resultig environmental effects. A focus on limiting global heating to 1.5C could take into account the growing importance of global heating destruction of natural The Paris agreement of limiting global carbon sinks and reset the human produced emissions allowance heating to 1.5C needs to be the accordingly. overarching target.

We can then use science to work out when Scotland needs to be at absoloute zero carbon emissions and use the Citizens Assembly to negotiate how this reduction can be phased in as part of a Just Transition.

Currently the 1.5C target of global heating is looking very precarious and net or absolute zero results by 2045 or 2060 are not following the science Net or absolute zero targets by those years do no account for trigger points like permafrost methane release and ice cap collapses which are happening now. How much carbon is We need to get an understanding of Encouraging people to understand how much energy produced to used to how much carbon is used to create create product.... create items the product that I am purchasing. For that I example , at present food has colour purchase? coding for how good food is for you. I

am suggesting items are coded that tells you how much energy used to create including production packaging ...transport...and we need to purchase below a certain level that has a carbon level that is sustainable...what is that.? I know there are sustainable products but is that sustainable in amount of carbon expended.?However need a way that supporting developing nations and fairtrade products... End economic Repeal the legal obligation for Currently companies, charities, etc are legally obliged to get the growth/ profit companies, charities etc to make profit 'best' (maximum financial yield) on investments and assets. This maximisation maximisation the key driver of their means, for example, everything from companies being legally ; Make the decisions. Legislate to make the obliged to put profit ahead of the wellbeing of people and planet, to wellbeing wellbeing of people and planet the a church not being allowed to hand over a building to a community economy real foremost consideration that guides group rather than make a profit from selling it. Lets directly pursue companies, charities, governments the 'best’, not hope it might be a side effect of pursuing greed. As action in place of the current drive for David Attenborough says: "pursuing greed is not bringing us joy" profit.

This pursuit of profit above all other considerations has a Currently, economic growth is at the devastating impact on people, communities and our environment. very centre of the National Performance Indicators guiding Government action. Pursuing infinite A wellbeing economy, centred in restoring public (community and growth on a finite planet is absolutely national) ownership can change this. devastating. It is driven by the very wealthy appropriating more and more This idea is important because it is not (as other ideas on this of what were common lands, shared page are) simply focused on the welding economy as an intellectual developments, and public aspiration, but is been clear that we need to recognise the nature services, to the impoverishment of of our current system and the damage it wrecks. people and planet.

Creating a wellbeing economy involves returning responsibity to citizens, just as a citizens assembly does. It involves restoring buildings and lands to community ownership, restoring privatised energy, transport and production systems to public (community or national) ownership, and involves taking back control of how we produce our energy, food and everything else we need, rather than leaving decisions about these to those who are only (and legally) guided by the pursuit of ever increasing wealth for themselves.

Defend the trees from My idea is to defend trees from Because without trees there's no habitats, no clean air, no oxygen, deforestation deforestation because many trees are no cooling of temperatures, and no future for mankind. ancient and irreplaceable, we can't allow trees to be cut down because trees are carbon sinks, deforestation

contributes to climate change because trees store co2, provide oxygen, and regulate temperatures andif they're cut down it will lead to a loss of clean water, oxygen, food, habitat, and a rise of carbon emissions, I hope that the government takes action and that our politicians don't betray the people. Renewable energy EV Most electric vehicle charging points The idea will help to expand the national network of electric charging are powered by mains electricity. charging points, especially in remote rural areas and up major points While there is an increasing proportion transport routes such as the A9. Without the link between of mains power generated by renewable energy and electric vehicles there will be only a small renewable energy sources, the percentage of electric vehicles in rural areas charged by majority of the power is generated by renewable energy. This could increase the percentage close to non-renewable sources. 100%.

In Scotland's rural areas many of the existing and future charging points are located in settlements. These settlements have usually developed around a river or burn which was the water supply for the settlement. Many of these watercourses, especially in the Highlands and Islands have the potential for hydro-power generation. This provides the opportunity to develop small scale hydro schemes, with a storage system, to provide power to the electric vehicle charging point.

Green energy for green vehicles. Acknowledge the links Military activities across the globe A report this year [LINK: between generate a huge carbon footprint; the https://www.sgr.org.uk/index.php/publications/environmental- militarism US military is the largest institutional impacts-uk-military-sector]published by Scientists for Global and climate consumer of fossil fuels globally. Responsibility[END LINK] outlines in detail the environmental change Historically, countries have not tended impacts of the UK military: from its estimated carbon emissions, to to report their emissions from the poorly handled nuclear waste at UK facilities, to the estimated military sector which means that data climate impact of deploying the UK nuclear arsenal in a and previous research into this hypothetical conflict scenario. These are climate justice issues that specific area remains extremely affect both people in Scotland and communities around the world. lacking. It has been estimated that A future Scotland should be doing everything that it can to prevent emissions from the military sector conflict. A shift away from militarism and towards prioritizing make up around [LINK: sustainability and investing in people would be a step towards https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/carb creating more resilient communities, both in Scotland and beyond. on-boot-print-military-0]3% of total UK carbon emissions[END LINK]. A wide- ranging climate action plan would include the military sector and acknowledge how carbon-intensive its activities tend to be.

It is not merely the carbon footprint of military activity that is the problem, however. Scotland's approach to climate change should be a holistic and intersectional one that strives to

dismantle the oppressive power structures that have led to the climate crisis. In 2019, UK military spending was [LINK: https://caat.org.uk/news/new-caat- report-on-military-expenditure-and- climate-change/]over 2.5 times that of climate expenditure[END LINK]. This indicates a deeper systemic issue whereby the UK continues to prioritize using armed force as a means of addressing global issues. We have already witnessed conflicts that have been exacerbated by climate change, like the drought in Syria that helped stoke political unrest in the region. War leads to the displacement of populations and direct environmental damage from carbon-intensive bombing campaigns.

Redirecting military spending to invest in renewables would aid decarbonisation efforts as well as creating jobs. With the pandemic continuing to restrict budgets, military spending provides a significant economic resource and would be better invested in projects that promote sustainability, peace, justice and resilience. Devolution from NATO would also help Scotland forge a more sustainable and equitable future: this would remove the climate impact of carbon-intensive NATO training exercises around the world, as well as reduce Scotland's contribution to conflicts abroad that often centre around oil.

Tax air fuel to fund cheap Encourage people not to fly by If we are serious about reducing plane emissions this would be a rail travel providing cheap rail fare incentives. simple and essential solution. We pay more than most European countries for train fares at present.

We could also tax frequent fliers and have a maximum annual air mileage allowance for each individual. There could be a detailed application system for special exemptions. Economy Imagine your great grandchildren thats based thriving, here in Scotland. In all its forms, the dominant economic system – capitalism - is on For this to happen, we need an committed to economic growth. And this seems to be the only way,

circulation, economy that naturally circulates given the benefits we see and what we’ve been taught. After all, not money rather than concentrating it, an growth means more goods and services sold. Growth means more accumulation economy that values people's needs jobs. Growth drives progress. The absence of growth leads to ahead of corporate greed, and an recessions, even depressions. Why would we ever want anything economy that gives more than it takes other than growth? from our life-supporting environment. The short answer is that ongoing economic growth threatens our Such an economy is possible. survival as a species.

The CCA need to discuss and This claim is based on two provable realities: consider ‘Post-growth’, which sees Scotland operating better without the a) Total debt always expands in a modern capitalist system, demand of constant economic growth. setting us up for economic collapse. It proposes that widespread economic justice, social well-being and b) Total ecological footprint always expands in a modern capitalist ecological regeneration are only system, setting us up for environmental collapse. possible when money inherently circulates through our economy. At the Transitioning to a post-growth economy represents Scotland's best moment money tends to accumualate option in response to the threat of social and ecological collapse. to a small number of people and major corporations and shareholders.

Establish a new non Abandon unsustainable economics as We just cannot continue to consume more than we can supply. growth soon as possible before we consume This is elementary for our survival and well-being and the sooner circular all available resources. we establish a safe model the better, for us and our descendants. economy We cannot keep on handing over responsibility for our carbon Choose models like Doughnut footprint to the countries who export to us. It is our economic Economics that is being trialled in demand and our footprint and it is essential to foster a less Amsterdam. materialistic culture. Otherwise the production will continue in China and other Asian and far eastern countries causing huge pollution and warming and exacerbating the melting of the Himalayan glaciers and the polar ice caps. Land reform to reverse the Mandatory government buy outs of Two years ago soil scientists estimated that we have 60 years left ecological large farming estates to enable of viable soil in most areas of Europe. emergency smaller scale farming, leased or community ownership to establish It has been proven that small scale organic farming with rotation small scale organic farming. This and lighter tilling restores the biome and creates better yields after would provide training and the first couple of years. This prevents the run off of fertilizers, employment for many and high quality herbicides and pesticides into the rivers and then sea which is food for communities cutting down on causing acidification. overseas importation mileage. Deep ploughing causes huge rises in CO2 into the atmosphere in the spring as shown by NASA satellite images.

The loss of biodiversity has never happened as such a rate. A 43% decline in insects since the 1960s globally. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6489/417

And a 55% loss of farmland bird populations in UK farmland in the last three decades. https://www.ebcc.info/latest-update-of- european-wild-bird-indicators-confirms-continued-decline-of- farmland-birds/

These figures are alarming and real. It cannot be ignored.

https://ipbes.net Abandon maximum There is enough oil to last for decades We have the technology available to establish alternative fuel

economic so the maximum extraction is for profit. infrastructure for transport and housing. recovery of However this is costing the earth and oil obviously that is an expense we See zerocarbonbritain.co.uk and cannot afford. drawdown.org Divert funds into establishing alternative fuel infrastructure for transport and housing.

Break free from the oil and banking lobby. We have little chance of creating a safe world until the goverment is free from the influence of the opaque think tanks like the GWPF. They are not tranparent about who funds them and yet they influence government decisions on the environment. There is no place for vested interests in a global climate emergency. Who should speak at the Scottish government policy, regarding Restricting or limiting the information available to the citizens Assembly the climate and ecological crisis, to assembly to the current political and economic thinking makes it date has been based upon a narrow impossible for the assembly to function properly. The assembly window of academic opinions and won't be able to truly assess how Scotland should change to research that aligns with the current effectively tackle the climate crisis in a fair way. This is of political and economic system. Thus fundamental importance to the success of the citizens assembly. the main drivers of the climate crisis (our political and economic system for example) are never critically assessed and alternative systems are not even considered. This is a fundamental failing of the climate policies to date. As a result, for Scotland to tackle the climate crisis in an effective way it is of vital importance that the range of speakers and evidence given to the assembly is not restricted in this usual way. It is also of vital importance to include people's lived experiences of the climate and ecological crisis, with the range of speakers not just limited to academics.

The range of academics speaking at the assembly needs to be wide providing a genuine spectrum of perspectives and the value of lived experience of people needs to be included and of equal validity.

Speakers should include the following as a minimum:

Prof Kevin Anderson (University of Manchester) Prof Julia Steinberger (University of Leeds) Dr Jason Hickel (University of London)

Dr Katherine Trebeck (Strathclyde University) Sustainable development The NHS in England recently The overall NHSScotland footprint in 2004 was estimated to be in the NHS committed to net zero by 2040. The 2.63MtCO2, representing 3.6% of Scotland’s total carbon footprint NHS in Scotland has not. The and 23% of Scotland’s public sector emissions in 2004. NHS England Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) support the The NHS is a large employer and sustainability development in the NHS to develop sustainability action NHS at pace and scale has the ability to inspire and motivate staff plans based on data, evidence and in what is currently a very difficult time in the context of the covid best practice. Whilst Scotland has pandemic. clear expectations for sustainability in the NHS it has no equivalent of the SDU and this makes it considerably more difficult to Health Boards to improve their sustainability. The Government should establish a new Sustainable Development Unit for NHS Scotland and employ sustainability development officers in all Health Boards. Tackle soil erosion and The film 'Kiss the Ground' 2020 Because we need to work with nature and prevent more begin explains the concept that could start to desertification and resulting povery, inequality and climate regeneration tackle the climate emergency with change. We should work in harmony with nature and learn from many ideas for personal, local and past and current mistakes. global action. The Assembly should watch and discuss. Simplify recycling It's hard to know where to put rubbish, Making recycling simpler to understand will encourage more information because of the statement, "if your people to engage in the process.. Council recycles this" type of material. It needs to be easier to find out and to understand.

Work with farmers for This project in Ireland looked at local Working in collaboration with farmers, rewarding good practice immediate land use, what improvements could be rather than only rewarding "new" and reflecting local biodiversity made, what was already being done biodiversity/carbon capture needs. improvement well and farm subsidy payments were s linked to that. It's working with farmers, not detracting from good practise by only rewarding *new* projects.

https://www.thebrideproject.ie/ Make ecocide illegal Criminalise ecocide in Scotland and Any governments or corroprations would be forced to consider support international efforts to make it how their decisions would impact the natural world and would be international law able to be held accountable for destruction. Make ethical decisions If asking individuals to make more Asking people to make individual changes when not giving them affordable ecological choices then you must give the means to do so won't work. them a real choice by making it affordable for all to make those choices whether by supporting changes to international trade agreements, subidising local organic food and products, creating shorter

working week so people have more time and don't rely on convience products, making sure a proper living wage is paid to all, higher taxes for corrporations who damage the earth and their employees.

More democracy Support local participartory democracy Decisions made by people invested in their communities rather so communities have real say in than distant investors will be better for them and thier environment budgets, spending and priorities

Stop lobbying by companies that are destroying the earth and communities

Free press - not a few billionaire- owned papers who have their own agenda Re-establish the three-mile From 1889 bottom trawling and Seabed habitats are vital as fish spawning grounds and nurseries, limit on dredging were banned anywhere and they are significant carbon stores rival to any on land. The top bottom within 3 miles of shore. This protection 10cm of Scotland’s seabed holds more carbon than all the trawling and was removed in 1984 leading to the peatlands, soils and trees Scotland combined. These habitats dredging all progressive collapse of fisheries all protect our coasts from storm surges and wave action, and can around around Scotland's coastline. Marine ameliorate the rising ocean acidification that is being caused by Scotland's Protected Areas (MPA’s) supposedly global warming. These carbon stores have no chance to recover coasts cover 20% of coastal seas, but in as things stand. reality under 5% are off-limits to scallop dredging and bottom-trawling.

The three-mile limit on bottom trawling and dredging should be re-established immediately.

Read more: https://www.ourseas.scot/

Let it Bee Do nothing!! Or rather firstly recognise There is huge and understandable competition for land use - the remarkable ability of nature to farming, forestry, construction and industry all require land. We all regenerate and revive and then benefit (or should benefit) from this. This 'do nothing' project works encourage communities and in the spaces 'in between' - identifying and then returning to nature institutions to work with that. strips, plots, borders and anything that can be returned to nature. This project will support bio diversity, reduce carbon footprints Throughout Scotland there are literally (less mowing) release workers for other work, increase carbon thousands of acres of land that could uptake (growth of trees) Most importantly it will become a part of a 'return' to nature. The challenge is this nationwide, Scotland and United Kingdom wide regreening of land is often not recognised for its urban, suburban and even rural areas. Given the local community potential to contribute to the climate and volunteer involvement it will open up a sense of pride and emergency fight and to turning empowerment. It would have minimal cost and maximum species extinction arround. protection - 'do nothing, let it bee'.

For example many of us walk past open grassed areas every day - such as dog walking areas. Many, perhaps the majority, drive past hundreds of miles of wide grass verges. Every year the grass here is mowed short to keep

said road side nice and tidy. In every town and suburban area are standings of gravel and concrete that could, if encouraged, (largely by doing nothing) return to nature. Those grass verges don't need to be so wide. Those open grass play and dog walking areas would be just as inviting for play and dog walking with naturally occurring shrubs and trees regenerating.

This patchwork development of green corridors could be enhanced by donations from farm and industry and construction - a 100 square metre plot in the middle of a twenty acre field could become an oasis for wildlife.

Start by each town and village identifying these areas. The grass verge (or part thereof) that does not need mowing, the park area (or part thereof) that can work just as well with trees. The disused or underused old industrial sight that can be encouraged to return to nature. The 100 acre field stripped of hedgerows 50 years ago that could have them, or some of them, 'reinstated'.

This project would be supported by legal powers to cut through local and national bureacracy so that 'protected areas' would be just that - protected for nature by doing nothing! There could be a range of supported activity that is friendly to the development of the emerging biodiversity. For example bird boxes, bee hives (let it bee!) and tree planting.

Land use/food Every planning application for housing If this was done, there would be a reduction in CO2 emissions as a growing should have a legal requirement to result of fewer vehicle journeys for fruit and veg shopping; less provide growing space. There is an fruit and veg would be imported from long distances away in other enormouse waiting list/demand for countries; organic methods of gardening require less peat-based both individual allotments, and composts, which would reduce the extraction of peat, one of the community gardens. Even blocks of main causes of CO2 emission release. Correct composting flats should have an area where methods would reduce the need for green bin collection by local residents can grow both food and authorities (less CO2 emissions from vehicles.) flowers. All applications for houses (not flats) should have an area that Community gardens and allotments would stimulate community could be divided up into individual interest, especially in children, and fuether general interest in the plots. The local authority 'Greenspace' problems of climate change. department should then provide equipment/tools/expert advice etc. to encourage residents. Plots not

required could be offered to those on the waiting list. Encouragement and advice should be given (especially to children and first-time gardeners) regarding organic methods, and composting of garden and kitchen waste. Interbeing in all matters The awareness that all beings and To help us live better lives and take better care of all parts of our phenomena are interdependent and planet and home. intricately connected.

None of us can live on our own. We are interdependent with all other animals ,plants, minerals and what we do has an effect on the whole system and of course our planet.

We need a bigger, wider, more understanding view of how interdependent all things, are so that can be brought into policy making for the benefit of all. Bring overpopulatio We need to lead by example by Overpopulation is a global issue which is still treated as a taboo n into the encouraging smaller families, subject. Currently large families are seen as normal and positively conversation acknowledging that as a country of encouraged in some cases. It is clear that this has no part in a high consumers, each additional stable future. We know that the largest impact a person can have person has a huge impact on GHG is to have one less child, or to have no children at all. This dwarfs emissions. Structural societal change other lifestyle choices like electric vehicle use, avoiding air travel incentivising fewer childbirths is and switching to plant based diets. required for a truly sustainable future Integrated Travel At present train arrivals often do not These very simple ideas would encourage people to use public Timetables connect with onward trains or transport or to cycle or walk. This would help reduce our carbon buses.The timetables should be footprint. Encouraging people to walk or cycle would also help rearranged with more frequent trains improve our atrocious health record. run and more clean carriages available for passengers.

At airports it is often not possible to link easily with onward trains or buses eg Aberdeen Airport,Inverness Airport.

Local bus services have been reduced to a non-user friendly level, they must be reintrroduced to an acceptable level.

Cycle/walk paths intergrating local areas should be established.

Local procurement We should always aim to source It is important that we replace our globalised economy with a materials and workforces locally. localised, circular one which will hugely reduce carbon emissions Government should take the lead on from transport this. When we are thinking about costs

we can't just look for the cheapest option when this will cost the planet in terms of carbon emissions. The way our economy has moved towards relying on an overseas workforce (paid poverty wages)rather paying local workers a decent wage to do the work is morally bankrupt and is driving increases in climate emissions.

The idea of Community Wealth Building could be useful here. Allow volunteering Where people find themselves unable A wide range of interventions will be needed to combat climate time in play to pay fines or taxes, they should have change. These are likely to require large amounts of work, some of of payments the option to volunteer their time in leu which could be done by volunteers. Being in debt is difficult and for fines and of payment. This will avoid the stressful, but if people can pay with time rather than money, that taxes prospect of punitive fines and possible might be more manageable and also contribute to combatting prosecution, and may be much easier climate change where possible, or free up funds for local councils and less stressful that trying to get for climate change mitigation projects. money to pay with. Even if the volunteering was council or community-based work rather than tree planting, this could free up funds for interventions which would mitigate climate change. Also they could learn and develop new skills depending on the volunteering opportunities available. Show real leadership at Scotland has a unique opportunity COP26 is a key year in relation to the Paris Climate Agreement. COP26 next year to show true cimate We must guard against this agreement from being greenwashed leadership in the year that we host and abused by big polluting companies.Instead we should give COP26 in our country. The countries more space to listening to the voices of indigenous communities of the global south especially are from the global south from whom we can also learn a great deal. depending on us to face up to our responsibilities as one of those industrialised countries who have contributed most to the climate crisis. We must also stand up to the fossil fuel lobby that has always sought to limit climate policies. These companies should have no place in the COP climate negotiations due to their own vested interests in making sure that these policies are weakened. Business and financial Corporate law needs to be changed Currently, our econonic system encourages profit above all else, sector so that all corporations and limited including the long term harm caused by carbon emissions and companies must demonstrate how environmental degredation. Companies should not be allowed to they will become carbon neutral by operate if they continue to cause this destruction and instead 2045 and all investors should be given should be established to serve society (which does not preclude information about a company's current the making of profit). In this way, we will be creating a society carbon/environmental footprint as part which discourages blind self interest and encourages prosocial of the share purchasing behaviour. process. Additionally, companies should be established not with profit

as the primary driver, but social responsibility (eg what problem facing society are they seeking to address). This change in law will require strong lobbying with the UK government Task force of unemployed Getting a task force of unemployed As the pandemic continues, more people are going to lose their and and underemployed people (lots of jobs and will need financial support as well as to feel valued and underemploy whom will be in this situation due to still a part of society. To contribute by working to reduce our ed to address Covid) and offer them employment carbon emissions and doing something of value will benefit carbon with at least the living wage, to do everyone. reduction. things to help Scotland reduce its carbon emissions and educate our We have an ideal opportunity to start to make changes communities about the ways in which immediately, and things cannot change fast enough. Every day we need to prepare for the climate that we delay taking action will mean that it will be harder to cope disruption that is going to happen in with as the climate disruption increases. the coming decades. We can show the world how to respond positively to this challenge There are so many things that we that Covid and the climate emergency poses to everyone. need to do.

They include informing and educating people about the situation, and taking time to listen to people's questions, and their fears and thoughts about this situation.

There are issues about improving the physical infrastructure of our homes, and communities to prepare for climate disruption, and to cut our emissions. eg. retrofitting insulation, helping people to learn to grow their own food, cutting down on waste, changing diets so we are all healthier and fitter.

There are issues about health and wellbeing. Local communities need to be strengthened to help each other, and address the local issues which will arise in each area. Connectedness is important, so we can respond and help our neighbours and offer practical and emotional support. We need to think about others - the elderly, people with disabilities, young people, people who are on their own. We need to create practical networks to help people eg. help with shopping, help with caring tasks, help with childcare. We need to listen to people and support their mental health. We need to find ways to connect people with skills to people who need those skills and create local networks to enable us to pool our resources and share what we can do for each other.We need to

work out how to do this safely, given Covid and the additional problems that this creates.

We need to rewild as much as possible, and plant trees and grow food locally, in cities, in our gardens and think about ways to improve our soil and our land. Stop subsidising Stop subsidising the fossil fuel Our system is not able to make the level of changes necessary business that industry. Redirect that money into while it is predicated on the concept of continual growth. Individual emits carbon green energy and business that help action cannot sort this out. We need to acknowledge that the and redirect to reduce our carbon emissions. current system is not 'fit for purpose' to address the climate money to emergency, and so we need to change our economic system, green Accept that a 'continual growth' model because the climate emergency won't go away. And if we take no business is not possible on a planet with finite action, it will only get worse, quicker. resources.

Look at plans for becoming self sufficient in food within Scotland. Consider how we need to change our agriculture and food production to do this. There will be health benefits for all if we change our diets to have a better balance of nutrients. Less meat, less dairy, more veg, more fibre, local fruit.

Build an intergovernm Build on the Wellbeing Economy The climate change emergency needs agile, determined and ental network Governments group, energetically and committed government action. Smaller countries are often in a on the creatively, to have a parallel (and better position to be decisive and active. The Wellbeing Economy climate larger) network of governments that Group is an excellent intitiative but its focus is more on social emergency share concerns about the climate justice, with climate benefits being a secondary effect. Scotland emergency. could take a similar initiative, building on the WEGo, to focus on the climate emergency, but this needs to be broader and deeper if Use the network to share ideas, to it is to make a timely impact on climate change. It could snowball, develop and invest in solutions in so it is worth trying, with the maximum possible investment of partnership, and to embarrass others effort, goodwill and money to give it a fair wind. into action. Tie up with the academic and private sectors to pursue such partnerships. Be prepared to take advantage of the contacts and influence of global companies, foundations, organisations such as the UN etc where they have genuine intentions to address climate issues, as they can extend the influence and reach of the network.

Focus particularly on countries of a broadly similar size so that problems of scale are comparable. Be prepared to work with countries which may not yet be convinced on a wellbeing economy approach but which are serious about the climate emergency,

such as Nordic countries. Be prepared also to work with governments which may be climatically and culturally very different in, for example, the Middle East or Africa. Cooperating across difference can create opportunities and novel solutions. Food Security When considering food in the context Some suggested that the drive to source food locally is of little of climate change, or indeed any other relevance to the issue of reducing our carbon budgets. They argue context, there are two issues inter- that, for example, GHG emissions are reduced by importing high related issues whose importance quality vegetable protein and reducing or eliminating the outweigh other considerations: production of animal protein. Even if this is correct, such studies fail to address the strategic and cultural importance of local food production. * Security of supply * sustainability of production (addressed in a separate post)

In the last century, the reliance of Britain on imported could easily have resulted in our capitulation as food convoys were so effectively sunk. In the post-war years countries across Europe sought to minimise their exposure to imported staple foods. The UK was hugely successful in achieving this, although the environmental costs were very high. The last 50 years has seen a major decline in our food self- sufficiency (without any significant decline it the environmental impacts of that production). If the imports of staple foods into these islands were reason, significantly interrupted in the coming years, we would once again struggle to feed our people.

Of course, food supplies ultimately only can be considered secure if they also are sustainable. Land reform. Compulsory We have an inequitable land Land reform is essential if we are to move towards a more purchase by distribution. Most of Scotland is owned sustainable system, and support ourselves in the way people did govt and by a select few landowners, many of centuries ago. We have so much technology which means we will redistribution whom do not even live in Scotland. be able to live on the land in a positive way, warm, well fed, within Ordinary people have no chance of communities. It offers a chance to look after our land, improve the owning land because it is too soils, rivers, seas and benefit from active lives, healthier diets and expensive and there is no land connected communities. available for sale.

We need to make our land as productive and as biodiverse and healthy as possible. We need to plant trees, rewild and improve our soils. We need to reconnect with the land, and to make the most of every acre we need people who want to go and

live on the land, and look after it, and pay attention to what is happening and what is needed to get our land in the best possible shape in the future.

There should be a maximum amount of land that any individual or corporation is allowed to own. Above that, the govt should be entitled to make a compulsory purchase of all excess land. This land could then be made available to individuals or corporations etc. who would apply to look after it. Individuals could have life long leases on the condition that they look after the land, and improve it, produce food on it, promote rewilding, reforest it or restore it. To improve soil quality and promote biodiversity. Communities could apply for land. People who wish to live a low carbon lifestyle should be helped and encouraged to do so.

Hutting Encourage the building of many Good physical, mental and spiritual health. Connecting with the family huts all over Scotland as land. advocated by the Thousand Huts campaign www.thousandhuts.org This will connect Scots with their land as is the case all round the world at this latuitude. Sustainable Home In any country, sustainable food will Food production and processing are significant contributors to Production of be food that readily can be produced greenhouse gas emissions. Scotland always will need a thriving Food in the climatic, geographic and soil agriculture industry producing high quality and affordable conditions that prevail. Historically food. However in order to be sustainable, all sectors of this cross northern Europe starch rich industry will have to find ways to reducing their emissions of crops have been relatively easy to Greenhouse gasses significantly. produce. In contrast, it has been exceptionally difficult to produce palatable high quality plant proteins. Soya is one of the very few ‘first class’ vegetable proteins (i.e. proteins that contain all of the amino acids needed to be supplied in the human diet). As far as I am aware, this crop still cannot be grown commercially in Northern Europe (although trials are underway, with several thousand Ha having been grown in southern England). Grass however, generally grows exceptionally well and as a result, the production of animal proteins has flourished, becoming the principal protein source for the region.

Although it may be desirable from the perspective of GHG emissions to reduce consumption of animal protein, the production of animal proteins must, for the foreseeable future remain part of the portfolio of Scottish agriculture. However, the agricultural industries must find ways to make animal production sustainable. This will include;

* a move away from the reliance on imported plant proteins (especially soy) as food for both ruminant and monogastric livestock * focus on grass feeding ruminants * focus on pasture management to maximise carbon capture an minimise release of other GHGs * manage effluents in ways which minimise the release of GHGs as well as avoiding pollution of water * protection of water bodies from run- off and leaching from fields

Arable farming also will need to undergo significant evolution (or revolution) in order to be sustainable. In the context of climate change, this is likely to include:

* development of soil management systems that will minimise GHG emissions from soils * find new ways of maintaining soil fertility that do not depend on the hugely energy demanding Haber- Bosch (or similar) process to make nitrate rich fertilisers. * adapt to growing crops suited to whatever climatic conditions develop as a result of climate change already in train * greater focus on producing high protein crops (yet to be commercially available) that could be used both for human and animal feed e.g. soya or hemp * drainage management to help reduce the likelihood of flooding *

These comments here been limited to

sustainable agriculture in the context of climate change. Of course to be sustainable agriculture will also have to address wider issues such as biodiversity, but they are beyond the scope of this forum. Protect and Expand The Scottish land mass sequesters If Scotland is to achieve something approaching a net zero carbon Existing huge quantities of carbon. However, emission state, all possible carbon store must be protected and if Carbon These carbon stores are very possible enhanced. Stores vulnerable to processes such as drainage. The drained soils are much better aerated and this allows the carbon locked away in organic materials to be oxidised fully to carbon dioxide. Peat soils in Scotland have been estimated to store the equivalent to 509 mtonnes of carbon dioxide. Other soils are estimated to sequester the equivalent to 1550 mtonnes of carbon dioxide It is essential to ensure that these gasses remain securely sequestered by protecting the peatlands and moors from drainage and fires. Similarly, remaining wet pasture land should be retained and, where possible low lying land should be re-wetted.

Recent estimates of carbon locked in sea bed sediments around Scotland suggest that their carbon storage capacity is far greater than the terrestrial systems (estimated to be equivalent to 5,555 mtonnes of carbon dioxide). These stores are poorly understood and research urgently is required to understand the processes by which the carbon is stored and what threats (e.g. disturbance or climate change) may result in carbon being released again from these sediments. Vegbelt Establish a vegetable growing zone Local food growing is about more than just fuel use. It will boost around every city and town. Market community engagement, offer educational opportunities and gardening can be successful on a improve the disastrous Scottish diet. Well managed market relatively small scale but transport and gardens should also improve biodiversity, helping to increase refrigeration means high emissions. insect and bird populations in urban areas and improving Growing the fresh stuff ultra-locally wellbeing. means it can be harvested on demand (or even PYO) and transported by electric vehicles for maximum freshness and minimum waste. World trade Propose a carbon tax on world trade To encourage local produce and less transportation of goods carbon tax to stop the unsustainable trade of around the planet. goods that are being manufactured

needlessly on opposite sides of the planet, many air and sea miles away from their intended destination. This would encourage goods to be more sustainably manufactured on site, in their own countries. Abolish private car Apart from very exceptional reasons Cars have destroyed society and the planet. Without them, ownership such as a few disabilities, nobody community cohesion, physical health, RTAs, air quality, really needs their own car. Without a streetscapes and overall wellbeing will all improve. car, people will default to active, low- carbon travel for local journeys, public The 'convenience' of car ownership is not worth the societal and transport for longer distances and public health damage they cause. electric taxis/pool cars for awkward or multi-person journeys. Increase minimum Increase the minimum driving age to This will promote active and public transport and reduce air driving age to 25. By that time, better habits in pollution and road accidents. 25 personal transport will have been established and the period of time Better transport options will be embedded and end the 'rite-of- when most RTAs past. passage' that is passing a driving test at the crazily young age of 17. Minimise food waste It has been estimated that in Scotland Minimising food waste minimises greenhouse gas production and make in 2013 nearly 990,000 tonnes of food across the food production/processing/consumption positive use was wasted ([LINK: system. Most of the food waste that currently is sent to landfill will of waste that https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/ result in the generation of methane, a much more powerful cannot be content/how-much-food-waste-there- greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. If the unavoidable food avoided scotland]https://www.zerowastescotlan waste is used as feedstock for biogas plants, the methane is d.org.uk/content/how-much-food- captured and can be used as a fuel for vehicles such as busses or waste-there-scotland[END LINK]). to generate electricity. The latter is even more effective if the generation is part of a combined heat and power scheme which will use the surplus heat from the generating plant to provide hot water for local district heating schemes. These will, of course, About half of this food waste comes release carbon dioxide. However, this is gas that was fixed from from households and of this, about the atmosphere by plants in the very recent past, as opposed to 60% is avoidable (ie the food could many millions of years ago, so over a short time scale, the net have been consumed if it had been increase on carbon dioxide will be very much less than if a fossil planned, purchased, stored or fuel had been burnt. otherwise manged differently in the home. This wasted food accounts for around 1.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.

A further 25% of the waste occurred within the food and drink manufacturing industries.

* consumers need education/help in planning food purchasing and storage as well as understanding the significance of ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates on food packaging * food retailers must be discouraged from encouraging over purchasing and should be required to dispose of

‘outdated’ food in constructive ways e.g. biogas generation (which could be linked to small scale combined heat and power schemes close to urban areas). * Local authorities should be required to collect domestic and trade food waste separately and feed this to biogas generation systems * A network of biogas generation plants should be established across Scotland, easily accessible to each population centre with minimal transport costs and emissions Animal products tax A tax on animal products such as Animal agriculture is an inefficient way to grow food. It is one of the meat, dairy and eggs. The tax could biggest greenhouse gas emitters on the planet. Animal products apply to producers as well as should be taxed to reflect this damage to the planet. consumers. Woodland expansion Scotland should aspire to double tree An increased supply of sustainable timber and fibre, will underpin and a carbon cover by the 2050. investment in the circular bioeconomy replacing carbon intesive tax. material such as concrete, steel and plastic. This should include areas of naturally regernatated woodland following To reach emissions targets we urgently need to decarbonise and a better deer managment, and also sustainable bio-economy will help reduce emissions and increasing the area of forestry encourage investment in rural areas. plantations.

There should be a "carbon tax" on all raw materials and consumption, and the revenues raised used to support sustainable woodland and forest managment. Sovereign Currency for Scotland currently does not have it's This has the potential to remove a serious barrier to effectively Scotland own sovereign currency or full control tackling the climate and ecological crisis and at the same time over it's tax system. Modern Monetary tackle inequality within Scotland. Theory suggests that if a country has control over it's own currency production and tax system, as long as it is able to keep a handle on inflation, then it can afford to implement all the necessary changes needed to change society and tackle the climate crisis. e.g. free public transport.

See here for an explainer:

https://www.jasonhickel.org/blog/2020/ 9/10/degrowth-and-mmt-a-thought- experiment#:~:text=In%20MMT%2C% 20the%20purpose%20of,also%20use d%20to%20reduce%20inequality.&tex t=MMT%20proposes%20that%20we% 20should,rather%20than%20somethin g%20we%20own.

Require carbon All goods and services, from clothes This matters because it could be an effective way for consumers to labelling and food products to items on form a better sense of their carbon impact and be empowered to restaurant menus, should show a look for lower-impact alternatives to what they would normally clear carbon label indicating their consume. carbon impact in a clear, easily readable way, just as we currently label calorie count. Calculating the carbon impact of a produce is not simple, but what matters here is a clear and reasonably accurate labelling. De- incentivise air People who travel frequently for non- This matters because air transport needs to be de-normalised transport essential reasons should be taxed owing to its high emission levels. increasingly heavily with each additional air trip that they take each year.

The carbon impact of air transport should be flagged up when people purchase a ticket, and offsetting stepped up.

People willing to travel by rail for their professional movements should see their additional time and expense compensated (e.g. price difference reimbursed, extra annual leave allowance).

Mass-educate the public in You don’t have a choice when you don’t know your options. climate action * Embed climate awareness deeply People need to be empowered to understand the true costs of the into the school curriculum and Higher way of life and neoliberal system they live in (overconsumption, Education teaching, so that it convenience food, waste, planned obsolescence, the race for becomes a key component of Scottish cheaper products driving down their quality and sustainability, citizenship. Develop outdoor learning normalised air travel, the imperative of economic growth). This to foster an early sense of connection system is not serving society, only the rich and privileged. with nature. Encourage a shift in our collective values, e.g. uncouple freedom and independence from car driving by showing the toxicity of a car- reliant system and promoting alternatives as more beneficial and better aligned with our values of resilience and sustainability. Instill a sense of collective responsibility and duty of care towards future generations and the planet’s resources, as well as a sense of equity that acknowledges that the richest 10% of the world’s population have been responsible for half of the world’s emissions – and that demand from developed countries has been the main driving force behind growing emissions in developing countries,

which will be worst affected by climate change. Educate and support students around the dangers of inaction, the psychological and other obstacles to the necessary changes, and the benefits those changes will bring at economic, scientific, social-political and individual levels such as mental health benefits. Promote a regenerative, cooperative mindset and creative, flexible thinking in the rising generation. Phase out the unsustainable current focus on economic growth in favour of deep adaptation. Provide an honest, realistic risk evaluation of our current lifestyle and system, alongside the many benefits of embracing a different set of values as a nation: resilience, sustainability, solidarity, well being, intergenerational and global justice. * Educate and train all organizations and workers on the requirements and solutions of urgent transitioning. All sectors need to start seeing themselves as part of the solution to climate threat, and plan accordingly with their eyes firmly kept on the emission reduction targets. Discourage planned obsolescence to make the best climate-efficient solutions available without unnecessary delay. A carbon fee and dividend Mass-educate individuals on the We need the carbon cost of what we consume to gain in scheme as an urgency of the situation. Lead a visibility to educate citizens, hence the need for agressive public incentivisatio national public health type of health-type campaigns (such as the one that made smoking illegal n tool campaign promoting a carbon in public places). But beyond that we need the law to provide a footprint-aware diet, including a 75% framework that gets individuals and organizations focused on reduction of red meat consumption, near-term, intermediary emissions targets, with packages of and new patterns of lifestyle sanctions and incentives. This needs to happen urgently as we consumption such as denormalising have already gone past a number of tipping points, and the fast fashion. E.g. make carbon government's duty of care towards Scottish citizens demands that footprint labelling compulsory for all the risks are minimized. food, clothing and other lifestyle consumption items; use higher taxation on products and services with a higher carbon footprint; adopt a carbon fee and dividend scheme as an incentivisation tool. If changing mindsets within a demand-driven system is not enough to meet targets, introduce rationing of products and services with a high carbon footprint. Work from Home It's hardly now a new idea is it! Covid A New Scotland needs to arise from the Covid disaster. Where the has shown how possible it is for feasibility of working from home has been proven an ongoing thousands of people to work from practice of work from home will significantly reduce the Scottish home and save on travel costs, travel Nations carbon footprint whilst maintaining economic output.

time, trafic conjestion AND reduce their carbon emissions and traffic pollution. This work from home practice and ethos should now, where carbon footprints are reduced and productivity remains, become a protected right. Let something really positive come out of the Covid disaster. Walk in the City Extend car free zones in city, town This will further encourage walking, cycling and public transport. and village. Improving the health of Scotland and reducing carbon emissions.

Further extend pedestrian and cyclist protected areas.

Provide additional buses.

Energy New ways of looking for alternative Current fuels are harming the earth could be the way they are fuels must be done. More use of solar being used. We are harming the planet and other life forms with and natural energy be harnessed. plastic and consequently harming ourselves. We need to stop Stop using oil and gas when new taking out of the earth and start respecting it. We need to alternatives are available. Just understand how water is maintained. If planets around us had because big fuel companies will lose water and then lost it we need to be sure not to go down that path. money is no excuse not to use the alternatives if they were smart they would already ber making the change. New buildings should automatically be buil usiong new energy sources. Thinking about it first energy used was steam so it is not imnpossible water is a valuable source in more ways than one. Implement an Independent While many developers of houses in Many changes to reduce emissions will require tough political System of Scotland are excellent, many are not. decisions. However, there are no losers in building better homes. Quality Missing insulation and poor Costs of compliance could be past on to poorly performing Control construction results in on average 0.5 contractors. Standards would improve rapidly. This is a win/win, checks on tonnes CO2 (*) excess emissions per and could drammatically reduce emissions in Scotland new houses annum, per house . This therefore locks in an estimated 600,000 tonnes CO2 every year that these issues is not addressed. (20,000 new houses built every year, lasting for 60 years x 0.5 tonnes per house).

(* - this is our estimate. Through FOI we discovered that government has no analysis of 'Performance Gap' - actual energy performance of new housing from meter reads versus design energy performance in SAP. Happy for this estimate to be revised if government now has an assessment. Regardless, its a big number!)

There is an assumption that Building

Control check quality and sign-off on new houses. This is not the case. Local authorities are underfunded for this, and in any case, this is not the process that is in the regulations. We see daily the results of heat loss from poorly constructed new houses through our thermal imaging and air tightness testing work. This not only results in increased heat loss and emissions, but affects the health, mental health and wealth of owners. Priority Bus Lanes on First Minister promised in September Some actions to reduce emissions will require tough political Motorways 2019 to introduce priorty bus lanes on decisions. However, there are no losers in implementing improved motorways. This promise appears to public transport. have been shelved.

Priority Bus Lanes are key to improving public transport.

A priority bus lane on the M8 west bound from J11 to Charing Cross, with existing fast lane becoming the bus lane, and exiting at Charing Cross , up Sauchiehall Street, and down to George Square . This could reduce the commute from Strathaven to Glasgow to 35 minutes. Currently 60 minutes by car, and 90 minutes by existing buses. This could be replicated in other towns not served by rail.

We did a survey in Strathaven and counted over 2,000 cars leaving Strathaven every day between 6am & 9am (carried out pre COVID in February). A separate survey identified that 70% of commuters would consider public transport if it was cheaper/faster - which it could be. So up to 1,400 vehicles potentially could be taken off the road every day, and a more pleasant journey than driving, all from one small Scottish town. Imagine if this was replicated across Scotland. Health Although not a direct action to be Human health is tied up with planetary health taken it would be useful to look at health in this context and the savings that could be made in the NHS and care services in the short and long term. A lot of what the NHS deals with is the impact of environment and lifestyle. Would this also delay age when elderly needing care services if people are healthier for longer.

Reduced air pollution = reduced respiritory problems (reduced proceedures and medication)

Impact of reduced chemical and plastic pollution

Impact of active travel at reducing various illness/diseases

Reduced stress due to finanical and work instability if adopting UBI, living wages, just transition, reduced working week etc and impact on relationships, intergenerational stresses, behavioural problems, drinking, smoking , drug use, unhealthy eating. Reduction in need for mental health services and medications.

Etc Stop oil and gas subsidies I have heard that governments shore Partly because using public money to fund fossil fuels is immoral, up polluting industries, funding but also because it's just wasting our resources by giving cash to exploration for new extractive rich shareholders who offer only detriment to our country. opportunities and, more recently, keeping them viable with bailouts. I have no way of knowing whether the Scottish Government has given these companies money to keep them going. If so, they are complicit in the unfolding climate catastrophe and must turn away from fossil fuels and direct funding towards renewable alternatives, training workers to transition into jobs that will help to preserve, not kill the planet. Advertising Ban advertising that encourages Reduce consumption. Improve mental health. consumption of products such as cars that are heavily polluting, fast fashion, foods that are heavily processed or have travelled long distances, plastics, or consumption for the sake of consumption Establish proper Marine Fish farming should be banned Environmental impact...we have enough seas in Scotland to Protected taotally. Move to plant based diet. produce enough fish if that’s what people want to eat. However it areas...ban needs far better regulation. fish farms. Ban Cars Where Cars are some of the largest polluters Cars are killing us. They were installed with the help of the oil Alternatives on the planet and some of the most industry so to fix all the probems they brought us we must remove Exist unneccesary ones too. If public cars. transport were more reliable and free (achievable via public ownership) then people would be happy to leave their

slow, polluting cars.

Cars make places less friendly, make the streets more dangerous, and emit many bad gasses that make people sick! Please remove them so my children will not die :) The Scottish Background to the 100% renewable Government energy in Scotland targetThe idea is Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland said, in should set a encapsulated in following wording: support of the petition concerning setting a 100 per cent renewable target of ‘The Scottish Parliament should energy (including all energy) target for Scotland : ‘It may be just a acheiving commit to a target of sourcing 100 per small step, but signing this petition will send a signal that we need ALL of its cent of all energy used in Scotland a genuine green energy future based on renewables rather than energy (not (not just electricity) from renewable some failing polluting system cooked up by multinationals just energy by 2045 or earlier to interested in preserving their fossil fuel or nuclear businesses electricity) complement the established legal goal under a green facade’. from of achieving net zero greenhouse gas renewable emissions in Scotland by 2045. This Actions by the Scottish Parliament energy by would be assumed to be achieved 2045 at the when a) the annual Scottish The petition calls upon the Scottish Parliament to commit to a latest renewable energy production is a least target of sourcing 100 per cent of all energy used in Scotland (not as much as total annual Scottish just electricity) from renewable energy by 2045, or earlier. This will energy consumption and b) all non complement the established legal goal (of the Scottish Parliament) electricity consumption in Scotland is of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland by sourced from renewable energy.’ This 2045. This would be assumed to be achieved when a) the annual is necessary because: Scottish renewable energy production is a least as much as total annual Scottish energy consumption and b) all non electricity a) otherwise plans may be made for consumption in Scotland is sourced from renewable energy. new nuclear and or fossil fuel carbon capture and storage (ccs) plants which A bill needs to be presented to the Scottish Parliament that will will either not materialise or which will amend, or supplement, the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction divert resources away from much Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 to incorporate the 100 per cent more sustainable renewable energy renewable energy target. such as offshore wind, onshore wind, solar pv, tidal or wave power. Scotland Following that the Scottish Government should establish a has easily enough renewable energy commission, aided by a Citizens Assembly discussion, to map out potential to supply the nations’ needs how the 100 per cent renewable energy target will be achieved. and export much renewable energy The pursuit of this target will present some new advantages. In elsewhere. particular the development of a decentralised system will not be b) the energy system needs to be held back by having to rely on having to incorporate unwieldy decentralised rather than centralised centralised fossil and nuclear systems, and there can be a clearer as the case now. A decentralised focus on how energy demand and buildings systems can be system involving the integration of steered towards a net greenhouse zero outcome by 2045. supply and demand through digitalised technologies fits well with renewable Public acceptance is likely to be higher than systems involving energy and storage systems and either fossil fuel systems with carbon and capture or nuclear power avoids the duplication and inflexibility (which is much more expensive anyway compared to renewable of fossil fuel and nuclear systems. energy). For example, there may be limited public support for more and different pipelines and gas supply infrastructure necessary for A petition for this is available to sign so-called ‘blue hydrogen requiring carbon dioxide removal. at https://100percentrenewableuk.org/ achieving-100pc-of-energy-in- Scotland has much more than enough renewable energy potential scotland-from-renewable-energy- petition Scotland can easily generate much more than is needed to supply all energy from renewable energy. Using figures from the Committee on Climate Change Scotland will need around 120 TWh of energy produced per year to meet Scotland’s energy

needs in an energy efficient scenario. If we include the offshore windfarms which are installed or for which there are already firm plans, as well as existing onshore wind and solar, there will be at least 120TWh being generated from renewable energy in Scotland by 2030.

In fact much more than this can be produced from onshore and offshore windfarms and other renewable energy sources including solar, tidal and wave. By developing Scotland’s offshore windfarm potential Scotland will be able to export a great deal of renewable energy to England and across interconnectors to the European continent. This is apparent from reports such as that published by the [LINK: https://www.iea.org/reports/offshore-wind-outlook- 2019]International Energy Agency on offshore wind[END LINK].

But fossil fuel use in buildings, industry and transport needs to be replaced by renewable energy to achieve a real 100 per cent renewable energy target – a Scottish 100 per cent renewable energy target cannot be achieved merely by exporting electricity since this could still leave much Scottish energy consumption supplied by fossil fuels. This also means that Scotland will need to use the most energy efficient socially just means to achieve this – including the most energy efficient buildings using heat pumps, or storage heaters in buildings where heat pumps are unsutiable.

Heat pumps use renewable energy much more efficiently than other systems. It is a versatile technology that can be used to serve individual housing units or district heating systems using large scale heat pumps. Cycling needs to be given the biggest priority in urban planning and sales of new all fossil fuel powered motor vehicles need to be banned by 2030 at the latest.

This is all economically possible if we are to invest in a green deal future for economic revival and ensure that Scotland’s energy needs are met by renewable energy sources which are much cheaper than costly and radioactive nuclear power.

We must deploy new balancing techniques

So far the National Grid has relied on conventional means to balance the grid, mainly using gas power stations, although more batteries and demand side measures are being deployed. These need to be stepped up. In addition programmes to develop and install techniques for long term storage of renewable energy need to be launched so that we can make the electricity grid more responsive to variable renewable energy supply. These include technologies such as [LINK: https://realfeed- intariffs.blogspot.com/2019/11/how-ammonia-beats-batteries-to- supply.html]ammonia[END LINK], [LINK: https://100percentrenewableuk.org/is-this-the-technology-that- makes-100-per-cent-energy-from-renewables-the-most-practical- solution]liquefied air[END LINK], [LINK: https://reneweconomy.com.au/german-utility-rwe-may-use-salt- caverns-as-renewable-flow-batteries- 36250/amp/?__twitter_impression=true]‘flow’ batteries[END LINK], [LINK: https://stateofgreen.com/en/partners/aarhus- university/news/water-balloon- tech/?utm_source=SoG+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5b381214a3- EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_09_09_02_28&utm_medium=email&ut

m_term=0_12f9cfabd4-5b381214a3-273169250]‘water balloon’ storage[END LINK] next to offshore windfarms and various other potentially promising techniques.

The need for peak power plant needs to be reduced through deployment of decentralised balancing techniques such as storage embedded in buildings (associated with solar pv systems and industrial storage systems) and so-called ‘vehicle to grid’ (V2G) schemes. Under V2G electric car batteries are used to store and supply electricity to the grid to even out the peak demand for electricity. The Government or energy consumers will not have to pay for the installation of these systems since the right incentive structures will encourage private companies to install these systems or, in the case of electric vehicles, to use a growing new resource that is mandated by other policy initiatives.

The [LINK: https://commonweal.scot/policy-library/renewables- scotland-2030-discussion-paper-how-transform-scotlands-energy- sector]Commonweal Energy Group[END LINK] have mapped out some practical steps that Scottish authorities and people can take in the short term.

Nuclear Power and fossil fuels

But these technologies undermine renewable energy. Time and money is wasted by spending it on nuclear power, and the nuclear power stations end up driving wind and solar power off the grid because in practice the nuclear power plant do not operate flexibly to balance renewable energy production. New nuclear power plant are proving extremely expensive and difficult to deliver. The history of nuclear power construction in the UK reveals that this is not a new problem, and we should not expect a dramatic reduction in costs and deliverability of nuclear power – all of this is in stark contrast to the falling costs and much quicker deliverability of renewable energy in Scotland. The decommissioning costs of nuclear power plant will have to be met by future generations.

Meanwhile plans by oil and gas interests to convert fossil fuels into ‘blue hydrogen’ will compete with efforts to develop markets for ‘green’ hydrogen derived from renewable energy. Not only that, but there are question marks about numerous issues surrounding blue hydrogen which have not been successfully addressed. Decarbonisation of natural gas is only partly successful in practice, much methane will still leak from the system, and a sustainable system of carbon storage still needs to be worked out. By comparison the technology of heating through heat pumps or storage heaters is well established, whilst the technology of supplying hydrogen through the gas network is not fully established, and for a long time hydrogen would be supplied as a small proportion of total gas supplies.

END Devolve State Aid Powers to The Scottish Government should work If we want to be able to carry out the massive investment needed the Scottish with trade unions to obtain state aid to save the planet then the Scottish Parliament needs these Parliament powers for Scotland. We have these powers. They have been used as an excuse not to give contracts powers under the Scotland Act 1998, to BiFab yards in Fife, an industry which is vital for any Green however we subsequently Industrial Revolution. If the Government is not able or willing to surrendered them when we joined the take a simple step such as aiding Scottish industry then this will

European Union. State aid powers are continue to be outsourced overseas. Outsourcing overseas carries required to invest in the economy. The many issues, there is the issue surrounding good quality jobs and extent of these powers are far the extra emissions which come with shipping. The BiFab yards reaching. Councils and governments are only one example, the same excuse was used to sit idley as are told they can not even mandate the Calidonian Railworks in Springburn were closed down. government contractors have Meaning trains will need to go down south for repairs, again minimum standards in regards to increasing emissions and resulting in a loss of jobs. The Scottish workers rights, above what is required Government must be resolute in calling for a devolution of these by law. powers to Holyrood, not to Westminster, and not to Brussels. Take time Take time to be quiet and reflect on My idea is important because this is our chance to make a very the seriousness of what you are about real difference and we must use it wisely and with compassion to do together, before you even start discussing.

Imagine how the world could be in just 10 years time if we continue the way that we are.

And then imagine the world as we would like it to be for our children and our grandchildren and all of creation and imagine how we can get there if we all work together.

Listen to each other, be open and don't be constrained by what 'can't be done'.

Urgent actions for an I propose that the assembly be invited As argued above, it would ensure some positive steps happen as emergency to arrive at a list of 5 priority actions soon as possible, and that it would help convey the sense of situation that should be implemented with as urgency which I believe is critical. When faced with a very big immediate effect as possible challenge it can be tempting to provaricate, try to work out a total (recognising that in some cases solution,rather than get stuck in to starting to take positive action emergency legislation is likely to need (even if the individual actions seem inadequate given the scale of to be passed). The main reason for the problem. This idea would help to overcome that inertia and this proposal would be to engender a give momentum to the need for further change.... sense of urgency across society (as well as of course to make sure we start taking some positive steps without delay). In order that these can be introduced very quickly they are unlikely to include measures of great complexity, but simple steps that can be implemented within weeks (in the same way as had to be done becuase of the Covi 19 pandemic).

For example, a simple measure that could be considered as a priority action could be a reduction in the speed limit on our roads to 60mph for dual carriageways/motorways, 50 instead of 60mph for all other roads not subject to lower limits, 40mph zones would become 30mph and 30mph zones would become 20mph

zones... This would not only reduce the amount of fossil fuel being used with immediate effect and stop some of the awful waste (human and economic resulting from accidents), but be a clear reminder to everyone that we can and must make changes - but life can go on albeit differently, other benefits woould be it might help to start shaping behaviour about personal decisions about modes of transport and car purchasing decisions (perhaps especially if the cuts in speed limit were slightly greater - or flagged to be likely to redice further soon).

This is obviously just an example priority (although a good one in my opinion)...

Scotland Decarbonisati working to decarbonise travel and My idea is important when achieved will create a green clean on Road energy for homes and businesses and energy and protect the environment Show addressing the priorities of local people.

Promotion of the use of renewable energy and e[END LINK]nergy efficiency by creation of a green credit line to fund projects.

Promotion of the use of cleaner means of transport in a bid to decarbonize the travel industry which is Scotland’s largest climate impacting sector

Provision of investment grants to encourage the growth of sustainable buildings/ city projects that are fully dependent on renewables for heating and are more energy efficient in the over all consumption of energy

Mapping and identification of communities/ economic sectors in Scotland to identify areas of existing high energy demands peculiar to them then targeting them with a tailor-made approach which will include but not limited to:

- Massive awareness creation via formal and informal media platforms

- Development of communication,

information tools and marketing campaigns

- Town hall meetings for sensitizations

- Capacity building and knowledge transfer

- Organizing of competitions at different levels of the education sectors

- Rewards for proven energy savings

- Govt providing subsidized/ free energy audits for small and medium scale industries to determine areas needing improvements in their factories

- Govt. providing incentives inform of tax cuts etc . to products produced in an energy efficient manner.

- Embark on more Campaigns for reuse, recycle and tree planting Education We need to ensure that all children get Unless we have the facts to identify the problem and the an education in Carbon Literacy, why solutions, we cannot act wisely. our planet is warming, how this is causing Climate Disruption and what we can do about it, both personally and as a country.

Over the last year, much of the discussion has been driven by young people - Greta Thunberg spearheaded a huge movement across many countries. We must not let this opportunity to listen to our young people (who tell us to liten to the scientists!) pass without taking action.

Also, all households should receive a summary of this information and how to calculate their carbon footprint.

There is a wealth of information already in print which can be used - Zero Carbon Britain from Centre for Alternative Technology for example. Use an Environmenta Introduce a tax for products with high This would encourage businesses to reduce their climate impact, l Harm Tax to C02 emissions costs. but with flexibility. The data from assesssments can be made encourage public to empower consumers to make informed choices. change The idea is similar to other taxes on products with harmful side-effects: alcohol, cigarettes, and the new sugar tax.

The obvious thing to tax is C02 emissions per ton (including other climate change gases like methane via a C02 equivalent amount, and minus any verifiable offsets).

Administering it would be complex - the end-to-end carbon cost of a product is hard to assess. To help with this, the tax could be introduced one class of products at a time, and would involve some banding (as we have with council tax rates). A default band for each product could be used for unassessed suppliers.

E.g. imported apples from an unassessed supplier would pay more than locally produced apples. But still less than e.g. meat, as apples are unlikely to be a high-carbon product. And the importer could apply for assessment to reduce the tax if they can demonstrate good practices.

Local Work Hubs Working remotely -- and remote Reducing travel would reduce carbon emissions. meetings -- reduces travel and hence carbon emissions. Plus there are other Remote working has benefits, but is overall harmful to personal benefits to flexible working. Lockdown wellbeing, and to commercial innovation & creativity. has proved that many companies can work remotely. But remote This proposal aims to address this, plus use remote-working to work has a high human cost - remote strengthen local community. working isolates people. For business, it also reduces the casual conversations which are a key source of creativity and innovation.

So how can we get the benefits of remote work, without the downsides?

Local work hubs provide an answer. Establish co-working spaces across the country, where people can work for a geographically distributed company, yet have local colleagues.

This could begin with the Scottish Government - an employer so large, it could setup its own small offices in many towns (especiallly around the major cities, where there are commuting staff).

Thinking wider, we could encourage a range of local work hubs, with a mix

of both community owned and privately run hubs. Have Environmenta Just like we have food health ratings This idea is important because it can help shift all manufactures l Impact on food products, we could implement and product makers to think conciously of their environmental Ratings on all environamental impact ratings on all impact as it will be apparent on their product. I will also drive products products. Make a universal rating change to a more environmentally firendly society by allowing system for enviroamental imapct and consumers to drive change by being able to choose low impactful require all manufacturers to show the products over high impactful products. impact their product makes on the envoriment. This will allow consumers A small change that can allow environental impact to be driven by to easily identify what products are the consumer in an easier fashion than the current system. bad for the environment and push manufacturers to become more evironamental so they can boast good impact ratings.

Environmenta l Tax and Bring out a financial system that taxes This will make a system that financially incentivises companies to Subsidies those negatively impacting the leave a positive impact on the enviroment. enviroment and subsidies (or lower tax/ tax breaks) for those positively benefiting the enviroment.

End fossil fuels by I support all these ideas for increasing Any plan to decarbonise the economy needs to address the fact buying renewable energy production. that the oil and gas industry has no intention whatsoever of substantial However, if governments aross the voluntarily doing this. Every claim they make about investing in shares in oil world do not have a plan to green energy or zero carbon targets turns out to be tokenistic or and gas simultaniously wind down fossil fuel greenwash when compared with their actual actions. Governments companies production emissions will continue to must intervene if they are serious about reducing emissions and rise and the overall plan to avoid full this is a solution which has already worked in a country not that climate breakdown will fail. different from Scotland.

The only oil and gas company that has a comprehensive plan to move away from fossil fuels and into 100% renewables is Ørsted A/S. What makes this company unique is that they 51% of the shares are owned by the Danish government. A company with typical shareholders would never do this - why would they when they are still making huge profits from fossil fuels? Only national governments, taking into account the long-term interests of their citizens, are in a position to do this.

Therefore, my suggestion is to buy 51% shares in any oil and gas company. Work with other governments to do likewise. We need a plan to actively steer us all away from fossil fuels and this is a proven solution that should be scaled up immediately. Net Zero policy must Current reported GHG emissions, We must reduce GLOBAL greenhouse gas emissions. Focusing

include targets, and policy focus on territorial purely on the emissions produced within Scotland terretorial consumption emissions. boundary and ignoring the emissions embedded in the products emissions. we buy from overseas (for example electric vehicles), takes us Scotland's reported (terretorial) down a path of political gameplay, rather than actually tackling the greenhouse gas emissions have climate emergency. fallen, due mainly to shitting down coal fired power We must treat the emergency as an emergency. I beleive this stations. https://www.gov.scot/publicat must start by being honest about the impact we as a nation have ions/scottish-greenhouse-gas- on global emissions, and not shying away from it becuase it is emissions-2017/ uncomfortable or politically undesirable. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! However, Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions must also include embodied emissions, eg the emissions produced overseas by factories, shipping, agriculture etc which produce the products we consume. This is known as 'consumption emissions', which the Scottish Government confusingly reffered to as "Scotland's Carbon footprint": https://www.gov.scot/public ations/scotlands-carbon-footprint- 1998-2016/

(Note the last official report on the gov. website us from 2016 data - eg this method appears to have been dropped) Overpopulati on I anticipate that this will be a deeply The hyper-exponential growth of the human population is one of unpopular post, but somebody has to the key drivers, if not the ultimate driver of the processes that are make this point. The most leading to climate change. Therefore climate change cannot fundamental problem facing us as a effectively be stemmed without addressing the issue of species and the ecosystems of this overpopulation at a global level. planet that we call home is that the human population has grown and continues to grow out of control. To suggest this in recent years has become politically and socially unacceptable. Nevertheless it remains a fundamental ecological truth that, for any species, the ecosystems it occupies have limited resources and capacity to deal with the wastes that they produce. Ultimately, when the population of the species reaches that limit (the carrying capacity), mortality rates increase and fertility rates decrease as a result of, for example starvation, disease or indeed the toxic effects of their own metabolic waste (pollution). From that point onwards population sizes may oscillate around the carrying capacity, undergo dramatic cycles of decline and re- growth or collapse altogether.

Up to now, for most of the recorded history of our species, we have been able to inflate the carrying capacity of our ecosystems through our application of technology in agriculture, civil engineering and medicine. However, the costs of these technological fixes have been huge in terms of biodiversity loss and massive increases in the release of greenhouse gasses.

Fundamentally further expansion of the human population will result in:

* Increased demand for food, resulting in huge amounts of GHGs being released as a result of land cultivation, machinery use, fertiliser and pesticide production etc * Continued clearance of forests etc for more crop production further reducing the capability of the planet to buffer the increased emissions of GHGs * Pollution of water courses and therefore oceans. This again will further reduce the GHG buffering capacity of the planet * The pollution of and loss of natural habitats will drive further loss of biodiversity * Increasingly dense human populations will be much more vulnerable to epidemics * Human incursions into previously uninhabited or very sparsely inhabited habitats brings the risk of introducing previously unknow pathogens into the human population

No-one can be sure what the Earth’s carrying capacity for humans might be. However the consequences of exceeding that capacity are awful to contemplate. Surely we cannot wish them on our children or grandchildren.

Of course, population control on a global level is not any Scottish government could effect directly and

attempts at population control in some countries have resulted in scandalous abuse of Human Rights. Any measures to encourage population controls will meet huge opposition from some political and religious entities. But the Scottish Government should any any influence and power that it may have to highlight the problem of population growth and to facilitate and encourage locally appropriate programmes.

How does one begin to address the population problem? I would suggest two important starting points. Poverty and education, especially education of women.

In general, average fertility rates in populations have been inversely related to general wealth. As with so many environmental problems, overpopulation will not be addressed effectively unless the significant inroads are made into alleviating global poverty.

At the risk of a gross oversimplification, it does seem that the better educated society member are then the smaller the average family size is. This might be because within that society there will be less poverty. It might also be because there is a better understanding that large families are not necessarily beneficial and that smaller families means more resources available to each family member. Education of the women in society would seem to be especially significant. It was shown some years ago that the more women understood about their own biology and fertility the more likely they were to try to limit their family size. Of course, at a practical level, this depends upon the men in the society having sufficient respect for their women partners to honour their fertility wishes -more work for education.

In the context of education, there is

another area in which both governments and private individuals can play a significant ‘educational’ role. Fertility control is anathema within a number of religions/denominations. Religious leaders and local clerics alike should be lobbied to encourage a re- assessment of the doctrines that discourage fertility control. Protect Jobs and the With the move away from fossil fuels a We do not want to alienate people while we transition to a green vulnerable lot of workers in those industries will society. when moving become redundant. We must make to a green sure we offer support and new jobs to society. those people so there is not a wave of unemployment. There should be systems and support in place for those working in industries that will become redundant.

We should also try and make sure that the vunerable do not lose out on the switch to a green society. Things such as making flights only availble to the rich by extremely high prices or a system that allows those with more moeny to have more liberties and negatively affect the enviorment more so than those without money. Any pushes to a green society should include blanket implementations that affects everyone equally. Ensure buses and trains Ensure all buses and bikes allow bike This is greatly enhance integration across public transport, allow bike transportation. recognising the importance of cutting journey times and allowing transport people greater ease and freedom of travel. It also encourages active travel among those less used to it, removing barriers through reducing the fear of getting 'caught in rush hour traffic', 'cycling home in the dark', 'going too far'. Don't green, but Grassy verges, roundabouts and Mown, monoculture grass is a biological desert, yet its what we multicolour, underused areas should be allowed to continually strive for. It greatly reduces habitat, insect life, and soil our unused flower. We need to stop mowing and biodiversity, all of which are essential to ecosystem resilience. The spaces! stop spraying and allow wildflowers to chemicals we use to control 'weeds' are polluting our environment, infiltrate our unused spaces. damaging our air quality and impacting our health. Wildflowers bring life to our urban spaces, connect people with nature, and Local councils should be encouraged cost a lot less to maintain than pesitcides and lawn mowers. to bring back biodiversity and banned from spraying harmful pesticides on public land for percieved aesthetic purposes. Support to fully insulate Scotland does not have a warm The average duration of home ownership for any property is less all the older climate and we need to move away than 10 years and it does not make sense for the majority of home homes in from fossil fuel heating. We need to owners to commit the level of investment needed to fully insulate Scotland retrospectively insulate all the older their older home as they are not likely to live in the property long homes in Scotland - including victorian enough to see a return on capital. Indeed most home owners and and pre-victorian properties, both certainly most, if not all, tenants could not affod to make such an

houses and tenement buildings. Most investment. It will, therefore, be necessary for the government to of these could benefit from much support such an investment with grants and to legistlate to set better double glazing, loft insulation insulation standards. Such a programme of property investment and improved internal wall insulation would not only significantly reduce energy consumption it would (with appropriate ventilation methods). provide jobs and boost the economy as well as reducing the Solar panels could be fitted to roofs, energy bills of the poorest in the community. even of tenements. Less fuel hungry heating boilers could be installed - It would be a sustainable investment in Scotland's future. especially the type that in future could use hydrogen.

Reduce meat consumption Reduce consumption of meat through The burning of fossil fuels for energy and animal agriculture are for health and focused health strategies, promotional two of the biggest contributors to global warming, along with planet campaigns, education. Reduce meat deforestation. at schools. This also has positive impact on health and animal welfare Animal agriculture is responsible for 13–18% of human-caused as well as the planet. greenhouse gas emissions globally, and less in developed countries.

Meat consumption is also linked to Amazon deforestation and wild fires.

The intensive production of livestock is tearing down our forests, polluting our water, shifting the climate, and putting human health at risk.

Reducing our consumption of meat would also benefit our health. Develop simplistic People who want to do the right thing, Consumers must be empowered to make informed decisions if method to aid don't always do the right thing. This they are to engage with the issue of climate. sustainable can be intentional misleading by decision companies, incomplete information, or Companies will be incentivised to increase their environmental making. information that is too complex for ratings across all products if this is visible and accessible to their quick decision making. customers.

We must find a way to guide people in Manfucturers are incentivised to create new innovative, genuinely the decisions they make. One sustainable alternatives to meet market demand. example is 'carbon traffic light labels', however there are no doubt many other ingenious methods that would work, intergrating this with apps, or product sustainability fact sheets for example. Pedestrianise our city Close town and city centres to private To make our streets more liveable, bring life and community back centres vehicles to our high streets and crucially lower air pollution and CO2 emissions. Congestion charges in Introduce a congestion charge to city To reduce air pollution and CO2 emissions in our most densely major city centres (this could be graded populated areas. Bring shoppers back to the high street and make centres according to age and type of vehicle) bus, tram and active travel more appealing More low- traffic Block through roads in housing Make our towns and cities more liveable, clean the air, improve neighbourho estates with wildflower planters. physical health and reduce air pollution and CO2 emissions ods

End all Fossil Fuel Scotland should (in addition to ending Multiple sources of evidence show that there are already too many Exploration fossil fuel subsidies) end all new extraction sites for coal, oil and gas for humankind to meet the licences for fossil fuel exploration. If Paris this is a reserved matter, the Scottish goals: https://twitter.com/Bankfieldbecky/status/128040415967469 government should lobby the UK 1585?s=20 government to, as potently, end all new licences for fossil fuel exploration. Hence, any additional fossil fuel licences imperil the Paris goals even further. A managed decline (a degrowth, even?) of these industries is required to even be Paris compliant. Free Public Transport We’re demanding a world-class, fully- The coronavirus crisis has proved that public transport is an integrated and accessible public essential public service to get our key-workers to their jobs. It has transport network – free at the point of also laid bare the absurdities of running our public transport on a use. for-profit basis. The need to maximise profits from fares is not compatible with current social distancing guidance. When services Over the last few years[LINK: were reduced during lockdown, they ended up costing us more to https://www.getglasgowmoving.org/rep run. The Scottish Government has already bailed-out failing orts/farefreebuses.pdf] [END private bus companies by more than £300 million. This should be LINK][LINK: an opportunity to buy back our buses, so that they can be run in https://www.getglasgowmoving.org/rep the public good for the long term. orts/farefreebuses.pdf]hundreds of forward-thinking cities[END LINK] There are many ways to improve the safety of our public transport across the world – from[LINK: and public control is central to them all. If we own and run our own https://www.vox.com/the- buses, then we control the safety for staff and passengers. We can goods/2019/12/17/21026425/kansas- improve pay, conditions and training for staff. And we can deliver city-free-bus-system] [END far more frequent and reliable services for passengers to reduce LINK][LINK: https://www.vox.com/the- overcrowding, and better plan the routes to speed-up journey goods/2019/12/17/21026425/kansas- times and minimise the need to change. We can upgrade the fleet city-free-bus-system]Kansas[END to zero-emissions electric buses and make them more spacious, LINK] to[LINK: https://www.calais- with air-conditioning and multiple entrances and exits.[LINK: cotedopale.co.uk/practical/parking- #_ftn1][1][END LINK] and-local-transport/public-transport- networks] [END LINK][LINK: We need to use this crisis as an opportunity to build back a far https://www.calais- better public transport network, which actually serves our needs cotedopale.co.uk/practical/parking- and helps us meet the many challenges of the decade ahead. and-local-transport/public-transport- Once the pandemic has passed, we will be faced with a massive networks]Calais[END LINK] – are economic crisis and a climate emergency that is not going upgrading their public transport away.[LINK: #_ftn2][2][END LINK] Building a world-class, fully- networks and making them free for integrated and accessible public transport network – free at the everyone to use. This radical policy is point of use – will provide the thousands of high quality, ready to a necessary one: to address the go green jobs that we’ll urgently need for our city to make a just climate emergency and gross and green recovery.[LINK: #_ftn3][3][END LINK] inequalities in our society. [LINK: #_ftnref1][1][END LINK] During the crisis, publicly-controlled Free public transport benefits buses in London were made free so that passengers did not need everyone, but especially those living to make contact with the driver to pay fares. on poverty pay or benefits, young people, women, black and ethnic [LINK: #_ftnref2][2][END LINK] By the end of 2020, as many as 1 minorities – who all rely on public in 3 young Scots could be unemployed as a result of the transport more. In a city like Glasgow coronavirus crisis. with such low car-ownership (49% of households), free public transport [LINK: #_ftnref3][3][END LINK] Scot.E3, 2020, [LINK: would have a dramatic effect in http://scote3.net/2020/06/23/act-now-save-lives-save-jobs-save- reducing social isolation and lifting the-planet/]Act Now: save lives, save jobs, save the planet[END people out of poverty. LINK]

Last year, Glasgow City Council agreed the ambitious target to reduce

the city’s emissions to net-zero by 2030, and[LINK: https://www.getglasgowmoving.org/rep orts/cewg_recommendations.pdf#pag e=10] [END LINK][LINK: https://www.getglasgowmoving.org/rep orts/cewg_recommendations.pdf#pag e=10]agreed[END LINK] to undertake a ‘formal assessment of the potential for making the transition to a public transport system that is free to use’.

The Free Our City coalition has been founded to ensure this ‘assessment’ becomes action, and that this policy becomes a reality sooner, rather than later. We don’t have time to waste. Reliance on private cars is the main cause of carbon emissions and toxic air pollution in our city.[LINK: https://www.bringbackbritishrail.org/re ports/climateemergency.pdf#page=2] [END LINK]In order to meet the 2030 target, car mileage will have to be cut by as much as 60% in the next ten years.[LINK: #_ftn1][1][END LINK] We need to provide universal and comprehensive active travel and public transport networks, so that everyone can fully-participate in the social and economic life of our city without need or aspiration to own a car.

Free public transport also has economic benefits which far outweigh the cost of running it – returning £1.70 to the economy for every £1 spent,[LINK: #_ftn2][2][END LINK] and it can[LINK: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate- change/why-we-need-climatefriendly- free-bus-travel] [END LINK][LINK: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate- change/why-we-need-climatefriendly- free-bus-travel]pay for itself[END LINK] in increased tax receipts. But it is only practical and cost-effective to deliver with full public control of the whole public transport network.[LINK: #_ftn3][3][END LINK] We must therefore use all new powers available in the Transport Act 2019 to re- regulate our bus network (under ‘franchising’) and set up a publicly- owned bus company for Greater Glasgow to take over routes and reconnect the communities left stranded by cuts by private bus

companies.

[LINK: #_ftnref1][1][END LINK] Transport for Quality of Life, 2019, [LINK: https://www.transportforqualityoflife.co m/u/files/8%20A%20Radical%20Trans port%20Response%20to%20the%20 Climate%20Emergency.pdf]A Radical Transport Response to the Climate Emergency[END LINK], p.2

[LINK: #_ftnref2][2][END LINK] Jeff Turner, 2020, [LINK: https://www.getglasgowmoving.org/rep orts/freebuses.pdf#page=1]How Much Will Free Buses for Glasgow Cost and What are the Benefits?[END LINK], p.1

[LINK: #_ftnref3][3][END LINK] Transport for Quality of Life, 2019, [LINK: https://www.transportforqualityoflife.co m/u/files/8%20A%20Radical%20Trans port%20Response%20to%20the%20 Climate%20Emergency.pdf]A Radical Transport Response to the Climate Emergency[END LINK], p.4 Planning system Currently, we are still allowing new Cars require large amounts of energy both to manufacture, and to should not houses and business premises to be move around (currently provided almost entirely by fossil fuels), allow car built where car is the only (or by far and are a major source of emissions in Scotland. Greater car dependent the most convenient) way to access dependence increases the difficulty of electrifying the car fleet and development them. The Scottish Planning system providing it with sufficient low carbon electricity. s should be changed to be strongly prejudiced against new developments that require (or encourage) car use. Nationalise all energy Nationalise all energy companies so To ensure private energy companies don't pollute our contry such companies as the Government can enforce only as Inoes importing fracking gas from america when we have renewable and environmental energy banned fracking in scotland. is produced and used. Ensure rapid decarbonisati We must move beyond net zero In the face of unprecedented rates of global warming, on with targets and get going on the near-term governments have to show their accountability by listening to ambitious climate action, or we will never scientists and following the precautionary principle. What kind of near-term achieve our net zero targets. Other organization would adopt policies based on a 50-60% chance of targets ideas flag up ways of doing this, but viability? A highly irresponsible one. Yet this is this government’s the timescale is in itself an important current course. The pathway identified in the CCC report can only item of discussion. be described as a blatant failure to follow the precautionary principle. It only achieves a 66% chance of keeping within 2°C, and a 50-66% chance of keeping within 1.5°C. Many scientists deem 2°C a dangerous gamble, not only for countries of the Southern Hemisphere where millions more would suffer from water shortages, malnutrition, mass migrations, and ensuing conflict, but also here in Scotland: the likely impact of such a temperature rise on our ability to source food and water reliably as early as 2050 is an unacceptable risk. This government must honour its statutory

duty of care towards this country, and lower the odds of a 2°C rise to 5-10%. Adopting ‘world leading’ targets is all but meaningless if the changes simply fall short of what is necessary and sufficient to preserve our existence, health and safety. Tax Companies Mega corporations such as Google, Read above Appropriately Amazon and Facebook knowingly manage to tax dodge each individual year. This is unacceptable, especially with how well known this is by the general people. These companies profit of exploiting both the planet and their workers yet contribute nothing towards the general economy of the countries their stationed.

Accountability needs to be held, especially during an economic recession. Net Zero Targets Include aviation and international Read above. shipping in net zero carbon targets to make them real.

Idea Comment Walking, cycling Invest in more safer cycling and walking routes in the countryside as well as the town. Reduce speed and scooting limits to 20mph in towns and villages. Walking, cycling Green corridors connecting both urban and rural areas across the country. These would benefit and scooting biodiversity, but would also provide safe routes for recreational travel. Could be managed by farmers and other landowners who would also be practicing, and being compensated for, biodiversity cultivation. Walking, cycling Use the superblock model trialled in Barcelona for a massive reduction in car spaces and banning and scooting cars from most streets in cities due to their poor space use efficiency. Use these new spaces to make cycle, walk, and wheeling routes through the city.

Increase provision of secure bicycle parking areas. Walking, cycling Reduce speed limits altogether. 20mph in all towns and villages, 40 or at a pinch 50mph on all non- and scooting dualled roads (60mph on rural roads is hell for cyclists and walkers), and 60mph max on all dualled trunk roads and motorways. Ban non-essential vehicles from town/city centres. Increase massively tax on vehicles that are designed to do speeds over 70mph - sorry, that's probably not a devolved possible. Walking, cycling See my comments under Infrastructure. and scooting

Society should treat Public transport, Active Travel and Personal Mobility as Equally Deserving of Investment from national and local authorities. Walking, cycling Massive investment in meaningful, safe, cycling infrastructure, connecting the suburbs to the nearby and scooting cities, as well in and around them. Speed limits much as MQLear suggested, with a limit of 40mph on narrow, twisty rural roads. (The proposed new 'hierarchy of responsibility' for road-users is already making a difference, even though it is not yet law.)

Substantial increase in taxes for vehicles with unnecessarily powerful engines, such as SUVs and 'performance' cars. (I do not include 4x4s necessary for industrial use.)

How about an end to such frivolities as Formula 1 racing, vintage car rallies, monster truck demos, vintage/veteran cars being used daily for transport (the fumes are awful and seem to hang around for ages) etc., etc? Walking, cycling Most journeys within cities and towns are fairly short and could easily be done by active/public travel. and scooting However, currently the system favours car journeys as many shops are on the outskirts with huge car parks. So distributing shops would be good as it also revitalises local areas. Another huge benefit to active/public transport is that kids who are too young to drive can do it by themselves, making them more independent. Walking, cycling All ideas put forward to promote cycling are good. More provision for cycling and safe cycling will and scooting encourage more people to use bicycle with following benefits: less traffic on roads, less traffic congestion, less road accidents, reduce use of carbon fuels, reduce pollution, healthier populace, reduce NHS costs, reduce sick pay, more money in pockets for cycle commuters ...... etc Walking, cycling Massive drive to promote Cycling. and scooting Embed cycling in the National culture

Launch a “Scotland is cycle friendly campaign” - good for our health, climate and tourism.

- all children at age 8 to take new Updated cycling proficiency test at school with funded trained examiners and bikes to try.

- when complete given a voucher to buy a bike or add to a bike purchase

- all schools given money to provide proper lockable bike storage.

- competitions and media events to promote cycling. Visits to schools. Events in the community. celebrities become bike champions. Local businesses provide sponsorship.

- towns competing to become “cycle friendly” and win additional infrastructure prizes and sponsorship.

- cycling festivals every summer

Amend driving test to incorporate a compulsory “consideration of all road users” emphasis - Incorporating a pyramid of user vulnerability and emphasis on sharing the infrastructure. Cars not at the top of the pyramid anymore. Safe passing a mandatory test requirement.

The more people that cycle and the more visible cycling is, the better the acceptance from all road users. Cycling should be the norm for short distances. No one has to get into Lycra to enjoy the convenience and health benefits!

Walking, cycling Reduce speed limits in all cities, towns and villages to 20mph. A maximum of 50mph on B roads and and scooting 60mph only on specific A roads . My experience of driving the A9 since the average speed cameras has completely changed, it feels a much safer and more pleasant route to use.

A massive shift from road building to cycling infrastructure is needed. All city and twin centres should be pedestrianized. Walking, cycling Scotland should initiate regular car-free days in all the cities, to encourage the wider use of cycling and scooting and walking. Maybe once a month to start, then move to once a week. And for the rest of the week, 20 mph speed limit in all built-up areas.

Use the car-free days to review what infrastructure is required to improve the cycling / walking experience (and catering too for people with limited mobility), and to build into budgets the provision of that infrastructure. Walking, cycling Most people rely on their cars because we have a car-dependent mindset in the UK. Compare our car and scooting use with that of e.g. Netherlands, Switzerland. Education needed, for all ages.

Car clubs should be encouraged. Walking, cycling Ownership of two cars at one address should incur increased road tax for second vehicle. and scooting Walking, cycling We need to stop relying on the car. we need to prioritise bikes and the use of public transport. Cars and scooting should be banned form city centres. Car shares should be encouraged. Walking, cycling Promoting walking, cycling and scooting MUST go hand in hand with deprioritising spending on the and scooting private vehicle. The sustainable travel hierarchy must be properly used to influence investment in roads, including maintenance, and redesigning places to live. Reducing the dominance of the private vehicle is difficult because it means changing ingrained behaviours and public perceptions of freedom. That's why government must use its powers to make it harder to drive as well as promoting green and clean alternatives like walking, cycling and scooting. And its not just about turning every fossil fuel car into an electric car - otherwise we don't address congestion on the roads or the inactivity related health crisis. Walking, cycling Reducing speed limits as has been suggested above - make driving less of an easy, quick option. and scooting You will only get enough folk cycling especially with kids if the roads and cycle routes are safe, and joined up. Reducing speed limits for cars would be a great step towards this. Walking, cycling Some great ideas here - Edinburgh neighbourhood place idea for planning (so shops, services etc) and scooting are designed into plans for development care free also really helpful framework. Can we also look for in it together opportunities- there is such a risk of different groups being pitted against each other

(cyclist, car owner, small business van, asthma sufferer, Walker, bus user) rather than it being framed as we may all be all of these things at different times. We all rely upon small businesses/traders getting to deliver/build/repair etc and no-one wants them to be stuck in traffic so how do we prioritise supporting them to have access to electric vehicles, easier parking etc AND encourage them to support real safe cycling, car free zones - just 1 idea about how to frame issue beyond sectional conflict. Can we use bus adverts for free/cheap adverts to thank all sorts of people for not being in a car for 1 more journey (for carbon, reduced queuing, less pollution) so Monday cycle, Tuesday catch bus, Wednesday car shared, Thursday slept in, took car as late, Friday walked with children, Saturday day out with family, Sunday shopping delivered by electric vehicle etc. Every journey matters....so that there is broad support for all the infrastructure changes that are needed to really reduce car use (even electric private vehicles). Walking, cycling Lots of good ideas here more so for specific situations urban/suburbs. We should look at examples of and scooting best practice before we do any knee jerk reactions, eg Perth Australia where cycle system is largely separate; Norway- Stavanger where the interaction of traffic and cars is integrated and predetermined by cyclists movement, ie anticipatory crossings. But this all requires huge investment and the question is how to change to allow realistic funding to kick start example projects to then rollout. Also some parts of Scotland are very rural. This involves considerable distance in challenging conditions and we need to make transport communications effective and pragmatic here without making things unfair elsewhere. Some folk have no other realistic option, folk living in some challenging parts/rural sectors do require large engined 4x4‘S and this should also be recognised in the change to a cycling approach. Walking, cycling Cycle lanes must be completely physically separated from roads with vehicles, for safety, to give and scooting people the confidence in their safety and to ensure respect for the designated use. Road markings don't work, they're not respected, cars and vans park in so called "cycle lanes" all the time, it is more dangerous to have to move in and out of a supposed cycle lane, than to take up space on the road and stay there. There will also be tension between walkers and wheelers and cyclists and it's essential that the different forms of active travel are given their own space, to avoid accidents and improve efficiency of travel. There needs to also be a lot of education about safe and respectful use of lanes, ensuring enjoyment for all. Employers will also need to be brought on board, providing wherever possible, secure and dry bike lock up, showers and space to dry travel clothing. It should also be acknowledged that, as with everything, embracing active travel is going to be harder for those with less. For example, it's all very well to say "there's not such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing", if you can afford breathable, fully waterproof gear that keeps you dry, warm or cool as needed and wicks away your sweat, but if you can only afford the cheapest "waterproof" which will have you drenched in sweat within 5 minutes of doing anything active, and you work somewhere without showers, space to change, somewhere to dry your clothes, the idea of actively travelling to work is going to be impossible. Walking, cycling Replace car based journeys with journeys by public transport or active travel though excellent and scooting information and publicity plus improved alternatives. Discourage car idling. Walking, cycling Safe cycle routes (with separation from motor vehicles) need to be prioritised, rather than treated as and scooting an add-on to roads. In some cases one lane from a road or a dual carriageway could be converted into a separate cycle lane. Transport The sector for the most part should be brought back under public ownership in order to direct profits into the communities that operate and use the service. Transport Tax and limit air travel, ban internal flights particularly private jets. Improve trains. Have frequent buses, eg every hour on the trunk road A75 between Dumfries and Stranraer.

Free train and bus travel for everyone will massively increase use and decrease emitions.

Large taxation on new nonelectric vehicles.

Fund electric buses to increase their use on our roads

Transport Invest in community-owned, free public transport networks. This will create well-paid green jobs and make it easier to not use a car. Transport Hydrogen in all public transport.

More and more affordable public transport.

Invest in rail network.

Nationalise.

Tax air travel, especially short-haul, massively.

Regulate, limit or ban flying for fun. Transport Reliable, affordable, comfortable public bus services (that can potentially be either in public of private ownership) but that create a viable attractive alternative as an incentive for people to use instead of private cars. While waiting for a long time at a cold miserable bus stop in the rain for an unreliable and overcrowded service remains the alternative, for many people a fast comfortable car ride home remains (understandably) the preference.

It's also absurd that trains (particularly long distance) are more expensive than flying. Either flying has to be disincentivised (a higher carbon tax) or rail travel made more attractive through price, reliability and quality of service. That may mean public ownership.

Switching to electric cars is not necessarily a panacea if the electricity for charging is still from fossil fuels. Also electric batteries require mining of rare earth metals, either through highly destructive deep ocean-bed mining or from conflict zones. Investment in hydrogen fuel development a high priority. Transport In Rail, Scotland already has a good balance between public oversight and private operating companies. The recent achievements in electrification are the envy of railway people south of the border.

Rail's commitments to climate change are embedded in the report from Transport Scotland, 'Decarbonisation Action Plan' from July 2020. Voters should lobby their representatives to deliver on this.

Bus companies are actively switching to electric. National Express has already bought it's last diesel bus.

I'm going to shout here: "HYDROGEN IS NOT A SILVER BULLET." Hydrogen has immense potential to add to the mix of zero-carbon technologies, but it will take one or two decades to be 'mainstream'. Government can still support initiatives, but they won't make an impact until well into the 2030's. I base this assertion on the fact that experts have stated as much; consider how many decades it took for solar and wind to become economic.

Holyrood should continue the trend of offering free bus travel to specific groups (concession cards, young people up to 19). If the demand for buses improves, the services will follow.

I have other comments on Transport, included in the section, Infrastructure. Transport Electrification of railways is a must, and it is good to see that it is progressing, especially in Scotland. England has a lot of catching up to do.

Reopening railways to busy towns like St. Andrews should be high on the agenda as the town suffers badly from car traffic.

I would also recommend Cumnock and Maybole for station reopenings. The track is already there, they just need the stations rebuilding.

The railway from Alloa to Dunfermline should be reopened to passengers to allow direct travel from Stirling through to Fife.

The borders railway should be completed through to Carlisle, to create a third cross-border route and increase capacity for passengers and freight.

More freight needs to be transferred from road to rail. Timber, grains and bulk spirits are low-hanging fruit. The "Tesco train" to Inverness is a great initiative, and it might be worth investigating the possibility of other routes, to Ayr and Stranraer for instance. A pick-up goods service from Mossend could drop containers at Elderslie (the siding would have to be remodelled to allow trains to enter and exit from the south end of the yard), Ayr, and Stranraer, then pick up containers on the return journey. Transport Public ownership & free reliable public transport please. There was, I heard, research done on New York underground, that proved that free transport would not lose money, when you take into account the ticketing, inspectors, taking people to court etc. Also bring back conductors, who can help and support passengers. Creates jobs, Why not? Transport One commentator suggested banning internal flights. These however are vital for many island communities. We could continue with flying if we switch to renewables to supply the energy and avoid burning fuels in jet engines which create NOX.

Hydrogen powered flight is in its infancy at the moment but it could quickly become a feasible solution for flights from Scotlands island groups to Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Also within island groups such as the internal Orkney air service provided by Logan Air.

While travel from the central belt to England by train is feasible there are other routes from Scotland where air travel using renewables will be the most sensible solution. Belfast, Dublin, Bergen, Oslo, Copenhagen and many others where travel by train is not reasonably feasible. Transport Agree with Martin. We should not be trying to stop air travel. We should instead be trying to make it more carbon neutral. Hydrogen and electricity are the answers. - Provided the hydrogen is produced using excess renewable energy Transport Banning the sale of ICE (internal combustion engine) cars and vans should be bought forward to 2030 and should exclude all hybrids with an electric range of less than 50 miles.

By forcing the pace if this change the manufacturers will have to ramp up production. This will bring the price down to the ICE equivalent. In the short term price subsidies should continue.

Forcing the pace will also accelerate the availability of EVs in the second hand market and make them more affordable. Transport Most cities should introduce a pollution levy for vehicles. This levy should penalise the heavy polluters the most.

Alongside this the government needs to promote the switch to EV / hydrogen vans, lorries and buses. Transport " Transport (including international shipping and aviation) is the largest contributor to Scotland’s carbon footprint."

This is at the heart of the problem. We have built an economy based almost entirely based upon moving goods and people around at ever increasing speed and distance (and volume).

That this is unsustainable as well as absurd has been pointed out by many commentators over the last half century or more, but little has been done about it, because it is the basis of our 'growth- dominated' economic system.

Among earlier government consultation exercises, a 'scoping study' on climate change in Scotland (1999), transport was listed as the highest contributor, and the only one upon which no mitigating or preparatory ideas were suggested.

http://tipiglen.co.uk/crit2.html Transport Outer islands should be targeted for electric vehicle use, many have excellent Renewables resources, Wind mostly, nearly all suffer from punitive haulage charges for petrol and diesel. Going electric would be a win win for most islanders. Transport Public transport, particularly buses, should be free of charge or very low cost. Councils should be required to deliver a minimum daily service covering all parts of its area. We cannot rely on profit- seeking businesses to determine whether or not a service is provided. The only way to get people to stop using cars is to give them a viable affordable alternative, and a bus into town once a week isn't it. Transport Air travel needs to be costed so as to represent the huge environmental damage it causes. Private air travel (e.g. private jets) should be banned.

There is no place any longer for short breaks e.g. European cities for weekends. Slow tourism should be encouraged. Transport Goods and food should be imported and transported by rail to regional hubs and onward by electric road vehicles which should be free of taxation. Only an integrated approach will rectify the transport issue of which comercial activity is the major part. Transport A detailed integrated transport system should be generated with proper time transitions hub oriented at changes so one can smoothly change links across the structure Transport Free transport should be encouraged to boost he public system for locals Transport train prices must be reduced - especially at peak hours. electric and hydrogen vehicles should be prioritised for public transport - it's costly just now but a key driver in bringing down the price of tech is by it being widely adopted e.g. solar panels. attractive funding must be made available to local authorities and private companies to pilot this.

perhaps i'm a bit optimistic but as people learn more about climate change i think they'll grow to understand & accept that convenience of private (fossil fuel powered) transport is a luxury we can't afford. public transport isn't fun in bad weather or when it's overcrowded but it'll make a difference!

Transport Tha e cudromach gum bi "cairt tapaidh" (smartcard) ann airson còmhdhail ann an Alba - rudeigin coltach ris an Oyster/Cashless ann an Lunnainn. Aig an àm seo tha seirbheisean còmhdhail air an ruith le diofar chompanaidhean gun cho-òrdanachadh - rud a tha ro thoinnte is ro dhaor. Tha feum againn air cairt-tapaidh coltach ri Oyster/Cashless a ghabhas a chleachdadh le bus/trama/trèana/subway/aiseag agus a tha tòrr nas saoire na tiocaidean fa leth agus le "cap" air na phàigheas daoine gach latha/seachdain. Tha seo riatanach airson barrachd dhaoine fhaighinn air còmhdhail phoblach agus a-mach à càraichean. Transport Reduce speed limits by at least 10 mph on roads.

Ban all petrol/diesel only vehicles NOW. Use a scrappage scheme or grant or interest free loan so folk can afford electric vehicles.

FREE bus travel.

Ban internal flights.

Transport Friends' stories:

• ‘Our local bus system involves several companies competing…but very few buses.’

… none that allow me to attend evening events.’

• ‘I want to buy an electric car, but I live in a block of flats and no charging points are nearby.’

• ‘I’d like to work more from home, but the broadband just isn’t up to it.’

Some stories that give us hope:

CARS

• In March 2020, sales of battery electric vehicles in Norway were more than 75% of new car sales. (In December 2019, UK sales were about 6%, half of which were hybrid)

• Charge My Street in the north-west raised communíty finance to install 100 community-owned charge points.

• Electric car and cycle clubs, funded by community shares.

• The high-density Climate Innovation District, planned for Leeds, designed around walking and cycling, so residents use their cars less.

• Nottingham City Council’s workplace parking levy - funding extensions to the city’s tram and Linkbus networks.

CYCLING

• Seville built 120 kilometres of segregated cycle paths alongside main roads. Daily cycle trips have increased per day from about 13,000 to 73,000 (source: UK climate assembly material, same source for all the facts here).

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

• Buses. In Munich city region (including smaller towns and rural areas), buses, trains and trams are well coordinated by a public transport governing body.

• Since September 2018, Dunkirk has made their bus services free, and improved the network. Bus use is up about 85%, and 10% of new bus users have given up their second car.

IDEAS:

• Roll out fast broadband everywhere for home working

• Halt all new trunk road and motorway building. Limit airport expansion. Think what can be done with the billions recently announced for road building.

• Give grants to encourage electric bike sales.

Transport Public ownership of public transport; free public transport for all, with improved connectivity and accessibility; getting cars out of city centres with provision for people with disabilities; truly following the existing transport hierarchy, which in Scotland is meant to be walking and wheeling at number one, then cycling, then public transport then and only then the car; repurposing the huge areas we've given up to the car, not only in terms of road space but parking space, to make it public space; connect our green spaces; push forward with the 20 minute neighbourhoods mentioned in the latest Programme for Government. Transport It should be free and publicly owned. If you don't listen to us we will vote you out Improving our Funding for insulating older properties is essential But contractors must be trained and skilled as homes badly fitted insulation can be disastrous and cause more problems than it cures eg Victorian houses were built to breathe. Improving our Invest heavily in retrofitting buildings and homes to make them more energy-efficient, such as: homes - Double glazing and other insulation improvements.

- Moving away from gas boilers and gas cookers.

- Installing solar panels where appropriate.

- Green roofs and green walls to improve energy-efficiency, grow food, and increase wellbeing. Improving our refitting all council houses with insulation would be a good start, as most council houses are very homes poor. an example could be my fathers house. he lives in a council house with no insulation, no airtight windows, so bad that putting the heater on does nothing as the warm air is sucked out of the house.

doing this can help stop waste of energy and help the health of people who cannot afford to get insulation installed Improving our Much, much, much tighter control on the scattergun development of "luxury" housing by private homes developers who have no vested interest in building energy efficient, or carbon neutral buildings yet mysteriously always seem to get planning permission granted. People do not need to rattle around in mansions, burning oil and gas like there's no tomorrow. Carbon-neutral techniques exist - they should be mandatory on all new housing development. Meanwhile, energy efficiency is greater in terraced houses and tenements.... Improving our Why are we dithering over this? Here in Scotland, launching a national drive to insulate our dreadful homes housing stock would yield immediate and permanent health and economic benefits.

And, of course, it would provide steady long-term employment. Improving our This has the benefit of creating lots of skillful jobs, more people employed doing useful stuff and we homes end up with improved housing stock.

Improving our For existing housing stock we urgently need some advice to help us see what changes we need to homes make to our house . Currently if you have an ageing gas boiler ( which is a huge source of heating in cities) there is no simple change you can make. You probably have to have some sort of combination of heating devices ( say solar and air pump) as a replacement and at the moment only those willing to do a lot of research themselves are finding the way out. meanwhile if your boiler goes you need to make a fast decision and you can be sure the gas companies will be making it easy and cheap to get a replacement gas one. Improving our Change building control legislation and any grants so that any new home or restoration project should homes be passive with sufficient insulation and carbon neutral heat sources enabling this to happen. All social houses should be built and renovated to this standard. Make sure clean water is separated from dirty and reused as happens with good farms. Create community shared space and safe travel routes. Improving our In order to reduce home heating emissions we need to switch to heat pumps, as these are not homes entirely suitable for all homes due to their lower heat output (meaning they will not heat an inadequately insulated home properly) these should be used in tandem with existing boilers. Heat pumps are very expensive (at least 5x the cost of a gas boiler) and require additional installation, but offer no financial benefit to the owner in use due to electricity costing so much more than gas. Although there is some incentives through the RHI scheme I believe that is stopping, but to qualify for that you needed to have a very well insulated home, which is simply not possible in a solid walled house without extensive renovation. This means that people living in well insulated housing that do not use as much energy can use a heat pump, but those using lots of energy in their poorly insulated house cannot. Hence, using them alongside gas boilers would enable the gas use to be cut significantly. Improving our We need to incentives water saving - currently it is significantly more expensive to have a water meter homes in Scotland than to pay the unmetered charges (in bands A and B it is more expensive without even using any water!) - and you have to pay to get one installed! In England anyone can get one fitted for free and the standing rates are relatively low (where I used to live it is less than 10% of the Scottish rate!), meaning most of your bill is your water usage and using less saves you money!

I would like to fit a rainwater capture system to run my toilets, as my house layout means they are situated in just the right spot, but I do not have the money to do it for the love of the environment (particularly when there are things I can get which save me money and the environment), but if I knew the system was at least going to cover its own costs in a few years I would make the effort.

Scottish water regularly tell people to save water - people do things if they are incentivised - people switch out the lights and buy A rated appliances with the promise of cheaper bills - why would they pay £50 to get a dripping tap replaced when their water bill stays the same? Improving our Comments from friends: homes • ‘I was amazed to learn from the UK climate assembly that solving cold homes could save the NHS £848 million in England alone.’

• ‘I have retrofitted my house to make it carbon-zero. Over the same period, a million houses have been built that will need to be retrofitted. This is since the Committee on Climate Change unsuccessfully asked the UK government to improve building regulations.’

• ‘I am still not allowed to fit double glazing or wall insulation in my listed property.’

• ‘Why is VAT 20% on energy-efficient products like insulation, while much less for polluting gas?’

• Should I buy a hybrid boiler that could convert to hydrogen? Hard to get any clear national direction.’

• ‘A few years ago, I considered building a Passivhaus-type home, but was unconvinced local workmen had the skills to do the job.’

Ideas we suggest:

• Skill up the workforce to retrofit the Scottish homes with insufficient insulation. Private homes, housing associations and social housing must be part of a LONG TERM package for existing and NEW housing.

• Provide generous loans and grants for house retrofits, and also to support not-for- profit trusted community-led initiatives

• Regulations should revise standards to rapidly deliver high-energy efficiency and low carbon heating.

• Ensure that all homes reach at least Energy Performance ‘C’ by 2030, require renovation at point of sale or major refurbishment, for owner-occupiers from 2024, and new minimum standards for the rented sectors.

• Phase out high carbon heating like oil and LPG in off-gas areas from 2025 and set a date for the phase-out of replacement gas boilers.

• Ensure electric heating systems installed in new-build homes can provide flexible services, and have open protocols, so that major suppliers do not dominate.

• Set out a timescale for the roll-out of renewable heating systems and heat networks.

• Introduce a form of Certification for installers of all methods of decarbonising homes to deter ‘cowboy’ builders and online scammers.

• Public information and citizens’ advice campaigns to share accurate information.

• Help control F-gas emissions (4% of 2019 emissions), by replacing polluting air-conditioner units.

Improving our Westminster and Holyrood need to commit to preferred types of domestic heating quickly now as homes conversion will take quite a long time. It's a big task but not an impossible one. The conversion to natural gas was achieved fifty years ago. There may be different solutions for people who are on the gas network curren tly and those off the network who mainly use oil and LPG.

The costs to households are significant and simply won't happen unless governments act at scale with attractive incentives. Consider the collapse of the installation of domestic photovoltaic panels when the FIT taraff was removed. Improving our It should be a legal requirement for all new build houses to have either solar water heating panels or homes photovoltaic panels built into their roofs unless this is impractical. House builders will resist but the additional cost to the property would be marginal, given the equipment could be bought in bulk by the builder. The buyer would enjoy reduced energy bills and would contribute to carbon reduction. Improving our The question is How do we tackle the climate emergency? The answer is not to tinker around the homes edges and think about how to adapt to a changing climate. This is missing the point entirely. An emergency response is needed. To reduce emissions we need to stop subsidising the oil and gas industries.. Improving our Don't give permission to build on flood plains! And make companies accountable for the quality of homes their work and sustainability.

Build for sustainable communities with green spaces, trees, active and public transport, local shops and community spaces.

Don't build more when there are many empty houses and second homes - legislate to use these.

Financial support for retrofitting homes

Wellbeing economy = affordable, safe housing for all.

Improving our Legal requirements to make all new build homes meet eco-home style standards, such as use of homes solar panels, more effective heating solutions, collection of rain water to flush toilets.

Simple effective ways to make new homes more efficient. Food A plant based food system should be a top priority in any climate discussion. Both local and grass fed animal based products are often touted as the solution but that is just not the case. There are various scientific articles on this including but not limited to:

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.511.7351&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Much of the estimated 35% of global greenhouse-gas emissions deriving from agriculture and land use35 comes from livestock production. Livestock production—including deforestation for grazing land and soy-feed production, soil carbon loss in grazing lands, the energy used in growing feed- grains and in processing and transporting grains and meat, nitrous oxide releases from the use of nitrogenous fertilisers, and gases from animal manure (especially methane) and enteric fermentation44—accounts for about 18% of global greenhouse-gas emissions (figure 2).42 This estimate consists of around 9% of global emissions of carbon dioxide, plus 35–40% of methane emissions and 65% of nitrous oxide, both of which have much greater near-term warming potential over several ensuing decades than does carbon doxide (although they have shorter half-lives in the atmosphere). Similar estimates exist of the contributions of UK farming, live-stock production, and the food chain overall, to national greenhouse-gas emissions.45

Health professionals warn that the use of antibiotics early on in the food chain, with farmers administering drugs to animals to promote growth rather than treat disease, is a particular problem

https://www.fcrn.org.uk/sites/default/files/project-files/fcrn_gnc_report.pdf

But at an aggregate level the emissions generated by these grazing systems still outweigh the removals and even assuming improvements in productivity, they simply cannot supply us with all the animal protein we currently eat. They are even less able to provide us with the quantities of meat and milk that our growing and increasingly more affluent population apparently wants to consume. Significant expansion in overall numbers would cause catastrophic land use change and other environmental damage. This is especially the case if one adopts a very ‘pure’ definition of a grazing system, the sort that grazing advocates tend to portray, where livestock are reared year-round on grass that is not fertilised with mineral fertilisers, receiving no additional nutritional supplementation, and at stocking densities that support environmental goals.

https://www.fcrn.org.uk/projects/grazed-and

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es702969f

https://www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2017- 10/WWF_AppetiteForDestruction_Summary_Report_SignOff.pdf

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/iifa-fal102318.php

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es702969f

“, “buying local” could achieve, at maximum, around a 4−5% reduction in GHG emissions due to large sources of both CO2 and non-CO2 emissions in the production of food. Shifting less than 1 day per week’s (i.e., 1/7 of total calories) consumption of red meat and/or dairy to other protein sources or a vegetable-based diet could have the same climate impact as buying all household food from local providers.”

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181023110627.htm

“A new study provides a more comprehensive accounting of the greenhouse gas emissions from EU diets. It shows that meat and dairy products are responsible for the lion's share of greenhouse emissions from the EU diet.”

“The study found that meat and dairy account for more than 75% of the impact from EU diets. That's because meat and dairy production causes not only direct emissions from animal production, but also contributes to deforestation from cropland expansion for feed, which is often produced outside of the EU.”

“"People tend to think that consuming locally will be the solution to climate change, but it turns out that the type of product we eat is much more important for the overall impact," says IIASA researcher Hugo Valin, a study coauthor and Sandström's YSSP advisor. "Europeans are culturally attached to meat and dairy product consumption.”

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987

“Today, and probably into the future, dietary change can deliver environmental benefits on a scale not achievable by producers. Moving from current diets to a diet that excludes animal products (table S13) (35) has transformative potential, reducing food’s land use by 3.1 (2.8 to 3.3) billion ha (a 76% reduction), including a 19% reduction in arable land; food’s GHG emissions by 6.6 (5.5 to 7.4) billion metric tons of CO2eq (a 49% reduction); acidification by 50% (45 to 54%); eutrophication by 49% (37 to 56%); and scarcity-weighted freshwater withdrawals by 19% (−5 to 32%) for a 2010 reference year.”

More local plant based food options would be great too, in particular plant based protein sources like legumes, nuts and seeds. The vegan society has an excellent program to promote sustainable farming https://www.vegansociety.com/take-action/campaigns/grow-green Food Permaculture. Regenerative agriculture. Agroforestry. Food forests instead of Conifer plantations! There's is so much knowledge and skills out there for sustainable food production, and yet so little being done.

Stop all subsidies for any kind of farming which is not organic.

Give subsidies to those who are building soil, check out some of the statistics for Graham bells forest garden (garden cottage) in coldstream to see the benefits to the soil, therefore climate change (carbon sequestration as well as reduced food miles). Food Move away from animal agriculture and industrial monocrop fields. Make it mandatory for crops to be organically grown and prioritise local, seasonal produce. Food So many people in Scotland would love to grow more of their own food, especially those in situations of food insecurity. But where? There is no shortage of land - and far, far more of it will support food growing than is usually stated. "Poor quality land" is just an excuse to keep land in unsustainable and often damaging "management" as shooting estates/blanket forestry/private playgrounds.

Give people the chance to grow. This requires land reform - a land tax instead of the systems we have now. Food According to a UN report (Trade and Environment Review 2013 - ref below) only by moving to smaller farms will be able to feed the worlds population. Current conventional agricultural practices have relentlessly increased the size of farms, fields and machinery and mechanisation, engineering out as much labour and employment as possible. This has resulted in industrialised agriculture being wholly dependent on fossil fuels and one of the biggest polluting industrial sectors in the developed world.

As we transition away from industrialised agriculture we need to see a prolifieration of a greater number of smaller, local farms practicing regenerative farming techniques, such as Permaculture, agroforestry (food forests) and silvopasture (integrating cattle back into their native forest environments). These restorative farming systems are not only significantly more productive per square hectare, growing local, seasonal organic food, but sequester vast amounts of carbon, build soils and restore soil microbiology, removing any need for agrichemicals. With reduced mechanisation, generate much higher levels of meaningful local employment in a healthy and natural environment.

A Job Guarantee Scheme, via Regenerative farming, would provide a variety of quality green employment opportunities across the entire food chain, growing the local economy. These roles could involve working directly on the farm, sowing, growing and harvesting, forestry, husbandry, milking, delivery and distribution, marketing and sales. Food Food quality and good nutrition are intimately linked. Poorer people buy poor quality food because it is cheaper, and aggressively marketed. Poor quality food is often that, in which there is the greatest waste in the value chains, that which causes obesity and ill health (diabetes, heart disease etc), and that which has a more adverse environmental effect further back along the supply chain (beef production for burgers causing Amazon deforestation for example through cattle ranching and soya feed production).

Until decent quality food is made available at a reasonable price to all people (not just Waitrose shoppers!) then these impacts will persist. Need to stop aggressively marketing junk food to children, this should be made illegal especially foods with high sugar and fat contents. Higher environmental and nutritional standards need to be introduced for our food chain but not so, that food is priced beyond the capacity of the poorest to access and buy. We can work with farmers to achieve this so that they can make a decent living but produce more quality food and reduce waste, especially in the supermarket supply chains but reducing absurd quality standard requirements for example for fruit and veg (more 'wonky' veg options!).

Food banks are an abomination and a disgrace in our society and food security for all should be government policy.

Alternatives to meat consumption should continue to be developed and at least a transition to a flexitarian style of diet, as opposed to the unlikelihood of the mass adoption of vegetarianism or veganism. Food If we keep buying meat products, our farmers will keep raising livestock.

Central government should launch a Health Campaign to encourage us to :

1. Eat Less Meat and

2. Eat More Fresh Fruit and Veg

Allied to this should be a campaign to Buy Local. Can modest subsidies be applied to high street traders who carry product from truly local suppliers? Food How we grow our food is presently negatively impacting on the environment as a whole. The use of chemicals means we are witnessing a mass extinction of insect life and therefore wildlife populations too. We need to produce organic food and minimize meat production by offering appropriate subsidies to allow farmers to transition towards a sustainable agricultural policy that benefits the countryside and all its inhabitants.

More allotments and encouraging the younger generation to connect with the land and the environment may improve their appreciation of natural food, improve their diets and health, fight obesity and disincline their use of convenience foods whose production and packaging modalities are detrimental to environment due to emissions and pollution. Food Totally agree that a move to a more plant based food system should be a top priority in any climate discussion.

It would be good to see schools lead the way on this - currently in Glasgow, the school meals provided to children are mostly meat based with vegetarian options only available on request. But what if we shifted the thinking and asked people to opt in to meat on the days they feel they need it rather than having to select to opt out of eating meat. Schools could provide nutritious vegan and vegetarian food as standard to children across Scotland Food Urban food production https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306158062_Urban_Agriculture_in_the_Netherlands

More plant based food production

Natural farming of livestock - land that has more biodiversity

Organic farming

More allotments and education on how to grow your own food. Community roof top gardens where you can grow your own food

Buy local - more opportunities to buy local veg and other produce but at more supermarket competitive prices. Stirling marketplace is great it's just a bit too expensive to use all the time

More places to refill food with your own containers! - Stirling University has the Blue Green Space where you can refill staples like rice, pasta, nuts etc and pay by weight. Edinburgh and Glasgow have a few but it is not accessible enough. I want to be able to refill using my own containers, food items as well as washing detergent, shampoos etc. This is all possible we just don't have enough access to this type of service.

Food Governments should encourage citizens to eat less meat/fish, and whatever meat/fish is eaten should be sustainably sourced.

Imports of cheap meat should be banned. Food It would be wonderful to see a lot more support for people trying to grow their own food. This is a great way to reduce the carbon footprint of a product, especially when it comes to the packaging. If cheaper meats gradually became taxed more, especially items with low nutritional value like microwave burgers, and the better for us fruit and veg given a tax relief or subsidy, then people might be encouraged to change their eating habits over time. Especially if this was backed up with a nationwide education program. Food I would love to see more support for farmers to grow mixed crops and veer away from monoculture. The government could play its part here by providing subsidies to farmers growing a variety of crops and going organic as well as encouraging the growth of hedgerows to encourage biodiversity and more wildlife. Food Would love to see scottish farmers being able to produce a range of foods we could eat in season throughout the year which would give me. A balanced and tasty diet.Some land is idea to produce fruit and veg ,others grains and pulses and the wonderful grazed land the home of scotch Beef and lamb. I like a bit of bacon too by the way. Easy to confuse world issues with what can be produced here , hopefully tourists will came back so let’s have a wonderful scotch diet to feed them with , and ourselves off course . Food Greater support and incentives to farmers to practice regenerative farming, soil management.

Making green spaces available to all communities to grow their own food with support packages in place such as workshops on soil management, permaculture etc.

Greater networking and sharing of best practice between farmers.

Increased support for local supply chains - enabling consumers to buy more locally grown food and also support better growing practices. Food Friends' comments:

• ‘Astonishing that 75% of the UK population is obese or overweight; yet 2.2 million people suffer food poverty or food insecurity. And that Type 2 diabetes alone costs the NHS £12billion a year.’ (source: UK climate assembly material)

• ‘I am really concerned about how vulnerable our ‘just in time’ food supply could be in future shocks.’

• ‘I go into a fish shop, and I have no idea what’s been fished sustainably.’

• ‘ …there’s no info to help me know whether soya products from cleared rainforests transported halfway around the world are any better than local dairy products.’

Ideas:

• Recover fish stocks to maximum sustainable yield by protecting spawning grounds and juveniles from by-catch pressure.

• Ensure public subsidy supports only sustainable fishing practices and those on the way to it.

• Invest in other low carbon seafood.

• Support for locally produced food.

• Better info about what is produced sustainably

Food All land should be producing something in Scotland , experience will have taught farmers what works and what doesn’t over time so we have the systems we have today.

Should help farmers to grow new crops where possible ,only way to do that is create a market for that produce including processing capacity to get produce on the shelves .

Things that we export we should look at using them at home might be a case of repackaging them or educating people how to cook with them more and to make them more attractive to consumers

Food We need to move away from animal agriculture and large scale farms. Communities need access to a network of market gardens where they can access locally grown fruit and veg. Food massive profits are generated for global corporations in pharmaceuticals and fossil fuel products while they drive methods of production in agriculture and processed food production. Fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, palm oil, chemical sweeteners etc etc are all extremely profitable and drive the desire for infinite growth. Sure, we can try to eat more healthily, but these companies invest billions into making us believe we need their products. We need the truth, and we need a global wellbeing economy. Let’s start with Scotland, and lead the way Food Transitioning to a plant food system is an essential measure if we're to have any prospect of meeting our climate change goals. A study has been done on the contribution this could make to UK-wide climate change goals, which shows that "reforesting land currently devoted to pasture results in CDR of 3,236 million tonnes CO2, equal to offsetting 9 years of current UK CO2 emissions." By "reforesting" the Harvard researchers were referring to re-establishment of the native woodland that once covered most of Scotland, before we cleared it for sheep farming. The report also shows that by repurposing the cropland we currently use to grow crops for animal feed, to grow more plant food for humans, we could significantly increase our plant food production, producing enough food for all and enough diversity to meet all our nutritional needs. https://animal.law.harvard.edu/wp- content/uploads/Eating-Away-at-Climate-Change-with-Negative- Emissions%E2%80%93%E2%80%93Harwatt-Hayek.pdf

Given this is possible, and given the huge impact it could have on emissions and carbon capture (and biodiversity, access to nature and all of the associated societal benefits of that) it must feature in our climate change plan alongside the policies required to ensure a fair transition, for people who work in agriculture and for the population at large. That will require a lot of support for those involved in food production, to assist them in transitioning, assisting others to get involved in plant growing, supporting people across the board in terms of education and skills development for growing and preparing delicious and nutritious meals with plant ingredients, ensuring good quality, affordable plant food is accessible to all, and running a highly effective public campaign to encourage people to embrace the transition in their own lives. There are considerable additional benefits we could gain as a society in terms of health, community engagement, food security, urban growing spaces and so on, and there are existing projects we can learn a huge amount from. Food Regenerative agriculture to replace intensive agricultural systems.

Subsidies to make production of organically and regeneratively produced fruit and vegetables more economically viable with local distribution to reduce food miles. Local in-season food.

Less meat consumption and ethically produced meat using regenerative practices that build soil health and drawdown carbon including mob grazing. Greater diversity on farms to create closed nutrient cycles on the land.

Food production as part of the school curriculum.

A 'dig for victory' like campaign to increase food production in our gardens and spare land. This would improve food security aswell as improve access to better quality food regardless of income. Increase land available in towns and villages for allotments space.

Turning unused space in town parks into food forests providing fruit and berries to locals. Food How much land is wasted in this country. The shooting estates dont bring anywhere near as much money into the economy as they suggest, they just enrich the wealthy. Take them back into public / community ownership and help set up sustainable crofting communities. Learning about Education is essential. Listen to and act Upon the Teach the Future campaign. Introduce climate change permaculture education for all children and young people. Every child learning outdoors, in nature every day.

Obligatory part of teachers' training should be for them to grow a garden (without chemicals) which is good for nature and provides some food. They can show how this links to different areas of the curriculum for excellence. This is the only way we can change the understanding of the next generation abut they're environment, which is so important for preventing environmental destruction. Learning about Every school child should learn to identify, plant and care for edible plants and trees. They should climate change also be taught about the damaging effects of industrial agriculture, fossil fuels, mining, and excessive transport associated with imports and shipping. Learning about Introduce a Natural History National 3/4 to Higher course - amazing opportunity for IDL, easily climate change embedded Learning for Sustainability and Outdoor Learning. Change society's view of nature as separate from society.

The whole or the secondary school model needs overturned to make true IDL the norm for every learner, giving opportunity for better skills development for dealing with the world's crises. Break down barriers between subjects and train teachers to work across subject lines. Decolonise the curriculum by being honest about the damage done by Scotland and the UK with our colonial past, capitalism and neocolonialism, and face up to the responsibility we have to rectify the wrongs done globally. Study and celebrate the contributions of indigenous communities around the globe, as well as marginalised communities in Scotland and Europe. Learning about Essential at all school levels, as a science adjunct, or modern studies, or civic responsibility, or all of climate change those. Instil in children from primary levels the importance of responsible environmental stewardship and of our impact on the environment. Give practical training in land husbandry, basic gardening and food growing, natural resource management and protection. Teach children about the history and background to the state of our environment and how it has been managed. not just in Scotland, but globally. Look at global issues (oceans, forests, biodiversity, soils science and management) and make them integral to curricula. Also include education on resilience and adaptation as options for many countries and what that means, including examples of small island states that are facing catastrophe and look at the environmental and social implications of that. Learning about Teaching adults is even more important - we don't have time to wait for children to grow up & try to climate change sort out the mess we're making now. Learning about Educating people about climate science is incredibly important. It should not just be directed at climate change children but also at adults. We are currently in a climate and ecological emergency situation and everyone should have access to objective information and not just to sound bites from various vested interest groups. Learning about Learning about climate change is necessary for all, not just in the formal education system. climate change Widespread awareness could be promoted by, for example, displaying prominently the daily atmospheric CO2 readings. Only the Guardian publishes these daily just now as far as I know. Display the figures in big neon (LED?) signs in stations, on motorway gantries, in shopping centres etc.

Publicise and celebrate progress where it's being made, eg the virtual eradication of coal from the UK's energy supply, and the way places like Knoydart and Eigg are increasingly self-reliant in renewable energy.

Schools - outdoor learning should be part of everyone's education. Support local authorities to keep and make full use of the outdoor centres. Get kids involved in planting trees, growing food, helping in community gardens, and learning about looking after the the natural world. And make it easier for adults to do this too! A 4-day week and Universal Basic Income would help.

We need to hear more about the climate devastation that is already driving climate migration - it would be great to learn more about the stories of the people coming to Scotland who have suffered from drought, water shortages, rising sea levels, etc. A TV series focused on such stories would be good. Learning about Education - primary and secondary. I think there is a tendency to think of young/primary aged climate change children learning about the environment and growing food but this should be for ALL ages and could have an important role in teenagers' wellbeing. Every school should have a growing area, ideally a polytunnel.

Agree with the comment above on educating adults too! Most of us are watching TV in the evenings, what about making programmes aimed at adults/families with practical advice on lifestyle and other changes which we could make? The depths of winter in a pandemic is potentially a good time to inspire people for the new spring season.

Should this section 'Learning about Climate Change' be renamed 'Education'? Learning about Radical shift in focus within the school curriculum. Forest Schools. Learning in Nature. Permaculture. climate change Community gardens.

Climate change, rather than being an 'add-on' in geography lessons, should be at the heart of ALL learning. Learning about Some schools are doing it well others are not. We need to ensure there is sufficient understanding in climate change education for schools to get this right. Collaboration and Learning from each other how to ensure there is “right thinking” and solutions for the future not just doom and gloom leaving a sense of hopelessness. Let’s envision the future with solutions that will work now and then. Learning about Educate not just the difficult stuff but emphasis thte need th be tidy, unlittered and contributing to our climate change society Learning about climate change learning is essential for all of us now (especially adults). unfortunately, as we don't climate change access learning in the same way or format, it's down to individuals and communities to spread the word, share, link, educate & discuss with peers, friends, colleagues, families and strangers to help our circles act.

we cannot rely on the media to do this for us. we must take action ourselves and education others who are not aware of the impact this is having and will continue to have if we don't act now.

school curriculum should also be revised so that climate change isn't an add on in geography in secondary schools or a single project that's undertaken over a term in primary schools. it's too important & will be a key component of our young people's lives in the future.

we also need to education people on climate change anxiety and resilience. this is especially important with our young people who are faced with the reality of living with this throughout their lifetime. Learning about There needs to be a balance between emphasising the urgency of action to tackle climate change, climate change and not leaving people with no sense of hope. We have to keep talking abut the real progress that's being made, and reasons for optimism, while not losing the sense that we all still have to work flat out to have a hope of our grandchildren having a liveable planet. Learning about IDEAS: climate change • Run a public education climate change campaign as comprehensive as the AIDS or COVID-19 public communications, developed with the assistance of top advertising agencies.

• Be visionary. Show how radical change is needed in Scotland.

• Champion justice. Show how poorer nations are most affected by global heating and yet contributed least to the crisis. Support the calls of the least developed nations for a financial mechanism to compensate them for impacts of climate change that are now unavoidable.

Learning about A noble idea and one that it is hard to disagree with. However we shouldn't need a Citizens assembly climate change to spend valuable time discussing and recommending something that should be a given for any responsible government.

The Arctic is melting at record rates and our house is burning down, we should be focusing our time on putting the fire out. By the time everyone knows and understands the climate crisis, it could be too late. And even if everyone knows about climate change, do we really think that will be enough. I've been studying and working in environmental science (including climate change) for 15 years, yet I'm still forced to drive a diesel car to visit my family, I use gas to cook, I have to constantly heat my building in the winter. All because I cannot afford to choose a low carbon lifestyle, or public transport is too expensive and doesn't run to where I need it to go. Learning about I have sympathy with the view above that surely such education should be a given and should not climate change require much debate... I have increasingly thought that Ecology should be the core science subject taught in our schools and that biology, chemistry, physics and geography be taught as satellite / supporting subjects. Learning about There are at least two components here: climate change 1. Public education campaigns to create a shift in culture - as noted by others, these need to be backed up by a legal framework and practical changes that make it EASY for people, especially the vulnerable, marginalised and poor, to live low/ zero carbon lifestyles rather than the preserve of the enthusiasts and the privileged committed eco warriors.

2. Formal education through early learning centres, schools, colleges and universities. I have been involved in this at secondary school level for 30 years and am now retired. I have left the profession feeling a bit defeated at the lack of significant progress in learning for sustainability - although this document suggests that some has been made and even has future recommendations:

https://education.gov.scot/media/ulodcmfl/res1-vision-2030.pdf

One of the biggest barriers to further progress is the same as in (1) above - the fact that it is a constant battle to actually live a low carbon lifestyle and to demonstrate it in practical terms in real life contexts because they are still so 'fringe'. You can teach ABOUT climate change and the environment but if you don't teach IN and FOR the environment then it is an uphill struggle. Schools are full of enthusiastic and committed professionals doing their best for children and young people but they have still not all bought into the big vision that puts learning for sustainability right at the very heart of their practice. And yet the General Teaching Council for Scotland Standards for Registration (http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/the-standards/standards-for-registration-1212.pdf) actually have it right there! Look: "‘Learning for Sustainability’ is a whole-school commitment that helps the school and its wider community develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and practices needed to take decisions which are compatible with a sustainable future in a just and equitable world." Page 2, para 2. In other words, that is every teacher's job, their mandatory requirement.

One thing the People's Assembly could usefully do is to ask the question as to why, despite this being at the core of the job, it is not in practice actually properly embedded and to come up with some solutions. I don't have all the answers to this but I would like to be part of the discussion. I suggest that things are going in the right direction but there needs to be a huge step change in our current

circumstances; one that means that schools are keenly focused on this at all levels of their practice, encouraging young people to be hopeful, solution-finders of the future, providing meaningful learning experiences that encourage this and creating pathways into further education and careers which support it. In my experience, many are looking for this direction and want to be involved but neither whole school systems, nor the curriculum, nor everyday learning and teaching is sufficiently there yet to have an impact. This is also because schools cannot do everything and are part of an unequal consumer society, fixated on stuff and wedded to a growth economy. These things need to change in tandem with the education system. I believe that the solutions are already out there. Expert environmentally minded people have been working on them for decades - these just need to be brought into the mainstream and developed so that pathways in learning lead to careers and further education that support climate mitigation and a low carbon economy.

Learning about Government and media outlets need to learn to Tell The Truth., and not to repeat the lies of corporate climate change lobbyists who have so much money and power that they are the ones determining government policy.

70% of UK media outlets are owned by 5 billionaires who are supporting infinite economic growth and the destruction of our planet. Scotland needs independent press and media outlets Learning about Education at schools is important but so is the education of the wider population. We all need a far climate change better understanding of the interrelationship between our actions and behaviours and the effect on others, both now and in the future, of those actions and behaviours. Sustainable Development used to be defined as that which improves quality of life for all, both now and in the future. Thus our actions now should not have an adverse impact on somebody else now (whether in this country or elsewhere) but neither should those actions push the negative effects down to future generations. Learning about Our current education system props up our unsustainable, destructive society. There is some climate change tokenistic learning regarding sustainability in our schools, but what currently exists is woefully inadequate. Pupils leaving the education system in Scotland at the moment have no idea about how to live a sustainable life and little idea what needs to change in society to achieve it. However they do leave school with the skills to support our current growth dominated economic system and live lives which consume excessive and harmful levels of unnecessary products and energy use. Our education system has to transform, but at the moment the majority of teachers in Scotland do not have the necessary understanding or skills required to achieve this. Scotland's teachers need support and training to allow them to educate the next generation so they are ready to support a flourishing, wellbeing centred, sustainable society.

Learning about Work with and follow the asks of the Teach the Future Scotland campaign: climate change 1. A government-commissioned review into how the whole of the Scottish formal education system is preparing students for the climate emergency and ecological crisis.

2. Inclusion of the climate emergency and ecological crisis in teacher training and a new professional teaching qualification.

3. Increased priority for sustainability in school inspections and publicly influencing educational rankings.

4. A Scottish Climate and Biodiversity Emergency Education Act.

Include education on the climate crisis in subjects across the curriculum, so every student, from primary to further education, has the opportunity to learn about the effects of the climate crisis, as well as how to mitigate and challenge these effects. Ensure education on the climate and ecological crisis is not confined to a few subjects, namely Biology and Geography, and prepare students for the world that they will be working in, showing them how the climate crisis will affect their line of work. Working Promote a 4-day working week and/or shorter working days, allowing for better work-life balance for employees, as well as reduced time commuting. For employers, this gives more flexibility for introducing variable working patterns which would reduce rush-hour traffic. Studies show it may also even increase productivity amongst workers. Working Micro-grants for homeworkers to access to assist with homeworking set-up, making this a more sustainable option for many.

Working Universal Basic Income could be implemented for all, with additional micro-grants available for third sector and creative projects. Working Universal basic income, make a 4-day working week the norm. Increase salaries and reduce working hours.

Protect and support the arts and culture, as these are low-carbon and are vital for wellbeing. Working Reduce working week. Encourage continued home-working. Flexible working. And, above all, a Universal Basic Income that is non-discriminatory and gives people real choices. Working Covid-19 has challenged our assumptions about the 9 to 5, 5 day week. At least, that's true for 'professional' workers. Many sectors, however, still rely on 7 day, multi-shift working (health care, hospitality, public services etc). These latter workers should still be able to enjoy safe, comfortable, low-cost public transport.

In order to best promote remote working, incentives should be offered to provide universal high-speed broadband across the country. Working We need to ensure that people can work where they live and revitalise rural communities.

We do need high speed universal broadband. We also need a community work hub in each community too though so post CV19 people can share working space and create networks and partnerships across disciplines and work local. Such hubs should have meeting rooms and state of the art virtual conferencing facilities.

Workplaces should also ensure that their workers can get to their workplace by active and/ or public transport and not rely on car travel. Working Universal Basic Income will allow more people to choose how and when to sell their labour.

Without such freedom from wage slavery it will be impossible to reconfigure the economy to support the objective of universal sustainable prosperity. Working Encourage work places to adopt a fly less scheme. Perhaps with incentives if they think that flying less would mean they lose out on certain opportunities etc. Flying less needs to become a regular conversation and expectation for everyone in their personal and working levels. Subsidies for people to travel overland instead of by air.

Encourage businesses to compete to reducing their flying miles for an incentive/ subsidy scheme?

Soon younger people will look to universities and employers to be setting examples for being more green/ flying less. You could attract students to universities advertising that their professors, a group of people renowned for teaching environmental subjects and flying too much, are committing to reducing their air miles. Businesses can attract younger future employees with their green ethos. It will be a criteria more and more people look for in the future. Working Property developers have been raking in massive profits from urban office complexes, the construction of which are destructive of natural habitat and devastate biodiversity. Increasing construction of roads has had a similar devastating effect. This is driven by the need for infinite growth. We are in a global climate emergency. Covid has shown us that much of that development was for global corporation profit and not for our own good. Government needs to face this and bravely step away from the infinite growth model and move to a wellbeing economy

Working Yes, to UBI and shorter working weeks. Just transition from destructive sectors. More funding for jobs in green energy, health, education, arts, small local businesses etc who keep money in the community rather than off shore tax havens. Tax the billionaires. Recovering from Encourage home working and enhance community cohesion Covid-19 Recovering from Use the furlough scheme to research some aspects of a universal basic wage if possible. Covid-19

Make real commitments to the frontline workers that have been nationally celebrated. Recovering from Universal basic income . Protect and support the arts as low-carbon generators of wellbeing and real Covid-19 wealth for the community. Recovering from Make permanent the temporary road closures and cycle lanes made to increase living space. Covid-19 Reclaim street spaces for walking, cycling or wheeling instead of driving.

Air pollution is linked to worse outcomes in covid infections. Prioritise the reduction of air pollution by restricting traffic, reducing speeds, and facilitating alternative modes of transport. Recovering from Committing to a green recovery with a focus on meeting the climate challenge is the only way Covid-19 forward. We must not aim to "get back to normal". Everything must change. Recovering from Introduce a universal basic income. Covid-19

The 'normal' of pre-COVID times was destructive and destined to implode. Facing up to, and tackling the climate emergency, is the absolutely priority for Scotland's recovery from COVID. Recovering from The green new deal eg Common Weal Our Common Home is a logical framework for recovery from Covid-19 covid as it would offer high employment and deliver net zero and a Scotland sustainable for future generations. As borrowing rates are so low it seems exactly the right time to borrow and invest in sustainable development across Scotland. Recovering from universal basic income should be introduced. government to tell the truth as their promises regarding Covid-19 climate emergency response is not matched by their actions re continued subsidies to oil and gas extractive industries. Recovering from Covid-19 was an expected pandemic and more will follow, driven by humanity's destructive and Covid-19 extractive relationship with nature. We must repair our ecosystems by rewilding and make everything about the 'recovery' green. The products we Deposit return on more items but essential real cost of items is made through all stages of its lifecycle make, buy, and and items are rated according to this throw away The products we Include all good in the the ecological footprint assessments by the Scottish government, even if they make, buy, and are made in other countries. Then tax them to discourage purchase. Enforce the stopping of designed throw away obsolescence, it is horrendous that machines made in the 1940s were made to a higher standard than anything today. There should be an obligatory minimum warranty for goods, eg shoes/boots should last years, not fall apart in months. If it stops working I should automatically be able to send it back and it will be fixed without charge. Make that law. The products we Total ban on single-use disposables except for medical reasons. make, buy, and throw away The products we In terms of business- to stop waste of packaging, bring back the old milkman idea for things like make, buy, and toiletries- get them in glass bottles, use them, and then they get taken to a collection point of some throw away sort/collected to be taken and refilled before being sent back to the member. Can be similar to a subscription ?

Also- trying to implement more of the refill centres for food where you bring your own containers, to reduce food waste and using environmentally unhealthy packaging

The products we Local recycling centres to have a composting facility incorporated, managed by expert composter, make, buy, and taking organic waste from local people and - crucially - making the compost available to them as throw away well. The products we This is an enormous and complex problem. I only have a few suggestions. make, buy, and throw away

Government should carry on a permanent campaign as follows:

Refuse (do I need to buy this item in the first place?)

Reduce (can I get by using this item less?)

Re-use (how can this item's lifetime be expended?)

Recycle (which recycling stream is right for this item?)

Rethink (if this item doesn't fit into any of the above slots, should I be considering something completely different?)

Fast Fashion: our response should start in schools. 1. The curriculum should address the hidden costs of the clothes we buy 2. children should also be taught the economics of buying clothes that a built to last and 3. children should have practical skills to repair, adjust and re-fashion clothes. The products we I think Jeff54's comment is a good place to start. Although I believe that government can lead with make, buy, and policies that promote the "good" practices - even including some kinds of subsidies for businesses throw away which commit to changing to more sustainable practices (in the way that farmers' subsidies have evolved to encourage greener ideas) and a VAT reduction on goods which fit responsible and sustainable ccriteria - much more emphasis should be placed on making it easier for indidviduals to take the right decisions. And also for thos individuals who are parents to teach their children to resist the pull of commercialism and marketing and to be proud of being greener and sustainable in their own lives. And even starting with simple things like esnuring kids can cook because even on the lowest incomes it is possible to suvrive on (and enjoy!) a variety of home made soups! The products we I want a mandatory display of a product's Life Cycle rating --much like the calorie and nutritional info make, buy, and required on food products--so consumers can make more informed choices. Also requires consumer throw away education--from school years onward--regarding the entire life cycle of objects; and investment in research and technologies that sustainably capture and recycle waste. The products we Product/service design and engineering must design in longevity and safe, sustainable disposal make, buy, and throw away The products we A sign on an item if its packaging is non-recyclable and an added tax on these items. make, buy, and throw away

Better clarity on recycling packaging.

Naming a 'universal container' - why don't we use more reusable 'take-away' tubs? I've been supporting my local businesses with take-away food lately but many of them are not using recyclable packaging! Very frustrating. The products we Re-designing of the school curriculum so that pupils are taught to repair make, buy, and clothes/machines/cycles/machines/computers rather than buy new ones. throw away

The products we Friends' stories: make, buy, and throw away

• ‘Astounded that 300,000 tonnes of clothing are sent to landfill every year…’

• ‘In the supermarket, am still astonished at the amount of single-use plastics, and how much packaging still has no recycling symbols at all.’

• ‘Would love to see efficiency standards set, so products will last a decent amount of time, can be repaired easily, or reused; and a carbon footprint label on goods.

• ‘ A friend tells me that her local council has a contract with a recycling business that does not recycle most plastics (bottles are the only plastic they take). Why are there no minimum standards?’

• ‘Disappointed to learn that only about half of what's in our household waste (about 12% of UK overall waste) gets recycled in any way.’

Stories that give us hope

• New energy-from-waste plants. Instead of landfill, they now generate energy from most of north- east London’s waste.

• Recycling 'supersites’. They have reuse centres on-site (eg Hertfordhsire).

• The high recycling rates in Belgium and Germany, based on rewarding good behaviour, i.e. save- as-you-recycle, pay-as-you-throw.

• Sharing platforms, not only for accommodation and mobility (like car-sharing or car ride-sharing), but also for clothes, toys and services.

• Packaging-free shops in Latvia, Spain and the Czech Republic, enabling people to buy just the quantities they want.

Ideas we like:

• Upgrade recycling infrastructure to increase its capability.

• Set a target to recycle 70% of all waste by 2025.

• Set a target to reduce food waste by 50% from the 2013 baseline by 2032

• Revise the target date for ending landfill of biodegradable waste to 2025 and ensure it is met.

• Introduce a full ban on all items in the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUP) priority list by 2021.

• Install the infrastructure for an effective deposit return scheme by 2021.

• Introduce charges on single-use disposable beverage cups by December 2020.

The products we Built in obsolescence should be made illegal for products. Follow other countries examples in make, buy, and ensuring that regulations are put in place to make sure products are manufactured both sustainably throw away and at a high quality where it is durable and fit for purpose.

The products we Much of the built in obsolescence is generated by the global corporations who profit from oil and gas make, buy, and extraction and constantly find ways to sell us the idea that we need more stuff, so they can continue throw away fracking and cracking to produce plastics and other toxins. This is the root of the climate emergency.. Fossil fuel extracting needs to stop. It is killing life on earth. The products we Products must to designed for multiple use, reuse and eventual recycling and we need clear guidance make, buy, and on what this involves e.g. throw away

Chemicals - reduction in unnecessary chemical use, chemical content must all be safe for all potential uses (we cannot accept harmful flame retardant chemicals in electronics with the assumption they will never become a recycled plastic fork!), chemical content must be traceable.

Simplified material design - e.g. in textiles we must choose yarns that are simple to break apart and recycle, easily removable components etc

Company take back schemes - companies should be encouraged to take back old products, this makes recycling like for like much easier, and by retaining brand ownerships maximises the value of secondary items

Companies must be held responsible through stringent and genuine extended producer responsibility schemes and held accountable for their own waste and pollution with fines that genuinely act as a deterrent Energy We should invest in nuclear fission as the primary source of energy, using it to pick up the slack of renewables. We cannot have just one source of energy. Energy We should be very wary of biofuels as a large-scale source of carbon neutral energy for the reason that it can lead to land conflicts if we start growing crops for making biofuels. Also, while methane from food waste is good to a point, food waste should not be encouraged and cannot be carbon neutral in reality when taking into consideration all aspects of food production, storage and distribution. Energy I believe hugely in the need for renewable energy generation, but the production of solar panels, wind turbines and everything else concerns me in regards to the sourcing of the materials. We cannot fall back on colonial tropes and put the burden of mining and producing the necessary materials on to the Global South and less economically developed regions. Energy Invest in community-owned local energy systems such as rooftop solar/wind turbines.. However, great care must be taken with sourcing these materials so that neocolonialist extractivism is not perpetuated.

Energy Utilise Scotland's prime potential for energy generation using wave and tidal power (tides are some of the most consistent and predictable natural energy sources). Energy The necessary mix of sources should include tidal. Oil rigs should be repurposed for electricity generation, repositioned in the gulf stream and the electricity used to produce hydrogen. Petrol stations should be repurposed to deliver hydrogen for transport fuel. Energy Scotland has far more potential for wind energy than almost any other country on the planet (in relation to how much energy the country needs).

NOTE: as the economics and efficiency of solar panels improves, Scotland is also becoming increasingly attractive for solar energy. There are already solar farms in the NE of Scotland.

We should be prepared to allow development of both types of energy, even in the face of those shouting NIMBY, Not In My Back Yard.

Wind and Solar are both necessary but not sufficient. We should support the introduction of industrial battery systems attached to the National Grid to hold energy for when Renewable Energy in short supply.

NOTE: not every industrial battery requires Lithium, Cobalt etc. There are many working examples of other technologies, e.g. hydrogen, compressed air, liquid air and so on. Energy An important potential source of energy is residual waste. This is the waste remaining after all practical recovery and recycling has occurred and would otherwise have to go to landfill. The development of technologies which can operate to very high environmental standards and are economic at small scale means that small scale combined heat and power projects are now viable. Mass burn incinerators should be avoided as they use old technology and are on to large a scale to facilitate the recovery of any meaningful heat. Diverting waste from landfill also has other benefits such as the avoidance of methane gases from landfill. Energy We need to support decentralised energy and enable and support community energy schemes that make sense in that area i.e. hydro, wind, solar, heat exchange.

Scotland should ensuring that any new buildings are self sufficient in energy through the inclusion of passive housing principles and installation of renewable energy sources, thereby reducing energy needs and increasing local energy supply - reducing inefficiency and energy loss.

Scotland should invest hugely in tidal and marine energy to enable fast utilisation of this energy source to increase energy reliability/ deal with intermittency issues.

Scotland should increase its wind power capacity and use that energy, not utilised by the grid, to create green hydrogen which could be used for hard to decarbonise energy needs such as freight/ air and sea.

We should look at technology and ways to cut energy needs and vastly invest in retrofitting insulation into our building stock . This would enable us to decarbonise heating.

It must be understood that there are vested interests driving 'blue hydrogen' and that we must spend the money we have wisely to get to net zero by 2045. Blue hydrogen can only be blue, as opposed to brown, if all the carbon created making it is not released into the atmosphere. This is many many years off happening, if it is able to be done 100% at all. Creating 'blue' hydrogen, i.e. allowing oil and gas producers to keep on producing, does not make sense given the wealth of natural renewable sources we have that could be radically upscaled given the same, if not less, investment. Energy Tidal power is very underdeveloped in the UK. We all live within 70 miles of the coast. Big schemes such as the Severn Barrage are not appropriate, but many small schemes around the coast would be. We have a very extensive network of off-shore wind turbines in place, all with the infrastructure to

connect them to the grid. With this in mind the columns of of each of these turbines could be retro- fitted with reversible turbines generating power from every rise and fall of the tide. New turbines could have them designed into the columns at the construction stage. Energy Burning oil and gas to produce heat to produce electricity to produce hydrogen is bonkers. The gulf stream pouring past scotland is a phenomenal source of energy that could drive turbines 24/7, generating electricity on the spot which, if not used, could split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can then be stored and used as/when energy is needed. What is required is the vision, political will and an infrastructure fit for purpose (did not the 'Victorians' do infrastructure well?). Energy Many of us have thoughts and ideas about the whole energy issue which has many strands and interconnections with other aspects of our lives. The approach taken in the book 'Energy without the hot air' is helpful in this regard and the energy issue needs an Assembly approach all of its own that can examine evidence from knowledgeable and experienced people and bodies. Energy 82% of the oil Scotland extracts is exported:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/annual-energy-statement- 2019/pages/3/#:~:text=Oil%20and%20gas%20makes%20up%2092.7%25%20of%20Scotland's%20p rimary%20energy.&text=Oil%20and%20gas%20(%20i.e.%20hydrocarbons,all%20energy%20consu mption%20in%20transport

Scotland does not need to continue extracting oil from the north sea to meet it's energy needs. Energy The original post isn't clear. When it says Energy does it mean Electrical Energy or all Energy, electricity, gas, coal etc.

I suspect from the low percentage that it actually means electricity but its not clear. Energy I disagree that we need 'all types of energy'. Fossil fuels need to end. We need oil and gas for chemicals, but not to burn it, so we need to honestly move away from fossils. Energy I am aware of a number of community projects for renewable energy which have the support of local communities. These community projects would supply power at competitive retail prices to the local community. However, the problem comes down to balancing power demand with power supply. To make the projects viable there needs to be a buyer of last resort to buy any surplus power and to supply power to eh community if there is a shortage. Such a balancing facility does not exist from what I understand. if there were such a company which acted in the capacity of balancing power demand and supply (obviously there would need to be a margin between the buy in price and the sale price) but this would unleash a number of community energy projects. Power generation is a reserved power at Westminster, but the setting up of such a company would I believe be within the power of Scottish Government. Some European countries have have national companies which offer such a provision which facilitates the successful development of small scale local projects.

Energy I agree with you John Birchmore - storage is a huge issue. If scotland was to set up a National Energy Company and couple it with a Scottish Energy Development Agency (as per Common Weal's ideas: https://commonweal.scot/big-ideas/energy-make-scotland-renewable-powerhouse) these issues could be tackled head on. Energy Nuclear energy is Scotland's largest source of electricity and at the same time the largest source of clean energy. [1] The best time to build new reactors was a decade or two ago, but the second best is now. Despite that, the government opposes expanding the use of this clean, safe [2], and reliable energy source. [3] While Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Fusion could end up being superior in the future, conventional nuclear is available right now. Hence we should campaign for an evidence- based energy policy, instead of one grounded in fear.

[1] https://www.carbonintensity.org.uk/#regional

[2] https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy

[3] https://www.gov.scot/policies/nuclear-energy/ Energy Hi PaulG. Nuclear power is a bit of an emotional topic is it not? Safety is only one issue surely - there's the problem of waste disposal, not to mention the cost of dismantling the reactor etc at the end of it's useful life. I have a friend who has to visit these power plants who told me that one of them has a lump of granite at the entrance with a sign saying that there is more radiation coming of it than out of the building. Energy The most effective way to reduce energy wastage and promote use of renewables is to reconfigure the retail market for electricity.

The current arrangement incentivises retailers to sell as much electricity as possible: the exact opposite of what we need to happen.

We need to make electricity increasingly expensive the more that is used. For example, for domestic customers: 1p/unit for the first 10 units each day; 20p/unit for the next 10 units; 30p/unit for the next 10, and so on. This will provide an incentive to use less electricity and make essential electricity more affordable.

Replace every meter (domestic and commercial) with one that will go in reverse (as far as zero) when generation on site exceeds consumption. This will activate widespread private investment in solar, hydro and wind without the need for any grant aid.

Reward electricity retail companies (e.g. via tax reduction) on the carbon efficiency per unit supplied at the meter and the overall carbon efficiency of their customers. This will incentivise energy retailers to diversify into providing products and services that help their customers to become more energy efficient.

Energy Scotland should be leading the way in developing large scale wave and tidal technology. Nuclear energy should be banned, since the potential for catastrophic accidents is too high, and there is no way to dispose of the waste. Energy Whilst mh is right that the retail market is is not fit for purpose, I would disagree with the solution offered, novel as it is.

The first problem is that we have "smart meters" which are not smart, but simply dumb remotely read meters (sometimes) which sometimes are connected to a scale which tells us that with more appliances working we are using more electricity, surprise surprise!. These meters should be replaced which allow us to buy electricity according to price. Nearly all washing machines , for example have a timer included, but there is no incentive to use the timer as the price is the same no matter the time of day, but eh wholesale price varies according to demand. If the price were lower at say 3 am in the morning for the retail buyer then people would use their timers and spread demand for power. This would have a big impact on spreading demand and so reducing the need for peak generating capacity which is expensive and reduce power being dumped at time of low demand. As saving in generation costs and the need for standby capacity.

The second problem is that trying to create a competitive market at the retail level just adds to bureaucracy and costs for everyone. The cost is in generation and so the drive should be to reduce generation costs. Once the power is generated the cost of distribution is largely fixed so why bother

with the fantasy of creating a market. Have a monopoly buyer (we already have local monopolies of distribution as we only have one cable to the house) which buys power from the lowest cost source. Lowest cost is not just financial but also takes into account the environmental impact of that power generation and the carbon used. Everyone would be on the cheapest tariff by default and you bill would depend on how much power you used and what time of day you used it. Generators would be forced to cut costs through innovation and efficiency in order to keep supplying the monopoly buyer.

This would also save the constant looking for the best deal and wasting lots of time doing what is essentially an unproductive task.

Energy Re nuclear energy, can someone explain to me why investing in monolithic generation at a phenomenal cost which can only happen when the price is guaranteed at £93/MWhr plus inflation and massive decommissioning costs when offshore wind price is down to something like £53/MWhr and falling, is a good idea? Energy John Birchmore, 19 oct @ 19:56. I quite agree. Smart meters are named incorrectly - 'Dumb' might be more appropriate. I think the rest of the post is eminently sensible (I don't mean to sound patronising). One of the problems is our collective fear of monopolies - not surprising perhaps given the experiences of the last century. And some people's willingness to play on others' fears. If only we could harness everyone (well, most people) in pursuit of practices and policies based on a common- sense approach to issues such as this, for the benefit of the community (and the environment) and not the individual(s}. Energy Biogas from food and other organic waste can help decarbonise the grid. Even if we invest and transition to renewables like wind and solar, electricity will not replace gas grids and transport fuels so quickly. Biogas can be injected into the grid to decarbonise it and converted into very valuable products (look at Sweden and other Scandinavian countries leading the way). They also have fantastic waste separation and have worked hard to get public engagement and source separation of wastes to recycle more. I have food waste recycling option in my flat block but there are no signs encouraging people to do it, no kitchen caddies supplied, no explanation of what it's for, why it's important and why it's important to go to the effort of separating your food waste and I am one of the only flats that does it. This must be communicated with the public better! People don't engage with programmes because they don't feel like their small contribution can do much.. organic waste recycling is easy and, if lots of people do it can make a lot of difference if it is converted to biogas. We need more public engagement to empower people. Energy Strongly support de-centralised energy.

ALL newly built houses should have the passive-house design as their template, and solar panels as an integral feature. Energy Re johnbirchmore; cost of nuclear: You pay for quality. Sure, wind may be cheap per MWh but it's not at all guaranteed to be available when you need it. So you would either need massive amounts of storage, which would be very expensive but also an environmental disaster in its own right, or some other reliable energy source as backup. We don't have to look far for examples. Germany has invested large sums in renewables and not only hasn't reduced its emissions, but opened new coal plants and will need to base its energy production on imported gas. Meanwhile France, Sweden or Ontario-Canada have mostly decarbonised their grid decades ago with nuclear. The actual cost of electricity in these countries ended up being less than Germany. See https://www.electricitymap.org/ for carbon intensities. You can also play the game/simulation https://www.energymixer.uk/ to see why the intermittency of renewables makes them both ineffective and expensive.

As for waste, we already export most of it to France so that they can reprocess it and use it again as fuel (most of the "waste" is uranium which can be extracted). The remaining amount is so small that we can account exactly how it's stored. If we expand the use of nuclear and hippies stop crying so loud we could listen to the experts and also have these reprocessing facilities. The opposite is true for "renewables", whose composite materials are not easily recyclable and end up in the landfill. There is of course also the issue that medical radioisotopes are not going away whether we will have nuclear energy or not, so we will still need to store them without getting clean energy.

Energy I totally agree with PaulG October 18, 2020 at 17:51 comment.

Nuclear is a great source of clean energy that should not be discounted. The carbon footprint & impact on biodiversity can often be much less than renewables. It'd be nice if solar / wind had the same yield as nuclear but we need to think realistically about what energy sources we have right now that can help us reach net zero within the timeframe. Energy Re NatalieAlice 89 and Biogas. In principle the use of food waste for biogas is a good idea. However, biogas is not all methane but contains carbon dioxide and water, both of which have to be removed from the biogas before it can be injected into the gas grid. This involves the use of energy and the parasitic load has to be calculated to determine the net energy benefit from biogas. Once these factors are taken into account biogas becomes a lot less attractive as a source for the national grid. Energy ‘It’s great to see the development of some low-carbon district heat network. But why is it that only 2% of our heating and buildings in the UK are done using this kind of approach, whereas in countries like Denmark, it's over 40%?’

• Biomass plants are now providing some power. But how sustainable is the wood being used? In some biomass plants, wood pellets are coming from ancient forests in Latvia and Estonia…’

• ‘…And how will we be able to manage the long-term storage of carbon produced by biomass power plants? The development of carbon capture and storage will be hugely expensive and will need monitoring.’

Stories that give us hope:

• District heating networks, e.g. The Wyndford Estate in Glasgow, which also has a Heat Trust scheme to protect consumers if things go wrong.

• Plymouth Council’s initiative in setting up dozens of community-owned energy co-ops that plough back profits into projects.

• Groups like the Low Carbon Hub that runs a Community Energy Fund to grow a portfolio of community renewable energy projects.

IDEAS

• Create a favourable planning regime and ambitious targets for renewable energy.

• Require local leaders to recognise the need for clean heat, create a master plan, and use planning powers to require developers to connect to heat networks.

• Support the growth of new publicly-owned alternative energy companies, foster opportunities for community energy.

Energy I must correct rosemary that some pellets are coming from ancient woodlands in Latvia and Estonia. This is not the case and not permitted. The pellets are produced from sustainably managed forests and waste wood from sawmills. I agree that biomass as a source of energy over the full rotation does not actually lock up any carbon but during the rotation carbon is locked up and there are the many additional benefits of habit, water control etc.

Energy Totally agree with comment from mh on 19 Oct

Energy Please do not be attracted to nuclear power by trivialising the problem of nuclear waste or claiming clean energy. It is inappropriate and irresponsible to suggest exporting waste elsewhere. There is no solution to nuclear waste other than costly long term containment, storage and protection.

Note that the UK already has a 139 tons of plutonium as a result of reprocessing nuclear fuel that is estimated to cost the British tax payer £73 million a year for the next 100 years. That reprocessing happened largely because of the historic links between nuclear power and nuclear weapons. The two arms of the industry continue to support each other (Stirling and Johnson 2018).

The idea that nuclear power is ‘clean’ and carbon neutral focuses selectively at the point of generating electricity and forgets about the environmental damage and health costs of uranium mining, concrete in the construction of power stations and waste repositories and the necessities of very long term management of nuclear waste. If you count the carbon footprint across the whole cycle of everything involved in production, operation and decommissioning of an energy source, wind, wave and solar power are not carbon neutral either, but they are significantly better than nuclear.

The evidence that nuclear power is a much more expensive option for this country, here and now, than wind power is overwhelming and already accepted by the Scottish government.

Fears about radiation need not be irrational but, like the calculation of standards of radiation safety, based on judgements about acceptable health costs and risks. For a pregnant woman or very young infant there is no safe level of extra exposure to radioactivity; which is why x-rays are avoided in pregnancy. Nuclear power stations routinely release levels of radioactivity into the environment that are judged to be within safe limits and include very local spikes when reactors are shut down and cooling gases vented to the atmosphere. Spikes are always masked by annual statistics. The nuclear industry does not accept that leukaemia clusters around power stations are caused by such emissions, but many in the scientific community believe the evidence is sufficient to make the link. Modelling of risk shows that likelihood of catastrophic nuclear accidents is tiny, but mistakes happen sometimes with catastrophic consequences. Very significant effects follow from lesser accidents than Chernobyl and Fukishima, as shown by the closer-to-home examples of the Dounreay shaft explosion and the Windscale fire. Vested interests in keeping the industry going and financially viable encourage its operators to argue for elasticity of safety standard. This is exemplified in Scotland by EDF’s (a subsidiary of Électricité de France) successful lobbying of the Office of Nuclear Regulations for a relaxation in the number of cracks in the graphite core of a nuclear reactor that are regarded as unacceptable for safe operation– an upward revision of the safe-level was necessary to allow the recent restarting of reactor 3 and 4 at Hunterston B. Even if this only minutely increases the risk of catastrophic accident, given that such an accident would impact the whole of the Central Belt, was this acceptable given the known absence of any need for the additional electricity? The new inevitably slightly more dangerous standard now sets the precedent for all of the aging power stations in the UK.

Modular nuclear reactors have all the same problems – small is not, in this case, any better.

Britain’s stockpile of plutonium as a result of nuclear waste reprocessing https://thebulletin.org/2020/04/britain-has-139-tons-of-plutonium-thats-a-real-problem/

Stirling and Johnston’s paper https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3230021

Dounreay shaft https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-54085592

Cracks at Hunterston https://theferret.scot/hunterston-nuclear-reactor-cracks-1000-safety/

Energy We need the ability to buy electricity without subsidising shareholders of global corporations.. Nationalise energy production and distribution, and ration power when necessary. We are heading for climate catastrophe and need urgent drastic action Energy We need a radical plan for decarbonising the oil & gas industry in Aberdeen. This plan should open with the available carbon budget and be a live document that updates our budget constantly.

Aberdeen needs to start creating skills that are based on renewable technologies. The RGU Energy

Transition Institute represents transition in name ONLY. They have no manifesto for renewable technologies, this must change. Where are the courses in smart grid technologies etc etc

We need radical insulation of homes. We cannot meet the energy requirements of home heating in the timeframe given with homes that are as inefficient as they are now, we will need 4 times the number wind turbines.

The only way to significantly reduce the energy consumption required is to retrofit homes to (or close to) the Passivhaus standard. We need an ARMY of well trained retrofitters and designers and funding to make it happen. Peace-meal insulation improvements will only make the situation worse. Adopt the PAS2035 standard for retrofit NOW and let's get on with it, bring people out of fuel poverty and reduce our energy consumption. Energy Re: Post by LynnJamieson October 24, 2020 at 22:22:

> It is inappropriate and irresponsible to suggest exporting waste elsewhere.

If we are buying fuel and reactors from other countries it’s not unreasonable to have them reprocess waste, especially when they have the facilities. But in any case I would prefer if we had that industry in Scotland as well.

> There is no solution to nuclear waste other than costly long term containment, storage and protection.

Sure, but the small amounts of it make it practical. Especially since we don’t have any other options for reliable, abundant and clean electricity.

> Note that the UK already has a 139 tons of plutonium as a result of reprocessing nuclear fuel that is estimated to cost the British tax payer £73 million a year for the next 100 years. That reprocessing happened largely because of the historic links between nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

Not only are you conflating military and civilian use of nuclear fuels, but your amounts support that storing waste is reasonable. 139 tons might seem like a lot, but nuclear fuel and waste is quite dense, plutonium at 19.8 metric tonnes per cubic metre. That comes out to about 7 m^3, or a cube of 2m side. I hope you understand that this is not a huge amount, and it’s perfectly reasonable to seal the waste in concrete containers. It’s worth reminding that fissile fuel and waste is solid.

> The idea that nuclear power is ‘clean’ and carbon neutral focuses selectively at the point of generating electricity and forgets about the environmental damage and health costs of uranium mining, concrete in the construction of power stations and waste repositories and the necessities of very long term management of nuclear waste. If you count the carbon footprint across the whole cycle of everything involved in production, operation and decommissioning of an energy source, wind, wave

and solar power are not carbon neutral either, but they are significantly better than nuclear.

That’s not true at all. IPCC 2014 presented lifetime carbon intensities for various energy sources and nuclear has a median of 12 gCO2eq/kWh, which is very close to wind at 11, and much better than PV solar at 45. If nuclear waste is processed using clean energy, like in France, the emissions are even lower. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life- cycle_greenhouse_gas_emissions_of_energy_sources#2014_IPCC,_Global_warming_potential_of_s elected_electricity_sources

Of course you also have to consider that wind and solar sources are backed almost always by fossil fuels, whose emissions are very high.

> The evidence that nuclear power is a much more expensive option for this country, here and now, than wind power is overwhelming and already accepted by the Scottish government.

I addressed this above. You pay for quality, which in the long term pays off.

> For a pregnant woman or very young infant there is no safe level of extra exposure to radioactivity; which is why x-rays are avoided in pregnancy.

I have bad news for you then because life and the environment are naturally radioactive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose

However just like potassium in bananas, tritium in nuclear plant water does not bioaccumulate.

> Nuclear power stations routinely release levels of radioactivity into the environment that are judged to be within safe limits and include very local spikes when reactors are shut down and cooling gases vented to the atmosphere.

I would like a source for that claim. Most nuclear reactors in the UK are indeed gas cooled, however that coolant never comes in contact with the fuel (which is kept in fuel metal rods). It does come into contact with graphite and the gas itself can become radioactive by neutron absorption, but the concentration would still be low. Besides new reactors will almost certainly be water cooled and moderated, so neither gas nor graphite will be there. The only concern will be tritium which is quite safe, and its half-life is about a decade.

> The nuclear industry does not accept that leukaemia clusters around power stations are caused by such emissions, but many in the scientific community believe the evidence is sufficient to make the link.

A source for that would be appreciated. However the explanation of why the consensus is that there

is no significant risk is likely that the wealthy countries that have nuclear power stations can also provide better healthcare to their citizens and hence leukaemia is more likely to be diagnosed. The air pollution in big cities is also likely to be a factor.

> Very significant effects follow from lesser accidents than Chernobyl and Fukishima (sic)

Wildlife is thriving in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, and the area around Fukushima Daiichi is safe - workers continue to work there, and Chernobyl’s other reactors continued producing heat and electricity until 2000.

The Japanese government has found no effects on newborns, and eventually stopped monitoring.

> This is exemplified in Scotland by EDF’s (a subsidiary of Électricité de France) successful lobbying of the Office of Nuclear Regulations for a relaxation in the number of cracks in the graphite core of a nuclear reactor that are regarded as unacceptable for safe operation– an upward revision of the safe- level was necessary to allow the recent restarting of reactor 3 and 4 at Hunterston B.

In the opinion of the ONR, even now the regulations are likely to be too restrictive, and it will be up to EDF to submit evidence to change them, if they decide to increase the lifespan of their reactors further.

> was this acceptable given the known absence of any need for the additional electricity?

Wind turbines can go weeks with low production when it happens to be calm. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/14/national-grid-warns-of-short-supply-of-electricity- over-next-few-days

> Modular nuclear reactors have all the same problems – small is not, in this case, any better.

I do agree to an extent with that, since conventional reactors are more efficient and are available right now. The potential advantage of SMRs is in reduction of upfront costs through increased production of reactors which share the same design. Energy While one should always be respectful of others' opinions in a consultation like this, I feel obliged to respond to the lengthy notes on nuclear power submitted by PaulG.

The gentleman is using obfuscation and misdirection to deflect criticism of nuclear power. The earlier contributor challenged nuclear power on the basis of a) cost and b) environmental security.

The cost argument is already lost for nuclear power. It is approximately double the cost of new wind

power and the gap is steadily widening as renewable energy efficiencies improve. Industrial batteries of many different technologies are being introduced into mains electricity grids to store power when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine. This will, in the near to medium future, ensure that renewables become a steady source of power 24/7.

PaulG suggests that the volume of nuclear waste in the UK is a cube of 2 metres square. This is nonsense. The UK government's own Nuclear Decommissioning Authority predicts a final volume of nuclear waste to be 4.5 MILLION CUBIC METRES after all reactors are closed. Apologies for shouting. Even if we only count the expected Very High Level nuclear waste, it comes to about 1,400 cubic metres.

When the gentleman's first figures are so far off beam, I feel little need to debunk the rest of them.

Again, this was with the greatest respect. Energy Re: Post by jeff54 October 25, 2020 at 21:41:

> The cost argument is already lost for nuclear power. It is approximately double the cost of new wind power and the gap is steadily widening as renewable energy efficiencies improve.

The upfront cost of nuclear is higher because you get a better product. Nuclear has a 90% capacity factor and outages are typically planned well in advance and often can be rescheduled like it happened with covid and refuelling. Wind has a capacity factor of around 30% while solar around 10%. The actual generation of these sources is quite unpredictable (and you certainly can’t ask the weather to be nicer when reduced production is undesirable).

Let’s look at live carbon emissions: https://www.electricitymap.org/

Germany: 277g (15% nuclear, 35% wind, 25% coal)

UK: 154g (24% nuclear, 35% wind, 0% coal)

France: 32g (71% nuclear, 10% wind, 0% coal)

Average prices: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Electricity_price_statistics

Germany: 0.287 EUR/kWh

UK: 0.221 EUR/kWh

France: 0.191 EUR/kWh

So not only is electricity in France cleaner by a wide margin, it’s also cheaper (and it’s a windy night now). To believe that renewables are cheaper you would have to reject the evidence of your eyes.

> Industrial batteries of many different technologies are being introduced into mains electricity grids to store power when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine. This will, in the near to medium future, ensure that renewables become a steady source of power 24/7.

I will leave it to you, the reader, to do the maths about the amounts of storage that would be needed to power the grid for a few hours, let alone days, and leave it to you to conclude what would the environmental and economic impact be. Hint: in countries that have batteries, they are only used to smooth out very short term changes in supply/demand.

> PaulG suggests that the volume of nuclear waste in the UK is a cube of 2 metres square.

You are attacking a strawman. I never claimed that that figure represents all of UK’s nuclear waste, and explicitly quoted the parent comment for context. My quote includes the text that hints at the military nature of the waste, and it’s not unreasonable for a reader to read the parent comment to confirm what this figure represents. My intention was to give a perspective about the mass of plutonium.

> The UK government's own Nuclear Decommissioning Authority predicts a final volume of nuclear waste to be 4.5 MILLION CUBIC METRES after all reactors are closed. Apologies for shouting. Even if we only count the expected Very High Level nuclear waste, it comes to about 1,400 cubic metres.

I refer the reader to this post: https://nda.blog.gov.uk/2020/01/10/how-much-radioactive-waste-is- there-in-the-uk/

As jeff54 noted, the vast majority of that is low level waste, which includes stuff like the clothes and tools used by radiation workers, and generally stuff that is not dangerous to the environment, but is accounted and stored separately because of the high safety standards.

High level waste is what needs extra care, but 1400 m^3 is a cube of a 11.2m side, again not something that’s getting out of control. Of course in practice that will take more space because we won’t be storing that in a big cube, but dedicating a few square miles to it should not be unreasonable. High level waste has short half-life so within a few decades it turns into intermediate level waste which could be buried deep underground.

Even without nuclear power we would still need to store waste from medical, industrial and scientific uses. Energy Tidal and wave power - Scotland has such potential. where the investment. We need such an almighty shift from the polluting to the relatively clean. Can we re-imagine world world? Energy I offer that Energy and Land-Use are the two main areas that we must address in trying to ameliorate the climate crisis and cope with its effects. Most other topics such as transport; food supply; housing; house heating, etc. flow from these.

In discussing Energy, please start by helping the members of the Citizens Assembly to understand the total energy flow picture (not just electricity) and ensure their understanding of the balance of total

energy supply and demand, and the concepts of energy transformations (and their associated losses) – such as transforming heat energy to ‘higher grade’ electrical/mechanical energy; and electricity conversion to transport hydrogen.

Although it is for the whole UK, not just Scotland, the BEIS Energy Flow Chart is a very clear starting point for such an understanding, it also provides a framework within which to assess the viability of ideas that the Assembly might put forward - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-flow- chart-2019

If the work of the Assembly is to be influential then it must be realistic (numerate) in its recommendations.

I ask that the Assembly address the following:

* consider the energy return on any proposals – EROEI (Energy Return on Energy Invested).

* consider the transition route priorities from current technology – e.g. gas space heating is relatively less bad than oil based transport.

* look quantitatively at the practicality, timescale and EROEI for North Sea CCS.

* similarly consider hydrogen from reforming natural gas with CCS, but also –

* assess the feasibility (problems) of H2 transportation (it cannot be liquefied like methane).

* understand the true lifecycle energy costs and losses associated with electrolysis H2 for transport.

* understand the importance of, but limits to, energy use reduction e.g. the EROEI on building insulation/draught-proofing – for new build [building regs.] versus old retrofit.

* realistically assess: the cost / benefit / EROEI of transition to heat pumps for space heating (new build versus retrofit); the critical dependence on the type of heat source and sink for effectiveness; and the potential for perverse outcomes.

* understand the measure of intermittency of wind and solar and the need to match supply and demand.

* look quantitatively at the practical limits of demand side load management.

* similarly, look quantitatively at the likely practical limits and embodied energy costs of energy storage solutions – current and feasible future. [Illustration of scale: if one million charged Nissan Leaf 30 kWh cars could be connected to the grid it would supply UK electricity demand for 30 minutes or supply overall UK energy for 5 minutes.]

* assess our base load and peak lopping energy requirements.

* critically assess practicability and EROEI of tidal and wave energy proposals.

* critically examine the sustainability claims for wood bio-fuel power stations e.g. Lockerbie’s Steven’s Croft – “Uses waste wood . . “ but pictures and local knowledge indicate otherwise. [Drax – 10 million tonnes of wood per year shipped from USA, Canada and Baltic].

* discuss the risks and costs of failing to provide enough energy for sufficient life support globally,

and assess the risks and costs of potential solutions in this light.

* take into account the probable energy products/technologies being developed internationally by countries that do not have large wind and or solar resources, and consider whether Scotland should be part of this.

* give critical consideration to new nuclear units as part of the energy mix, particularly SMR (Small Modular Reactors); consider - intrinsic inherent safely designs; equitable availability of fuel (U238) / thorium ; use in disposing of high level waste; use for sustainable load levelling; use for transport hydrogen production; and security and risk threats balanced against the climate crisis risks.

* consider co-generation (combined heat and power) district heating – hydrogen or SMRs.

* in considering how to achieve NET zero CO2 emissions, critically examine offsetting claims and strategies – e.g. what type / extent / method of tree planting actually sequesters carbon (soil and trees); in what time frame; for what eventual use? consider the overall life cycle.

* beware of double accounting and misleading claims about carbon sequestration e.g. progressively losing soil carbon whilst planting/growing/harvesting conifer mono-culture plantations that are then used as bio-fuel and burned - is not a carbon offset.

* consider embodied energy labelling of all products.

I should be glad to expand on any of these subjects.

Green jobs Jobs done most often by women such as nursing, elderly care, childcare and teaching are inherently low-carbon industries and should be celebrated as such. These jobs need to be much better compensated and supported - our society relies heavily on them but they are overlooked and even ignored. More appealing working conditions, pay, benefits and respect would go a long way to making these jobs more appealing and giving many more people a low-carbon career that also benefits wider society in other ways too Green jobs Redirect subsidies currently benefitting fossil fuel corporations and use these funds to retrain workers into green jobs.

Move away from growth economics, instead prioritising welfare and sustainability. Green jobs More emphasis should be placed on training for a greener economy. At present even wind farms are dependent on foreign made turbines and installation teams from the EU and ultimately control from outwith these islands. We lost the initiate on that but it could be regained. Training courses in the new green technologies must be readily available. Green jobs Create properly paid apprenticeships with real qualifications and make sure these are accessible to young people who would normally be excluded for whatever reason, from dependable long term life opportunities.

Green jobs Vital that workers currently employed by the fossil fuel industry are re-trained and re-employed in renewable energy industries. Particularly important in north-east Scotland where I live. Aberdeen needs to become an international centre for green energy. The transition needs to be a Just Transition. Green jobs i totally agree with @gilliancummins comment above. in addition, we often forget that green jobs can also include the replanting trees. this should be a key area of focus in any green job strategy & consider how can we work with land owners, local communities, scotland's forestry commission to make a difference in capturing emissions at home as well as stopping international deforestation.

Green jobs I agree that we need to generate an eco circular economy model to replace the way we live. its just not sustainable. But we need to do our bit. Hand on heart, how many people actually live this way?

Stop listening to advertisers, marketeers and salesmen (refuse)

Stop buying new stuff (reduce)

Buy only pre-used stuff (recycle) (repurpose)

Stop throwing stuff away (repair).

People that work in the circular economy have green jobs, but we often think of recycling as something charities do, going to a charity shop to buy stuff has an image problem. I try really hard to live the change I want to see, but it takes effort and compromises.

How many people want to work in a charity shop selling old stuff? You cant get a much greener job than that, but its not the most enticing employment is it?

ps, I work for a bike recycling charity, which is awesome. Green jobs A recent IPPR report said that investing in a green economic recovery could create as many as 1.6m new jobs in Britain as the Covid-19 crisis subsides.

http://www.ippr.org/research/publications/transforming-the-economy-after-covid19

IDEAS

• promote the growth of green, fair and sustainable economic recovery, with a fair transition for those working in sectors most affected into new green jobs.

• Reduce or abolish VAT on green products and services (but it's a UK power, sadly)

• use a national economic triaging system under which businesses changing to a zero-carbon future would receive funding to help them undertake low-energy restructuring. This to involve:

technology and efficiency standards.

mandatory disclosure of emissions.

strategies to reach net-zero to be independently monitored and audited.

training in new skills in sustainable businesses.

• Skill up the workforce to retrofit Scottish homes with insufficient insulation.

• Use taxes to encourage people to buy electric cars and bikes.

• Champion sustainable local economies; and support community and not-for-profit organisations which help finance, install, and operate various green products.

Green jobs This has to be the key area of hope as it we can hope for support for those who are anxious about the need to protect and cherish 'our economy' and those who are primarily focused on emission

reductions or the social justice aspect of a green transition. All can be addressed by an urgent policy of new green training and employment re-steering. Green jobs Move to a wellbeing economic model would support this aim, and low paid meaningless jobs which exploit workers would be replaced by green socially useful work mentioned in other comments. Green jobs Universal Basic Income should also be considered. Green jobs I endorse what alpegu says about moving away from growth economics, and the comments from PhilJones about the need to change how we live and consume. We'll need a fundamental re-think of our systems and our expectations if the crisis is to be addressed effectively, and it's urgent. Scottish Government has made a well-intentioned start but 'green' policies sometimes seem like piecemeal tweaks to old models, and some key areas haven't been addressed at all (e.g. aviation). The climate crisis must be central to ALL policies, including economy and employment, with coherent messages about the need for change. Green jobs We could have a massive government programme of retro-fitting homes and all buildings with a high standard of insulation. This could provide good, skilled, well-paid jobs on a big scale. It would also tackle fuel povery.

We should also make sure that all parts for windfarms are built in Scotland and that contracts are not shipped out to overseas where they are made by a workforce with slavery wages.

An example of this is BiFab in Fife where the contract did not go to the local company and workforce. This was shameful and is compeletly out of balance with our so-called climate leadership Green jobs The scottish governments net zero target of 2045 is too late. Why not an earlier Just tarnsition now funded by taxes on the largest emitters - Ineos, SSE and the oil and gas extractors. Land use Short term monoculture conifer plantations are not effective at carbon capture and risk disease wipe out. Give grants in favour of native broadleaf species instead which will also benefit biodiversity as well as people's mental and physical health. Encourage more local food links = less food miles allotments etc. More funding to support farming of benefit to the environment rather than intensive farming and subsidies on capital spending on sheds, machinery and land improvements such as drainage and re landscaping fields. Support for more community rewilding projects. Land use Treat biodiversity as we would a crop. Pay farmers and landowners for its production and maintenance, for which there are many benifits, including job creation, tourism, wildlife regeneration and carbon sequestration Land use If our country was our world, what ratio of land use would be required to be sustainable? A lot less plantation forestry, a lot fewer sheep and cows, a lot more organic vegetable production, more native broadleaf woodland, more peat bogs. So the idea is due the government to immediately stop funding the things we don't need more of, such as telling forestry and land Scotland to stop planting any new Conifer plantations, only plant native trees, until the correct balance is reached. Similarly, farmers should not recieved subsidies for sheep hill farming as this destroys native flora and fauna. Give them subsidies for correct environmental food production eg mob grazing where animals are moved every day, promoting regeneration of the land. Land use Scotland needs a land reform to undo the damage of its land inequality, which is one of the worst in the world. This land reform should focus on:

- Restoring the Caledonian forest and protecting peatlands.

- Banning grousing estates and moorland burning.

- Moving away from monocrop cultures and animal agriculture to prioritise local, organic farming which protects the soil.

- Ensure land access is not limited to the wealthy. Land use Totally agree with previous two comments. Grousemoor is not a land use - it's a land abuse, linked to loss of biodiversity, appalling wildlife crime, and threats to access. Introduce a land tax; no exemptions for wealthy landowners on any pretext, to encourage landowners to let go of parcels of

land for regenerative agriculture, food growing, rewilding. Land values should simultaneously be regulated so that land is affordable, to buy or lease.

Land use Work with farmers who produce the food we eat, to enable them to produce more sustainably, within planetary boundaries. This involves better soil management (fertility, soil water and maintenance of structure and stability), using well tested techniques of soil and water conservation through mechanical and biological controls. Promote agroforestry, intercropping, and more (but not necessarily exclusive) use of organic methods. Critically assess GMOs and make rational science- based decisions on what works and improves our standard and quality of living and what is detrimental and dangerous to that and use that evidence for decisions.

Land is a common resource so elite capture of land use should be phased out via progressive land reform but not overnight and by working with land owners to get them onboard rather than through precipitate aggressive actions that creates conflict and animosity. Ultimately land should be brought back into common ownership. Land use The Bio-Diversity collapse we are facing is just as important if not more important than Co2.

Fix Bio-Diversity, the climate will follow.

Large areas of land need to be put by for Ecological restoration, more native trees in the right places, urban areas suitable mix of native and appropriate non native.

Wildflower meadows, more widespread beavers to aid in flood prevention, .

Ban driven grouse shooting and all the Ecocide that entails.

Stop building industrial windfarms on active blanket bog, so hypocritical when spending millions on peatland restoration.

The so called National parks are a joke.

Wildlife refugia owned by the public for the landscape to heal its self thus benefiting Bio-Diversity and the public in general.

Time is fast running out, get it done! Land use Stop allowing peat extraction now.

Link all grants and subsidies to improving land for nature conservation and demand much more positive action.

Start schemes for habitat restoration.

Land use Introduce investment programmes that encourage farmers nearing retirement to work with the local community to hand the farm into local community ownership. Then retain and retrain the farmers to gradually introduce soil improvement programmes, wildlife planting and local food crops. Train young people for skills in managing wildlife, restoring habitats and better farming techniques. Accelerate the use of new technologies in farming e.g. to reduce reliance on chemicals and use electric vehicles. But above all else, use these farms as educational resources for local people and encourage access for

small scale growing and animal husbandry Land use Land Use should focus on three themes:

1. Agriculture, growing a wide range of foods in support of a nutritious diet for all.

2. Continuation of forestry to provide building timber and associated products.

3. Development of woodlands for the benefit of biodiversity, public leisure and carbon drawdown. Land use We need to look at land use holistically and use different landscapes for those land uses which they are most effective for.

1. We need to prioritise the protection and restoration of carbon sinks such as peat land, wetlands and native woodlands. We need to ban developments on such sites and also stop their degradation e.g. stop destructive practices associated with grouse rearing and shoots.

2. We need to relook at how we farm and grow food in concert with ensuring biodiversity, sustainability and rewilding. Organisations such as : https://farmersforstockfreefarming.org/ have some sound ideas.

3. Communal/ community land needs to reinstated and communities enabled and supported to buy, manage and enjoy this land. Land use All pesticide and herbicide use must be halted if we are to stop the decline in pollinators. We need more broadleaf forests and reforestation to absorb CO2 and also to create a diverse landscapes for all wildlife. Mono crop forests do not add to biodiversity. There is overgrazing of the land as a whole by unsustainable sheep populations which should cease to be subsidised. More or all land must be used for organic food production or natural forests. The land ownership as a whole must be reviewed to ensure it is owned by the Scottish people not foreign interests as these are primarily shooting interests. Land use The two comments of October 11 hit the nail squarely on the head. Excellent. Land use More rewilding and natural farming. So much of Scotland is consumed by sheep and cattle farms. Rewilding with subsidies in combination with a more natural farming approach, so that grazing land will be more diverse will increase biodiversity, healthy soils, carbon stores and more.

Education on shifting baseline syndrome. So many people think sheep/ grouse land etc is natural when in fact the land should have forest or other natural land types instead. We look so much to other countries to address their deforestation issues whilst thinking that our land is how it's supposed to be. When it's not.

The ecological sparsity of farmland is sad. More natural forests in combination with natural farming could be a good image for Scotland to adopt and lead the way for the rest of the UK. Show Westminster how it's done! Land use Many people here claiming that we should all be growing organic vegetables completely ignoring the fact that organic farming works best when livestock and grassland are a part of the system.

For increased vegetable production to be worthwhile it must expand in areas which are not presently producing and routes to market will need to exist for that to happen.

Land use Bu chòir taigheadas ann am meadhan nan cathair-bhailtean a bhith na phrìomhachas seach leasachaidhean taigheadais is bùithtean "out of town". a tha a' brosnachadh càraichean. Ann an Glaschu gu sònraichte, bu chòir barrachd àiteachan fuirich a bhith ann am meadhan a' bhaile. Land use government subsidy for forestry and agriculture must be more environmentally friendly. the current practices are not sustainable and impact negatively on biodiversity. this should be a key criteria that can be demonstrated.

also there are so many untapped opportunities within towns / cities, in particular within the central belt & west of scotland, to re-wild areas to restore natural biodiversity. Land use Friends' stories:

• ‘Reducing sheep and cattle farming, which produce greenhouse gases, is a real problem for our farming neighbours. How can we do it? Hill farmers produce lamb on land not suited to arable crops. Should they be encouraged?’

• ‘I started keeping pigs as a source of safe, home-reared meat, but my rare breed pigs raised with maximum regard for animal welfare (and which tasted magnificent!) had a higher carbon footprint than modern breeds. In the end, I shifted in favour of less carbon and less meat.’

IDEAS:

• Reward a shift away from beef and sheep farming, towards low-carbon farming, enhanced wildlife protection and flood mitigation.

• A clear direction of travel to allow farmers to invest.

• Support more fruit and veg growing to reduce imports, also miscanthus for bio energy.

• Increase funding and raise targets for native woodland creation and restoration.

• Create a framework for deciding how we use our land.

• Preserve and restore our peatlands which store carbon and reduce greenhouse gases

Land use 1. Ban Grouse moors

2. Cull deer heavily to allow native forests to return & ban stalking for sport as sporting estates actively encourage high deer numbers for their wealthy clients to find deer easily

3. Use only native trees for plantations - especially Aspen (Populus tremula) which can be coppiced forever

4. Remove sheep from hillsides

5. Pay farmers for achieved biodiversity increases

6. Ban ALL HERBICIDES, PESTICIDES and chemical fertilisers

7. Educate the public on the social and ecological advantages of ReWilding Land use I'm shocked and disappointed that not one of the 'ideas we initiated' examines our economy. Can the assembly organisers not see that this is the vital, and first, debate that needs to be had?! Land use A complete switch to regenerative agriculture has the potential to eliminate those agricultural emissions and drawdown carbon while increasing biodiversity, improving soils and providing nutrient rich food. Regenerative agriculture needs to be supported while subsidies that encourage drainage, removal of hedgerows and any wilder areas in favour of grassland for head of cattle need to be stopped.

Increased restoration of peat lands.

Ban on grouseshooting moors and replaced by rewilding projects that will support economy through

eco-tourism.

Financial incentives increased for native broadleaf planting instead of monoculture sitkaspruce.

Creation of wildlife corridors throughout Scotland. Land use Land should no longer be used for shareholder profit, nor for any activity that destroys biodiversity. Remove tax breaks for grouse shooting estates, apply and enforce strict penalties for shooting, killing, trapping and poisoning raptors, mountain hares, foxes and beavers. Require agricultural practices to revert to methods that do not poison plants and instead replenish soil health . Land use If Scotland has plans to expand the space industry then a "Space Port" must not be built on or near sensitive areas of land. Previously this has been planned for ancient peat lands with Sutherland.

Protect our peat lands and build the space-port somewhere else, either at sea or on existing brown- field sites. Land use Compulsory purchase of estate lands where necessary.

I agree with alpegu and others here that land reform is one of the key tools we can use to tackle climate change and loss of biodiversity. However, I would go further and suggest that compulsory purchase would be appropriate to maximise the potential impact on climate change.

Where land is identified as being suitable for reforesting, or as peatland at risk, then compulsory purchase could be used to ensure that the land is used in a way which is most suitable and effective for reducing greenhouse gases (including CO2 capture and reducing release of methane etc., as determined by scientific advice) and restoring biodiversity. If landowners will allow this change to their land, then volunteers and/or grants could help cover or contribute to the work and cost (with agreement that the work will be protected, e.g. new forest not accidentally allowed to burn down) and they would keep it. If not then the land would be subject to compulsory purchase and used anyway. Planting should be done carefully to provide healthy forest according to expert guidance. The sale of carbon credits might be a way to fund this scheme? Habitat development and reforesting may also be compatible with installing wind turbines if this is appropriate and most efficient in terms of lifetime greenhouse gas emissions and reduction in fossil fuel use.

People may think this approach extreme, but climate change is an emergency requiring high-impact and wide-ranging interventions to avoid almost unimaginable damage to our planet and life as we know it. Interventions which are likely to have the most beneficial effects are unlikely to be undertaken voluntarily.

Land use Climate change experts are increasingly recognising that we have very little prospect of meeting out climate change goals unless we repurpose land for woodland. That necessitates repurposing grazing land, given the proportion of Scotland currently used for that purpose.

Assumptions about what our land is suitable for, and myths about food sufficiency hold back meaningful discussion in this area. For example, the idea that most of Scotland's land is only suitable for sheep grazing is not correct, as most if not all land used for sheep could be used for native forestry, to rewild, with all of the benefits that would bring, in terms of carbon capture, access to nature for all, replacing habitats we destroyed, improving biodiversity. The usual response to pointing this out is that if we repurposed the land currently used for grazing to re-establish native woodland, we wouldn't have enough food. Research has been done that shows that we could repurpose all of the land currently used for grazing for native woodland, and we would still produce enough food for all, in fact we could reduce our dependency on imports. The report can be found here: https://animal.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/Eating-Away-at-Climate-Change-with-Negative- Emissions%E2%80%93%E2%80%93Harwatt-Hayek.pdf Land use There needs to be a more strategic approach to land use and greater support for the regional land use partnerships.

We need more woodland of all types, including more rewilded areas and productive timber crops.

For all land uses, there must be a "level playing field" of regulation and financial support based on sustainability, public benefit and environmental impact Land use Completely agree with the general feeling about land reform as asoon as possible in Scotland...embarrass and show up England also. Land use Two major factors should greatly influence land-use in Scotland for the foreseeable future.

1) the imperative of reducing net carbon dioxide emissions so as to reduce the rate and extent of global warming and the consequent climate changes (as well as ocean acidification and sea level rise) that are already negatively impacting human and natural systems.

The urgency of addressing this imperative is described in the IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, (IPCC SR1.5, published October 2018), which calls for “rapid and far-reaching transitions in energy, land, urban and infrastructure (including transport and buildings), and industrial systems”.

Moreover, another report published jointly in September 2018 by The Royal Society and The Royal Academy of Engineering, see:

https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/greenhouse-gas-removal/

emphasises the need for large scale carbon sequestration thus: “Pursue rapid ramp-up of forestation, habitat restoration, and soil carbon sequestration, across large UK land-areas.”

2) The second of these factors are the reports:

i) WWF. 2018. Living Planet Report - 2018: Aiming Higher. Grooten, M. and Almond, R.E.A.(Eds). WWF, Gland, Switzerland.

This reported that the Average abundance of 16,704 populations representing 4,005 species monitored across the globe declined by 60% since 1970.

In the paper, the authors suggest three necessary steps in a roadmap for the post-2020 agenda:

- clearly specify the goal for biodiversity recovery,

- develop a set of measurable and relevant indicators of progress, and

- agree a suite of actions that can collectively achieve the goal in the required time-frame.

The WWF report concludes, “we are the first generation that has a clear picture of the value of nature and the enormous impact we have on it. We may also be the last that can act to reverse this trend.”

This global report follows on from the 2020 Challenge for Scotland's Biodiversity report here:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/publication/2013/06/2020- challenge-scotlands-biodiversity-strategy-conservation-enhancement-biodiversity- scotland/documents/00425276-pdf/00425276-pdf/govscot%3Adocument

This Scottish report acknowledges that it is Scotland's response to the Aichi Targets (2010) set by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (2010) and the European Union's Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 (2011). These call for a step change in efforts to halt the loss of biodiversity and to restore the essential services that a healthy natural environment provides.

The Present Situation in Scotland:

The current dominance of very large areas of Scotland in order to accommodate sport shooting of grouse and deer is incompatible with the urgent need for much higher levels of carbon sequestration and the recovery of biodiversity.

Recommendations:

1. It is essential that the findings and recommendations of these reports, from the IPCC 1.5, from the Royal Society et al, from WWF and from the 2020 Challenge for Scotland's Biodiversity, should be fully incorporated into future land-use changes in Scotland.

2. The Scotland's Climate Assembly should:

i) explicitly acknowledge, and outline measures to remedy, the 1 to 1.5 million hectares of Scottish land that is currently devoted to managed grouse moorland. This is a system of land use that, as a consequence of its burning regime and other management measures: prevents tree regeneration, minimises ground vegetation and indurates soils, each of which minimise carbon sequestration and negatively impacts on biodiversity.

ii) explicitly acknowledge, and outline measures to remedy, the even greater area of Scottish land

devoted to sport shooting of deer, which, by requiring high densities of deer to accommodate clients, also leads to loss of tree regeneration, denuded ground vegetation and indurated soils, and likewise minimises carbon sequestration and negatively impacts on biodiversity and increases the expense (via fencing costs etc.) of woodland creation on adjacent land.

iii) recognise the need for a substantial increase in near-natural native woodland, including high level scrub up to the tree-line, in view of of its importance for biodiversity, landscape and amenity, carbon sequestration, soil enhancement and conservation, and flood amelioration.

Our communities Empower, enthuse, Inform, educate, fund and make it easy for people lots are volunteer and work or don't have the necessary time and skill sets Our communities Turn jobs typically done by people from socioeconomically deprived and marginalised communities into better paid, appealing roles. COVID-19 has better than anything else highlighted what these vital, frontline roles are so now is the time for Scotland to show how it values these people and communities. Our communities A citizen's basic wage or universal basic income would liberate communities from poor working and living conditions. It would improve access to training and education in order for more people to enter into fulfilling, sustainable work, and would put pressure into current industries to make pay fairer, improve working conditions, and to make greener choices that employees and customers support.

Pay for it through wealth redistribution by making polluters pay, taxing the mega rich and clamping down on tax avoidance by the over-privileged. Our communities Allow for and facilitate community-owned and community-run energy, transport and food systems for local solutions that benefit everyone. Our communities Make simple changes in the community, such as recycling bins, more available (i know there may be an issue with people using the wrong bins)

Also, try to improve the efficiency, cleanliness and price of public transport in order to encourage people to use that instead of their car all the time. Our communities “Adaptation is more than a keyword: it resembles a hegemonic discourse,

anchored currently in equally powerful discourses of security, risk management, and resilient social” (Watts 2015:21)

When we think about 'adaptation', often we think about how to 'adapt' within the current [broken] system. We think about climate impacts as the source of our vulnerabilities, so we start to think about responses to climate change, not what social structures have caused those vulnerabilities.

Therefore, the conversation becomes orientated around what can we do as individuals, rather than what systems need to be changed to address the climate crisis.

We need to start to understand how to rethink the prevailing political and economic structures, which policy makers represent and reproduce, that fundamentally cause the inequalities we see in the world.

So, to start with, we need to help to educate our communities about the biases in the system, and

stop perpetuating the idea that the changes we need are as individuals who are governed by a benevolent, neutral state. Our communities The SCCAN organisation is a great place to start.

Scottish Communities Climate Action Network: www.scottishcommunitiescan.org.uk

Also, Holyrood should accelerate its initiative around so-called 'Climate Hubs'. Our communities Community empowerment is key. Communities need to be supported and empowered by enabling them to not only access the necessary information on how to create local plans/ organisations and projects but also how they can put their plans into action. Regional climate action network hubs are a good idea in this regard. A national database of 'good practice'/ case stidies and mentors would be great.

What is also needed though is the support of working and buying local to help build communities and reach everyone in the community so, for instance, communal work hubs with good teleconferencing facilities, computers, desks etc. and also markets/ outlets for local produce in each community.

Communities should be at the heart of decision making not simply allowed once plans are made to comment on them. When creating a regional/ local just transition plan communities should be working in concert with decision makers from the start in framing the exercise as well as taking part in it - we need climate assemblies for each region not just nationally!

Community work needs to be properly valued and funded - currently education and prompting of action is not funded - it needs to be.

Our communities I totally agree with @Alison October 13, 2020 at 15:22 post.

i'd add - local authorities / councils have a key role to play in empowering communities to take this forward. it's important that funding is made available from Scottish Government (& is ring fenced for this purpose solely) to make support local authorities to take this forward in partnership with third sector / community organisations. Our communities Communities should be represented via a much more robust 'localised' democratic system. Currently community councils are toothless and resourceless, and in rural areas affected by depopulation, often disregarded locally as a bunch of elderly volunteers.

Communities should be decision-makers in respect of local issues, and with more powers regarding planning and community wealth-building, land use, budget allocation, etc.

Our communities Communities should be more active in maintaining a good environment and walkways. Our communities For people to accept that change is needed they have to be truly involved at a local level. Local consultation has too often been a tick box exercise which is then ignored. Local communities are key to the changes which need to be made and for people to feel they can make a difference rather than feeling helpless in the face of global heating Our communities Communities would thrive in a wellbeing economy. End infinite growth, as this is the ideology that is killing us and everything on the planet Our communities Fund communities to turn land into market gardens and allotments. Fund start-ups for local composting businesses. Enable communities to take over empty premises for community use, e.g. outlets for locally produced goods. Who should do Governments must lead and support communitiez what? Who should do Take away the choice that big business and industries currently have to reduce emissions and act what? responsibly. More industry regulation must be agreed between world governments - Scotland should push for this and implement at home where it can. Implement a carbon tax and other polluter-pays models Who should do Widespread taxation of polluting companies to pay for the harm they have caused. End all subsidies what? to these companies and instead fund retraining programs for workers to access well-paid green jobs.

Allow for and facilitate community-owned and community-run energy, transport and food systems for local solutions that benefit everyone. Who should do for a start stop building windfarms on peat and blanket bog. the windfarm being built in shetland is on what? deep peatland and no regard for the carbon offset as well as the loss of unique biodiversity this is causing.

also to prevent future constructions on peatland, as this is an important carbon sink Who should do We need to move away from 'in the box' thinking, whereby individuals are asked to change their what? personal behaviors (e.g. recycle more, use your bike rather than a car) and start thinking more about what systemic changes need to be made. Reconsider how our market operate, rethink how we measure the success of an economy etc. Who should do More citizens assemblies; move away from the top-down lecturing on climate change which often what? serves to make individuals feel guilt and hopelessness, whereas the biggest changes must come from the state eg. creating a sustainable energy infrastructure, decarbonising public service vehicles etc. Who should do All political parties support a transition to a sustainable, just, fair carbon neutral society. Don't vote for what? those that won't make that commitment! Who should do Central governments must lead the changes, and then maintain momentum to embed such changes what? in society. Such changes should be a combination of 'carrot and stick'.

The Scottish Government should be applauded for its ambition in its current Programme for Government. Let's hold them to account for delivering on this ambition.

The introduction of a Carbon Tax would bring an avalanche of business creativity and entrepreneurship in pursuit of 'net zero'.

Holyrood should also be prepared to trust Shire and City Councils with sufficient powers and funding to make a real difference locally.

Who should do Central government needs to take a lead role in creating the environment for change. It needs to what? create the legal and regulatory framework and provide the incentives to ensure that the necessary changes can and will be made. All governmental decision making should be made with the critical aim of a just green transition to net zero in mind.

Clear instructions, aims and objectives need to be given to the councils with support and finance given to enable the requisite change to occur to reach net zero in time.

Each region should have an overview body that can help develop a 'just green transition' strategy and action plan for that region bringing all the stakeholders in that region and ensuring community involvement and using deliberative/ participatory democracy to create the plans and ensure accountability.

Individuals can only make 'the right choices' if they are empowered to do so and need regulatory and legal help to do. For example, manufactories banned for using non- recyclable packaging Who should do In terms of infrastructure, "joined-up" thinking will require joined-up organisation, and that would be what? easier if transport, energy, water and waste disposal were all publicly owned.

For instance, when ferries were owned by the railways, timetables were written so that trains connected with the ferries. Now we have a situation where the (privatised and foreign owned) ferry to Northern Ireland has been moved from Stranraer, where there was a direct link to the railway, to Cairnryan, where there isn't.

Again, in terms of waste disposal and energy generation, biogas generation would be easier to implement with a nationalised gas board that could work with publicly owned sewage and recycling processors. Who should do This has got to be about system change. Individuals cutting out plastic straw use and recycling more what? won't save the planet. We can all try not to make things worse, but governments have to change the big stuff - agricultural subsidies, support for fossil fuel industries, building regulations or planning applications nodded through that don't include zero-carbon measures, spending on new roads, tolerance of tax evasion - these are where change needs to happen, and only governments can do that. Who should do Generally, power and decision-making should be as close to the community as possible. The best what? examples (I think) are the community-owned or managed estates of the Highlands and Islands, and community woodlands too. These should be better known, celebrated, and other communities encouraged and supported to emulate them. The process of communities taking ownership appears to be bureaucratic as well as expensive, and must be made easier. Serious support to the community volunteers that drive these initiatives is critical. How about funding for development / project officers for every community which has aspirations to buy or manage local assets? These could be employed by an umbrella body (eg Community Land Scotland?) and seconded to work for say 2 years with community groups.

A Universal Basic Income and / or 4-day week might support more volunteer activity generally, including in this area. Who should do There is a move to make individuals feel responsible for stopping the climate emergency when what? change should be from the top. Governments need to take action before it is too late. Fossil fuel companies should pay compensation for the destruction they have caused Who should do there should be a role for the fossil fuel industry, who are often the richest companies on the planet & what? have benefited heavily from the destruction of this planet, to take a lead in reducing the amount of green house gases in the atmosphere. there are ways of doing this but all countries must agree to make them pay otherwise they'll find loop holes.

change is required at an international, national, regional and individual level. all individuals and industries are responsible. Who should do Commentators above put this well, thank you. It cannot be achieved on an individual basis. what? Who should do This is a climate and ecological emergency and our actions need to be bold and far-reaching. In order what? to make the biggest change in global warming gas emissions in the shortest time we need the government to lead. We urgently need carbon taxation and regulation, starting with the biggest polluters and working from the top down. Incremental changes are all very well but they are essentially a diversion. We need system change. Who should do Changes at the scale demanded decisions and actions at central and local government level. what? However, many local communities want to make changes but lack the tools to do this. The Scottish Government should address this by providing greater support regarding how to measure carbon at the local level, what actions would have the biggest wins and how these can be implemented. There is too much waiting for communities to come up with ideas and not enough support for them. Who should do At the moment Governments set the rules to make it easy for businesses to carry on with business what? as usual, which means continued pollution. They also set the rules to make it difficult to build cycle lanes, better public transport more efficient homes etc. They also set the rules that provide tax breaks to oil companies, money which could be spent at developing a jobs in greener industries.

So it's not all the Governments responsibilty to save us, but they need to be setting the rules to make it easier for communities to get together to make it easier to help transform out society. At the moment the rules favour big business and big finance. Who should do Only our government can end oil subsidies and move our economy from infinite growth to wellbeing what? economy. They need to do this fast Who should do The Big Oil Reality Check 2020 and the 2020 Oxfam Report on Climate Change and Global Justice what? both provide evidence that the magority of emissions are linked to the biggest companies and the richest 5% of the worlds people. Who should do We know by now what we need to do. The difficulty is that it is often harder, more expensive, more what? complicated and difficult to do the right thing. A sieve on any proposal should include an assessment of whether it makes it EASIER for Jo Public to do the right thing. Until that happens we cannot expect ordinary people to change their behaviour. Similarly, unless we make the right actions CHEAPER (by appropriate subsidies if necessary) we cannot expect societal change. The same applies to making it easier for companies and other organisations to do the right thing. Who should do We can all recycle and use green alternatives until the cows come home but there has to be strategic what? ,joined up national and international planning to tackle the problems of climate change and loss of biodiversity.

Integrated transport systems in Scotland, the removal of transportation of heavy loads from roads to rail, improved cycle/walking paths throughout towns and rural areas.

Planning permission must place the environment at the heart of all new builds, All new builds must have solar panel systems or wind turbines included in their plans. Who should do Every person and every sector of our society needs to transform to effectively stop living what? unsustainably. However, it is not a level playing field and therefore there are vastly different levels of responsibility. Individuals can only do so much within a system which precludes living sustainably and where for example they are subjected to an onslaught of advertising and positive reinforcement to keep the current self destructing status quo going. Clearly there needs to be individual support for the significant changes required, but it is the system that has to change. For example, this current economic capitalist system is fundamentally based upon growth. This growth drives demand for products, or drives products to have to be replaced quickly through single use, or have planned obsolesence. The growth imperitive drives the production of excessive and unneccessary products. All of which is catalysed by the advertising industry - individuals, us, are all victims of our current system. Economic growth is one of the main drivers of our environmental predicament. This cannot be changed by individual actions alone. We need the government to act, we need industry to transform and we need to stop the harmful lobbying of our political system by vested interests.

So who should do what? The main focus should be on the Scottish government to create genuine system change. That is we need to move to a post growth economy and we need to change our political system to remove the influence of vested interests and move away from a party politics based approach. Infrastructure Stop being road assessed, more digital infrastructure instead. The lockdown illustrated how much non essential road travel there is. Reduce car ownership through car pools and car sharing Infrastructure Aggressively adopt nature based solutions for things like flood defenses, land stabilisation, and coastal erosion defenses. These would improve the look of the land, provide sustainable jobs for communities, improve biodiversity, act as carbon sinks and avoid CO2 production from concrete. Infrastructure Divert money that work be spent on new roads to greener infrastructure such as rail and telecommunications. Infrastructure No new roads. Simple. Maintain existing roads, don't allow any increase in road width, unless it is for a cycle path to go next to the road. Increase cycle networks, particularly those that are away from, but allow the same route as busy roads, eg the A75 between Dumfries and Stranraer must not be widened but does need an alternative cycle/ walking path parallel to it, with decent crossing places. Infrastructure Rethink the use of space so that driving and parked cars no longer dominate streets and roads. Invest in community-owned, free public transport networks and massively increase cycle paths and secure bicycle storage spaces.

Mass tree planting on riversides and cities to act as flood defenses and temperature regulators. Infrastructure No more roads that are for cars. Infrastructure Adapt and build resilience of infrastructure to cope with the inevitability of increased weather extremes. Concentrate on railways and roads linking remote areas as these are often the most neglected. If rural communities can not be linked up with reliable regular public transport routes they will still need roads (for buses if nothing else) but for many, still, private cars. Improve the main north- south rail routes so that these are less liable to damage and closure from extreme weather events. Invest in the rail network rather than in major airport expansion (Island communities may still need air links but ferry services can also be improved).

Strengthen bridges, cuttings, but stop cutting down tree cover adjacent to rail lines that is not an immediate threat to the functioning of that line.

More pedestrianised town and city centres. Disincentivise city centre driving through congestion charging (but provide a high qulaity public transport alternative).

More, safe cycle ways so cyclists do not risk death every day. Infrastructure All new structure plans and planning consents should be based on sustainable travel rather than roads infrastructure.

All land should not be valued just for its commercial output. It is for wildlife and people. Infrastructure Infrastructure should support three themes:

1. Public Transport, especially bus and rail

2. Active travel, including cycling, walking, jogging and 'wheeling'.

3. Personal Mobility and Shared Mobility (increase parking for EVs and 'approved' car sharing)

Furthermore, we should adopt the the assumption that major road-building is The Last Resort. Building more roads creates more traffic; this has been true for decades and will continue to be so.

An example is the ongoing work to dual the main roads into Inverness from Perth and Aberdeen. Far better to dual the rail lines first, enabling fast rail services for freight, tourism, leisure and commuting. Infrastructure All infrastructure decision should prioritise reduction of GHGs as a key aim.

We need to make active travel the norm for short local travel. All new developments must link into surrounding amenities with green byways for walking, biking, scooting etc. and sufficient bike storage and upkeep infrastructure must be included in any development plans. Existing developments must have safe segregated bike/ scooter lanes and pavements that link them up to all local amenities.

There needs to be a holistic travel plan that enables people to bike and walk etc. to public transport and off it on the other end safely, easily and cheaply i.e. bike hire and storage at 'stops' and an integrated travel ticket that is competitively priced.

Public transport should be publicly owned to enable it to be properly funded and meet people's needs as opposed to create profit for shareholders.

There should be a presumption against new road building and where cars are needed to be used, charging infrastructure put in place to enable low carbon travel. There needs to be on street charging facilities and more support for car sharing schemes such as co-wheels. Infrastructure Piggybacking on jeff54's comment above...

http://steamboatwilley.blogspot.com/2015/11/wheres-dualling-for-highland-main-line.html Infrastructure Public Transport should be publicly owned,

Investment in the west coast rail line south of Glasgow to Stranraer To enable freight to be transported south to ferries

Reestablishment of the Stranraer to Dumfries railway line for similar purposes above.. long term economic & environmental impacts

Policies need to reflect the needs of remote & rural communities as well as those in central Scotland or cities Infrastructure Recognition that public transport investment makes a positive contribution to creating a more equal and inclusive society.

Cycling, walking, scooting make a positive contribution to people's health.

There needs to be a long-term phasing out of private car ownership, not only for environmental reasons but because of its destructive impact on rural communities, public health and marginalisation of those from poor backgrounds.

Infrastructure Major initiatives needed to address the problem of private car journeys made to deliver pupils to/from schools, e.g. 'Walking buses' for those pupils who live close enough to schools and free school buses for those living further away. Infrastructure I wonder if there was a way to sensitively reutilise waterways as a means of transport. I know that the application would be limited but the more stuff is carried on the water the less fuel is necessary to push the weight on the land. Infrastructure Behaviour change is massively difficult. Start with children and families first. Lockdown showed us that families loved cycling and walking together when there were no cars about. Build paths within community areas that link residential areas with their primary schools, then link those to their cluster high schools. As we have denominational and non denominational schools, there will be many cross overs between the routes that will grow to form a full network. Stop obsessing with trunk paths for commuters, they can be built once it becomes normal to choose active travel in the community. Start local, build out from there. Stop building roads, plant trees for flood defence, carbon capture oxygen etc. I quite like the idea above about building a modern day canal / waterways network too. Improving quality of life, mental health and improving conditions for wildlife. Infrastructure Require all Planning Departments to ensure walking and cycling links to their local cmmunity and to their neighbours are built in to new developemnts from the start. For the last 40years we have been planning new developments that discourage walking and cyclng. Old develpemnts, generally pre- 1960, almost always have walk throughs and connections but post 1980 developments hardly ever do. If you want people to walk and cycle make it easy and convenient rahter than long and tedious. Infrastructure IDEAS:

• In partnership with regional and community leaders, government should identify and implement a clear joined-up, integrated strategy.

• Prioritise infrastructure through the net-zero lens. Invest in renewable energy, insulation in new and existing housing stock, fibre broadband, public transport, upgraded recycling infrastructure and distribution grids, support electric vehicles (including bicycles), public charging points.

• Avoid locking in fossil fuel use. No more roads. Limit airport expansion, and the total number of flights. Invest in electric buses and the electrification of the railway.

• Establish urgently a system of regional, cooperative banks to channel nationally produced finance to local businesses according to the nationally agreed criteria.

• Support people, rather than industries, for the transition of jobs and skills.

• Regulate, tax and incentivise to encourage investment in low carbon product

• Set an example by public procurement of sustainable products.

• Give local government, communities and people on the front line of our local services a bigger say over investment and services, empowering us to help co-create local plans.

• Run a comprehensive public education climate change campaign.

Infrastructure 1. Grow electric vehicle charging infrastructure and ensure only electricity from renewable sources is available at public charging points

2. Consider investing in hydrogen fuel infrastructure as an alternative fuel for large vehicles

3. Increase tariffs on air travel significantly such that flying becomes a rare or never event

Infrastructure Tackle the problem at source. Move to a wellbeing economy and drop the infinite growth ideology. Real change is needed urgently. Stop subsidising fossil fuel extraction and biodiversity destruction - driven grouse moors need to be outlawed Infrastructure Support Car/electric bike sharing in all ways including financial incentives.

Support transporting goods by rail or ship " " " "

Support lorry transport at night " " " "

Nationalise public transport and create free or subsidised travel

No new road building.

Infrastructure Every community should have a non vehicle access route for pedestrians and Bikes. I live less than 2 miles from a station but there is no footpath or cycle track Infrastructure Stop using an outdated economic model of infinite growth - it makes no sense on a finite planet. Steady state economies have worked well for thousands of years (see the work of Herman Daly, or Manfred Max-Neef, Kate Raworth or Katherine Trebeck.

Regenerate grasslands using holistic planned grazing (mob-grazing) to produce high quality food, increased biodiversity and more importantly, to draw down carbon and store it safely in the soil (se the work of Walter Jehne or Alan Savoury). Infrastructure Infrastructure also includes green spaces, parks and gardens as well as roads, paths etc. All developments need growing spaces with allotments, community gardens, orchards, market gardens etc. Build communities around the natural environment. A Peace with Brilliant, related to Polly Higgins' important work on ecocide Nature Constitution A Peace with So many different groups are campaigning for this: it would allow ecocidal practices to be challenged Nature in court! Constitution A Peace with Fantastic idea, to have it to protect the environment going forward in Scotland, leading the way for Nature other countries. Having the ecological law above humane law is so important, humans are here Constitution because of the planet, not the other way around. It needs protected. A Peace with Great idea as it places a real world value on sustainability. Nature Constitution A Peace with Not too sure how this helps address the 'Climate Emergency'. Yes biodiversity is important and Nature requires protection and enhancement...but doing so does little to reduce emissions. I agree planting Constitution trees (as long as it's done sensitively and will not lead to biodiversity loss through replacement of existing habitat) may sequester CO2 until a balance is met between CO2 absorbed by growth and CO2 released through decay as the trees reach maturity.

As for Climate chaos, increasing storms and floods etc. it may be instructive to review the literature from the IPCC especially AR5 and SR15 - you'll note that the consensus is that storms (hurricanes), floods and drought are not more frequent. A Peace with I agree, Make Ecocide Law. If it is written in the constitution then every action taken can be measured Nature against this and activities which damage nature and therefore our future on this planet will be Constitution outlawed. A Peace with Fantastic! This is the kind of big picture thinking that is needed. This, combined with strategic Nature climate change mitigation decisions and actions will do plenty to address the Climate Emergency. Constitution Reforestation, especially where it re-establishes the climax vegetation communities that have been destroyed and suppressed by poor land management as, for example, in grouse moors, does plenty to reduce emissions.

A Peace with Introducing an ecological scrutiny of laws is certainly possible and necessary to save the planet. This Nature may be done, not by a new court (massive task and not scalable since we have a climate emergency) Constitution but by using existing models seen in other jurisdictions. For example, France and Germany have constitutional law meaning that new laws can be challenged if they infringe this. This is not the case at present in the UK and laws can only be challenged if the challenger has an interest in that law: for example, can show they will be harmed by it. Ecological protections could be introduced by changes to existing statutes along the lines of human rights law at present. If a new UK law contravenes human rights law, then judges can and do challenge it.

A Peace with This is an important idea which could help form a lense through which we consider all aspects of Nature society. As mentioned by others here there has been much work done under the the Stop Ecocide Constitution campaign (https://www.stopecocide.earth/ ) which could be drawn upon to support the proposal. A Peace with I am instinctively uncomfortable with some of the wording here, but I whole heartedly agree with the Nature underlying logic and sentiment. Constitution Finance and Transition to a circular economy/economies - the doughnut model? - is imperative if we are to make taxation the changes necessary to become a sustainable society. The notion of endless growth is just a piece of nonsense bandied about by short-termists likely to make money from it. Finance and A 'Robin Hood' tax on financial services that takes a small percentage to finance efficient public taxation services. Finance and taxation could be used to promote the growth of organic food products and reduce the production of taxation mono-crops which are harming the natural environment due to their over reliance on chemicals which are detrimental to the environment. Taxation and subsidies can be used as tools to create the environment that will sustain food production while limiting CO2 emmissions. Finance and A land tax to encourage land reform for carbon sequestration and food generation purposes, such as taxation regenerative agriculture.

Finance and The very rich contribute disproportionally to climate change. A fair system of taxation should be taxation designed to ensure a just gap between lowest and highest salaries/remuneration. Additional taxation of 'luxury' or carbon-emitting consumption, eg frequent air travel. Finance and There has to be an end to al fossil fuel subsidies and a principle of "polluter pays" taxation Finance and Completely agree with the above. There needs to be strong incentives for businesses to stop taxation investing in fossil fuels. We cannot rely on the good will of businesses to make sustainable decisions. There needs to be a financial deterrent such as additional taxation. Finance and I think legislation should be enacted that obliges companies to audit their own carbon emissions taxation including of their supply chains and pay a “carbon tax” on all of the emissions made. Finance and The Sea Change Report 2019 by the Scottish Climate Coalition sets out a very detailed case for the taxation Scottish and UK Governments to use taxation and grants for a Just Transition from fossil fuels to renewables and energy conservation. Finance and I completely agree with the first proposal. Surely if the principal goal is to reduce greenhouse gas taxation emissions, then those who produce them should be taxed. If tax is a tool of change, this is it, or am I missing something? or is it the biggest emitters also have the close ear of Government? The Sustainable A sustainable society is important, but one that works for all of society, that creates jobs, lost in the Society unsustainable sectors (such as fossil fuels), that addresses poverty, vulnerability and homelessness, that addresses poor nutrition and the unaffordability of nutritious food for poorer people. 'Sustainability' must not be the preserve of the better-off but it must be an inclusive sustainable society that leaves no one behind. Jobs, nutrition an education are three vital corner stones of this. The Sustainable Brilliant. This is it. There has to be a big vision like this and not just a consumer-led approach Society expecting individuals to make the change through their individual choices - buy organic, become a vegan, walk, cycle more, drive an electric car, recycle etc. Yes, all those individual actions can make a big difference but they are just scratching the surface and so many people don't have the choice because of structural inequalities so the bigger picture needs to be shaken up and there is no longer time to delay. Most of the solutions are out there already - just look at what places like Wales' Centre

for Alternative Technology have done over the decades to educate, inform and promote. But it can't just be about the enthusiasts and committed anymore. It has to be mainstream, supported by a legislative framework, supported politically and giving power to local communities. Let's get on with it! The Sustainable This seems crucial to addressing the climate crisis, thank you! Society Pensions and I work in local government and have long felt that our pension funds should be used for the common Investments good. Is it possible post covid to reimagine our care sector and how we value those who live and work in it - can our pension funds be part of helping make that change. Pensions and with the appropriate leadership, industries that are based on sustainable energy production it's Investments transmission and distribution can offer possibilities for investment for insurance companies, plus employment. Pensions and This is where the power to change lies - a campaign against one high street bank that is heavily Investments invested in fossil fuels was pretty effective; education needed and financial institutions should have a sustainability rating. Important to vote with our feet here! Pensions and Everyone who earns a salary in this country is involved in its financial sector, directly or indirectly. Investments This sector is at the heart of globalisation and environmental degradation. The way to move away from fossil fuel investment is as part of a holistic restructuring of the economy towards green jobs and green investment. Pensions and Council resistance to changing investments seems largely located in a belief that it is too complicated Investments to do so and that fund holders are a rarefied group whose specialist knowledge can't be matched or challenged. How do we support councils to unpick that? Making fossil fuel investment culturally unacceptable will accelerate divestment as the reputational risks of those industries become seriously compromised. But I think mainstream cultural shift will only come with the provision of alternative green infrastructure - so let's get on with that! Pensions and I think it would help if investments / shares came with an environmental/ethical rating (I realise this Investments might be easier said than arrived at!) - so investors were aware of the impact of their investments.

We are all familiar with the idea of the polluter paying for the damage they do (even if we do not see the principle put in to practice that often), perhaps at some stage soon we need to ensure that those who fund the polluter also share in the liability. Pensions and ESG investments provide ratinsg on Environment, Social and Governance criteria Investments Pensions and Unfortunately he ESG guidance is broad-brush and does not - as far as I'm aware -provide a Investments mechanism by which local authorities can monitor how fund holders adhere to it. Pensions and Yes! Such a simple thing to implement - divest all public sector pensions from fossil fuels now. Investments System Change - Well being must be for all people, starting with those at the bottom. While we still have the scandal of towards a homelessness, poverty, drug and alcohol addiction (plus zero hours jobs, food banks etc) our Wellbeing economy and society is far from supporting 'well being' as anything more than a middle class meme. Economy Make 'well being' a commitment from the bottom up and then it will reflect a more healthy equitable society that is more willing to engage in issues such as addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. System Change - Svotland is reported as one of the countries already espousing the Wellbeing Economy. Nicola towards a Sturgeon did a Ted talk announcing it in Jan 2019. It doesn't seem to be in place. This is Wellbeing fundamental: we and the rest of the human world must have system change away from the death Economy spiral of growth economics. ASAP. System Change - The Climate and Ecological Emergency really demands MUCH faster rate of change towards to towards a laudable aspirations that have been announced - this will mean blocking the items which impact Wellbeing negatively and supporting those that contribute solutions Economy System Change - Check out Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth she gives a systemic detailed analysis of why a towards a wellbeing economy is needed and some guidance on how to restructure western economies to do Wellbeing this. Economy System Change - Other countries are already doing this, see for example this inspiring TED talk by the Prime Minister towards a of Bhutan where they put happiness and environmental protection ahead of economic growth:

Wellbeing Economy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lc_dlVrg5M Hemp I actually looked into growing hemp a few years ago. I got in touch with a Canadian grower who told me it's a crop which

"Doesn't like wet feet"

It needs a dry climate to grow which discounts the majority of the UK except for a small pocket in Kent. Hemp It does seem to grow well in Oxfordshire too. Various Mostly agree, except for electric cars. They do not solve the problem of congestion. For most journeys within cities and towns using some form of active travel and/or public travel should do. If most journeys are undertaken by public/active transport there will be more space for journeys that can't be. No need to more charging points then. Trees These latitudes are the home of temperate forests which have been decimated over the last thousand years and now we are now witnessing the removal of the equatorial forests too. How can you remove the lungs of the world and expect it to breath? Is this not the core issue here? If the Earths' means of converting CO2 into oxygen is being destroyed then you will have an increase in CO2- is this not so? Reforestation by broad leaved trees are the answer to the problem and it is that simple. The areas that are currently used for the hill farming of sheep can be reforested and this work can provide much needed sustainable employment in the countryside and also boost our tourism too. Trees Broadleaved trees (like oak, ash and birch) that store carbon in hardwood that can last for hundreds of years. Softwood from conifers (especially the widely planted fast growing Sitka spruce) decay much more quickly and much is too low quality to be sawn and so is converted through energy- intensive processes into fibre boards or paper. See also the other comments about saving peatlands we shouldn't be planting trees on them. Trees UK is the world's 2nd biggest importer of forest products - much of this material is from conifer forests and plantations.

Growing less conifers and more broadleaves will increase the UK's impact on forests around the world.

UK grown conifers are regularly used for sawn timber - the sawmills at Stephen's Croft and Fort William are some of the most efficient in Europe. Architects such as "Makar" build almost exclusively in Scottish timber.

We need more conifers and more broadleaves - it isn't a choice. Trees I live in the most afforested county in Scotland and the local wood stove company is importing kiln dried logs from Lithuania. When I raised this with the company, the sales person said he knew it was daft but all companies were doing it!

I agree that we need more trees of all description. Grouse moors would be an obvious place to start. Early years Yes but the climate emergency is happening now,. By the time those in preschool learning are adults education it will be for too late many of the climate tipping points will be well be passed. It is the adults who need to be educated to take action now Early years Every person should learn how to cook from scratch as a life skill at school education

Geothermal A review of the market distortions favouring gas needs to be implemented and investment channelled Heating - Subsidy towards vertical ground source heat pumps in the most appropriate geological areas. & Loan Options Geothermal Housing should not be given planning permission unless the proposed buildings are energy efficient Heating - Subsidy and sustainable. & Loan Options Freshwater I have heard that this was being researched as a potential solution but not sure how feasible it is. I Cultivation of recall reading that the Arctic Ocean was extremely deep and mostly cut off from the sea and fed with Azolla freshwater from rivers.

Maybe the dead Azolla could be pumped into old mine workings ? Just a thought.

Freshwater Be very careful with using Azolla! This is a phenomenally invasive water plant growing in still and Cultivation of slow flowing water. I don't know it's status in Scotland, but in England it has been known to Azolla completely obliterate the surface of ponds and small lakes, cutting off all light to the submerged plants which die as a result. The eventual death of the Azolla leads to massive Eutrophication of the water.

I have seen a pond so thickly covered with Azolla that a man drove his can onto it, thinking it was just part of the village green. Similarly on the river Avon in wiltshire, I have seen the entire surface covered with a thick layer Azolla,

This could be a classic example of the solution to one problem creating an entirely different problem! Stop buying fossil It has been shown that EVs are cheaper to own and run than fossil fuel vehicles already. There is fuel burning therefore no excuse for any public organisation to buy another ICE vehicle. products. All food should be I like this idea, but its successful application will depend to some extent on the impact of the Internal from sustainable Market Bill when implemented. sources All food should be Meat is too cheap both in terms of its cost in the shops and not paying for the damage it causes. It's from sustainable heavily subsidised and most livestock consume grain, beans and seeds that humans could eat sources directly. We don't need to eat meat more than once a week if we eat a healthy balanced diet. Stop all subsidies for meat. All food should be Please note that a great deal of profit for global corporations is generated by destructive farming, from sustainable They will not let go easily. Can our government stand up to them? sources All food should be Look at plans for becoming self sufficient in food within Scotland. Consider how we need to change from sustainable our agriculture and food production to do this. There will be health benefits for all if we change our sources diets to have a better balance of nutrients. Less meat, less dairy, more veg, more fibre, local fruit. Decommissioning All enterprises, and especially large polluters, need to produce a plan to transition to zero carbon by plans for carbon 2030 including, where relevant, decommissioning and restoring the land to a clean state and heavy polluters retraining of personnel into carbon zero jobs. There is a serious risk of large polluters declaring themselves bankrupt, walking away scot-free and leaving the cost of decommissioning ,restoration and redundancy to the state sector. Any current licence to operate needs to be conditional on this plan being presented and put in place. Take effective To succeed in mitigating this climate emergency multiple actions will need to be taken action - allow for different approaches Sustransition It is a pity that this laudable idea is not fleshed out in more detail, but I think it is fundamentally sound, implying that everyone needs to be encouraged to focus their minds on personally living sustainably (correct me if this is not what was intended).

It should be followed through and incorporated as axiomatic in the Climate Assembly thinking. Sustransition Yes this is laudable where possible, but doesn’t reflect the fact that it is very difficult to live sustainably in the world as it currently operates with the best of intentions AND the best of resources. For those in poverty it is more difficult and cannot be a priority above more immediate needs. I think pushing the personal responsibility agenda risks blaming individuals many of whom are not able to “do better”. Through this you disengage members of the public. More important is to tackle the structural barriers to living more sustainably making it easy for everyone to live sustainably British summer This is a very bad idea for Scotland. All the other ideas on this site are fantastic and there are many time should be creative and actionable measures suggested here. This is not one of them. I was a child in 1968 and retained all year remember coming out into the playground for our morning break in the pitch dark. In the north of round Scotland it must have been worse. British summer This would be a very disadvantageous move for Scotland time should be retained all year The move to retaining BST throughout the year, or even for moving to GMT+2 in summer and GMT round +1 in winter has a substantial level of support among opinion formers in southern areas. It is possible that in southern regions of the British Isles, moves such as these would result in a small reduction of energy consumption and therefore a small reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Written evidence submitted to the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee for their report The effect on energy usage of extending British Summer Time was substantially supportive of the move. However, Most of this evidence appears to have been submitted by individuals already committed to the concept and with an overwhelming southern bias. Nevertheless, a memorandum submitted jointly by the Departments for Business Innovation &Skills, Transport and Energy & Climate Change concluded that any impacts would be of small magnitude and uncertain in direction.

In the Inverness area, sunrise on midwinters day will be at 08:57 GMT. Under the proposal for year round BST sunrise would be 09:57. Homes and businesses will need an extra hour of additional artificial lighting. More folks will be travelling to school or work in the dark, with the attendant increased risk of accidents. For rural businesses such as livestock farming the difficulties of operating in dark mornings will be extended. The extra hour of daylight in the afternoon, will have little impact for most people in the north. Sunset on December 21 in the Inverness area will be at 15:33 GMT or 16:33 BST. Although this might allow a lot of school children to return home in daylight, most other commuters will be travelling in the gloom of the post sunset hours when the light is more difficult for driving than when it is fully dark and therefore the accident risk would be elevated. Within the home, just as much lighting will be needed through the evening for most of the winter period if BST was retained as it would under GMT. British summer I fully support this idea, there is a set amount of daylight hours in the day no mater where you live, time should be and I would have preferred going to school in the dark than come home in the dark. retained all year round All farms, houses and vehicles have good lighting these days, so visibility is not an issue, but having to change clocks and work patterns twice a year seems senseless to me British summer I agree with the comments that this would be a retrograde idea for Scotland. time should be retained all year round Flow Country I agree and I don't think that we should believe that building a space port on this blanket bog can be done without effecting this fragile environment. Flow Country I don't believe that the the economic benefits of less than 200 jobs created by Spaceport are more important than the devastating impact of destroying a natural carbon sink that sequesters millions of tonnes of carbon. The government needs to think long-term for future generations, not about the short-term economic benefit. Flow Country In fact all peatlands should be protected from developments as far as possible - not just the Flow Country. Flow Country The spaceport is a tiny area & we do need satellites to monitor global emissions, ice depth & other environmental & climate stuff. My objection to spaceport would be the involvement of Lockheed Martin with their military implications (although I think they may now be more interested in Shetland?)

Highland Council are supporting the aim of the Flow Country becoming a UNESCO world heritage site - one of the main reasons put forward for this was to protect the peat, but also it would attract visitors to the area who could fly in from all round the world! Flow Country A unique opportunity for Scotland to make a specific world-relevant contribution. And for Scotland to make the most of Scottish devolved powers while it can! Flow Country This is a vital landscape and we have a responsibility to do all we can to protect it. Building a space port is a disaster in my view. The jobs will not be local, it will have military links and consume vast amounts of fossil fuels. Flow Country the flow country's blanket bog ,should be afforded protection , as strong. , if not stronger, than either EU or RAMSCAR. It should be designated as Special Status: allowing it to encourage and give subsidies to eco-friendly businesses and projects. Flow Country Absolutely agree. The statistic that peatland covers only 3 -4% of the world's surface but locks in 33% of the world's carbon make it sacrosanct and all planning decisions should defer to that. Leave peatland alone. Flow Country Such protection should be added to all areas where there is deep peat. Flow Country Agree, this is our Amazon Rainforest and people should be aware of it and invested in it as they are with other ecosystems. Public perception on peat versus forest must be updated and understood in a Scottish perspective Flow Country No to the Space Port! Balancing The undue influence of lobby groups, often led by big businesses, has resulted in hidden and visible Blockers and subsidies for these Blockers. We should (a) outlaw lobbyists and (b) support small businesses and Enablers remove subsidies (and other support) for big business, as well as doing what you suggest. Balancing Thanks Nick. Blockers and Enablers 'Our Common 'Our Common Home' is a brilliant and comprehensive look at what a better, fairer, more just, more Home' - Common transparent and accountable Scotland could be, with the steps needed to achieve it, the costs, Weal's Green New benefits and barriers. Well worth a read - click the link in the intro above. Deal plan 'Common Weal' is a think-tank but it's also a 'Do' tank. The ideas put forward are all do-able. We just need to mobilise - the time for action is now. 'Our Common A comprehensive approach that deserves to be taken seriously by all levels of Government. Well Home' - Common worth a read. Weal's Green New Deal plan 'Our Common This is an excellent piece of work which tackles the question of how the transition is to be funded Home' - Common Weal's Green New Deal plan 'Our Common Please invite Common Weal to contribute their ideas to the Assembly Home' - Common Weal's Green New Deal plan 'Our Common I agree that the Common Weal offers a considered and costed plan for a green new deal for Home' - Common Scotland. I actually think this is also a framework for how we recover from the economic and social Weal's Green New cost of the covid pandemic too. Deal plan 'Our Common Why reinvent the wheel? Common Weal have done a lot of work on this issue already. Home' - Common Weal's Green New Deal plan 'Our Common Could a Common Weal rep give evidence to the Climate Assembly? Home' - Common Weal's Green New Deal plan 'Our Common A properly costed vision for the future. Home' - Common

Weal's Green New Deal plan Corporate social Big companies that have got us all hooked on plastic wrapping should make a very large contribution responsibility to making the necessary changes and paying for the recycling and / or disposal of waste materials. National Farm + a strong emphasis on organic :) Service National Farm Thanks for posting this one Andy. So simple yet so important. Reinstate vegplots in the backies and Service publicise all the benefits to climate, wellbeing, child development, mentsl health and biodiversity too. Vital to get people digging and harvesting together. Natural Farming Organic farming must be implemented immediately to halt the massive decline in insect life Natural Farming Farming subsidies already try and make greener options a viable choice but all farming practices rely on having a ready market. Brexit offers the opportunity (since it is happening we have to embrace it somehow) to rethink how food is both produced and sold and marketed. Government can help in making sure that local food is a more attractive option than imported food (perhaps somehow extending the kind of subsidies that are given to organic farmers to those small retailers that are willing to dedicate themselves to selling local produce only) - and making national marketing campaigns that really show that our farmers can produce most of what we need (nowadays the Scottish climate does not have to restrict the varieties we can grow as crops undercover are possible) . And as I have mentioned elsewhere, government has the ideal opportunity to promote sustainable and local food by bringing cooking properly into the curriculum and teaching in a local context how to make amazing "chef quality" food with what grows around us. This will esnure that the generations that follow grow up with the idea that food is something readily accessible and one doesn't need to flyit in from far away. It's changing the expectations rather than just leaving it to the growers to somehow persuade the public that organic and natural farming is better. Natural Farming Encourage allotments and make more of them available. Natural Farming Agree - balance out the nonsense whereby we import (mostly from New Zealand) nearly as much lamb as we export. Farming should mostly be about producing what we need, here at home. Meat should almost never need to be imported. Natural Farming Agree - we need more education on this Natural Farming Land is a finite resource and must all be used to produce food in a sustainable environmental way that protects the county we love, the animals and biodiversity in it but just as importantly produce a balanced range of food that can feed our population when in season.

In the medium term world population pressure will result in traditional exporting food countries not sending their surplus food to the UK(or Scotland) because someone else will pay more for it. Now is the time to build up our capacity for producing food along with the jobs that go with it to make Scotland’s food industry the most sustainable in the world.

We must not stop using our land recourse to produce food as some may have you believe, yes, we should grow tree's .... for wood, not to appease the conscious of polluters. Our food carbon footprint should not be penalised if farmers increase production in a sustainable way thus displacing imported food and thus growing “our” biggest industry.

Finally we need to look at what else farmers can grow to give consumers a balanced “Tasty” Scottish diet.

Finally we need a positive message for the next generation that are in School just now to see the food industry is a great career choice going forward with so much change happening in the world.

Why the contribution is important

Food is an essential part of life the more we can produce in a sustainable way now will result in stability for the cost and supply of food for generations going forward. Its not an option to have food shortages look what happened with panic buying this spring so now is the time to make sure we can produce as much of what we need locally, products that our climate can sustain going forward and guarantee our food supply.

Grow peat Peat grows very slowly - c 1mm per year.

Effective protection and restoration of the living peat bogs that we already have should be a high priority. Grow peat I agree that peat bogs are very important because of the amount of carbon stored there and Scotland must do everything possible to preserve what is still intact and to repair damage to otherwise functioning peat bogs. I don't however think that we can "grow peat" but we can grow back the spagnum moss on top of the peat that will ensure the carbon remains in the ground.

We should not allow building on existing peat bogs and we should not pretend that the building of spaceports on peatbogs will do anything but damage a peatbog ecosystem. Grow peat The growing of peat - that takes 100 of years. It's the sphagnum moss and bog plants that absorb carbon decay and become peat. The point is surely to appreciate the peat we have. Peat is perhaps the world most efficient carbon sink. 3 times more efficient than any tropical rainforest. That is 1 sq metre of peat contains 3 times more carbon then equivalent area of tropical rainforest. It takes 3000 years to create 3 metres deep peat. At present in the Shetland isles Class 1 peat 3 to 4 metres deep are being dug up to construct the UK largest on shore wind farm. This windfarm will never be carbon neutral let alone reduce our carbon footprint First and most important step regarding peat is protection not growing it.

Would you agree to destroy an area of the Amazon to construct solar farm or destroy an area of the Great Barrier Reef for a tidal plant. These are exotic locations and there would be a global outcry even for a 'green' development. However the humble peat fails to be protected. Grow peat The government target, set 10 years ago, to eliminate the retail sale of peat in garden growing medium by 2020 has not been achieved but that was mainly due to the lack of effort by governments and the horticulture industry. Perhaps when the next target is set the politicians might legislate and act instead of thinking wishfully? This example shows clearly their lack of understanding how important the peat habitat is regarding climate change or perhaps they just consider longer term climate is of lesser priority in their shorter political lives? Grow peat Ultimately it is about making conditions right for peat to grow. However, at first the actions suggested are needed to prevent peat erosion and loss of carbon to the atmosphere, i.e. putting a plug in the escaping bathwater before the level of the bath can rise!

Grow peat Whilst areas of deep peat are protected, there are a number of loopholes which urgently need closing eg areas of deep peat planted with conifers are often not classified as deep peat any more because the indicative vegetation has been lost; also wind farm infrastructure - whilst it might not actually sit on deep peat - can still badly affect the hydrology of adjacent areas. Also shallow peat areas currently receive NO protection and are being planted up with conifers under woodland grant schemes. Shallow peat also acts as a carbon sink and urgently needs protection.

Grow peat Peat is a key carbon sink and Scotland has a major contribution to make as long as peat is protected . The importance of peat has been ignored in favour of incentivising tree planting which is much less efficient. This has to be understood and be part of any future strategy Grow peat This dovetails with what all the data is telling us about the importance and impact of "rewilding". Grow peat This is important, but in the meantime we must ensure that fossil fuel extraction ceases immediately, with a just transition for employees. Grow peat Peat bogs grow at the rate of 1mm per year normally Grow peat Yes this is a nice concept but preservation and restoration of exisiting peats should be the priority, peat accumulation is a slow process and not one likley to solve our immediate problems Bring forward the I agree with this. Post Covid Scotgov need to throw money at things that will bring jobs, so let’s date for Zero make a tough climate change target the driver that ensures we fund the right things; get people into Greenhouse Gas the right jobs; and take pride in our progress as we get there emissions Bring forward the 2045 is too late. date for Zero Greenhouse Gas emissions Bring forward the Tomorrow? date for Zero Greenhouse Gas emissions Bring forward the Scotlands 2045 net zero goal places it in line with the UK Governments Committee on Climate date for Zero Change (CCC) recommendations. Those were reached with the remit of a 2050 net zero pathway Greenhouse Gas and continued economic growth. Scotland has the rare collective resources (tidal, wave, wind, solar, emissions hydro) and the ingenuity to meet the real challenge of meeting the goals in the 2030's.

Bring forward the 2025 would be a suitable target. date for Zero Greenhouse Gas emissions Reforest Scotland I agree that reforestation with deciduous trees is important for climate and biodiversity, but question the sentence "Reforestation by broadwood trees is the only effective way to offset climate change" . Reforest Scotland This must be a top priority as Scotland has a very low percentage of woodland compared to other European countries. More forest = less CO2 in the atmosphere. We pride ourselves on our unspoiled habitats, but the fact is that after centuries of mismanagement our remaining wildlife clings on to tiny pockets of habitat while the majority is overran by ever increasing deer numbers, preventing the eco- system from regenerating naturally. Charities such as Trees for Life have blazed a trail, but to really fight the War on Climate Change we must do more and think big! Reforest Scotland I agree with reforesting Scotland with high percentage broadleaf forests although Scots pine and some conifer trees are good as long as they are not high intensity, short rotation Crops. A broadleaf forest has high potential to fix carbon into the soil and into its timber whilst supporting biodiversity. At the moment this government is pushing to plant more intensive softwood in areas that are already have over 55% Of land covered in this type of forestry with no overall impact study although the implications are obvious and the decline in species is visible. Reforest Scotland Continue plans to reforest with indigenous trees Reforest Scotland Reforestation has to be balanced with preserving shallow peat which is a more effective carbon sink Reforest Scotland There is a huge wealth of expertise on the best ways to reforest Scotland as part of its response to the climate crisis. The People's assembly should draw on this expertise in its deliberations.

The process of reforestation needs to be about more than broadleaf trees. It must be about rewilding which is closely connected to land reform, alternative economic models for local communities, an end to damaging uses of uplands such as on landed estates for driven grouse shooting. Reforest Scotland Reforestation will also help to prevent flooding Reforest Scotland Make a reforested landscape the default position through:

1. Establishing native woodland & scrub above the commercial tree line

2. Establishing native woodland & scrub on open hill cvurrently grazed by sheep

3. Stopping driven grouse moor management and replacing it with walked up grouse shooting

4. Creating jobs through eco tourism, adventure actiovities and hospitality. Reforest Scotland I don't believe this is as simple as stated. We cannot risk a blanket intiative that emulates the forest planting tax breaks that destroyed large swathes of Scottish peatlands. We must consider local conditions and make educated land-use decisions based on carbon sequestration potentials, in short, we must NOT plant trees on peatlands, these are our rainforests! biodiversity and We need to do more than just protect biodiversity because so many species and habitats were (and access to nature are being) destroyed by historic and current land use; we need to also regenerate biodiversity by rewilding and land reform. biodiversity and Eco tourism brings in £1.4billion each year into the Scottish economy. A huge amount of land is access to nature wasted as grouse moor, which brings in only £30m. By reducing these monocultures and increasing bio diversity, we will create jobs and increase the far more beneficial eco tourism sector. biodiversity and Massive reduction in biodiversity is both a cause and a result of the climate catastrophe. Anything access to nature which addresses this should be done urgently. Grouse moors are a good place to start. biodiversity and Please always recognise that this is a Climate AND Ecological Emergency access to nature Rainwater This seems like such a cheap option - cheap enough for example to have local authorities provide Harvesting water butts free of charge to households the way they provide waste bins. So that every house has a rainwater diverter to an outside container for garden watering etc. And every new house has to have a rainwater diverter built in so that water can be accessed indoors to flush toilets and via a dedicated tap in the kitchen to use when washing floors, for example. Or to fix the hose to for washing the car.

Government locally also has a part to play in making up conditions for planning. Every new building and development should have as many sustainable energy saving and water saving systems in from the beginning. The technology to do all this exists, but the builders and developers will not choose to do so of their own accord...hence local legislation through the planning system. Rainwater I would go further to suggest that all new homes have rainwater tanks for use in washing machines Harvesting and toilet flushing.

Rainwater The Cimate Emergency has given us in the North East of Scotalnd feast and famine in terms of our Harvesting water resources for 2018, 19 and 2020. Rainwater harvesting would be a great way to mitigate and adapt to this water supply problem.

Granite is not porous so no big acquifers here! Legislate for There needs to be a culture change. Disposable products need to be stopped and the products which reuse, repair, and can be repaired or recycled should be promoted. recycle. Legislate for There is built-in redundancy in the manufacture of goods. It is difficult to have goods repaired. End reuse, repair, and the redundancy and grow repair, recycle, reuse. recycle. Remove peat from There needs to be a ban on peat being removed and sold horticultural growing medium Remove peat from I don't now how many times I can say this but YES YES YES to this. horticultural growing medium Remove peat from This has to be done. The most recent case of a peat extraction licence for an area of Dumfries and horticultural Galloway was recently turned down as a result of campaigning. It should never have been considered growing medium in the first place .

Remove peat from Yes! This is long overdue. horticultural growing medium Remove peat from I agree with this proposal, but I can’t bring myself to believe that our government will be embarrassed horticultural when called out for failing to meet targets. There will be spin, lies and smokescreens. In fact the most growing medium polluting global companies will be in the room with these governments. Remove peat from Elements of the horticultural industry desperately cling to peat as a growing medium. Since moving horticultural to Scotland I have found it much more difficult to buy peat free composts in garden centres etc. than I growing medium did in England. There really can be no excuse for the continued widespread use of peat as the basis of most horticultural composts. However, we need to be careful as to what replaces the peat. Some imported peat substitutes have the potential to be just as damaging to carbon budgets as the peat that they replace. Remove peat from Absolutely agree, it is a scandal that this is yet to be implemented horticultural growing medium Ban muirburn This is a must! A minority cannot be allowed to continue to unnecessarily emit tonnes of CO2 every year through burning, not to mention the long term environmental damage this does. Combined with shooting estates' widely reported and illegal wildlife persecution, muirburn must be banned. Ban muirburn I agree with this motion. Muirburn is often done badly causing damage to the peat. It also kills wildlife, reduces biodiversity and Creates Excess co2 emissions. If grouse moors were banned, rewilding would create a healthy environment which need not be a potential wild fire risk. Grouse moors only bring into the economy £30m per year, while eco tourism such as hill walking, nature walks etc brings in £1.4 billion. It is time grouse shooting ended. Ban muirburn Peat burning and grouse shooting should be banned Ban muirburn Burning heather at the right time of year when soil is wet is fundamental to the management of hill ground for sheep and other species a farmer told me , even the aborigines in Australia burn land when conditions are right to create fire brakes. Have you ever tried to walk through heather that is 40 years old , it’s all wood and not much use to man or beast. Ban muirburn I'm not sure we need a moratorium on this. There is already a lot of science out there to show the effects that burning has on peat soil.

Instead the Scottish Government should be already legislating to ban burning on peatland, which has already been recommended by the UK Committee on Climate Change and undergo mass peatland restoration in these areas. Ban muirburn Scottish moors are degraded native woodland habitat check out People and Woodlands in Scotland by T.C. Smout.

There are some amazing woodland regeneration projects like Glen Feshie and Mar Lodge which are being muirs back into woodland cover.

When the woods return so can the people and the sheilings. Ban muirburn Scottish moors are degraded native woodland habitat check out People and Woodlands in Scotland by T.C. Smout.

There are some amazing woodland regeneration projects like Glen Feshie and Mar Lodge which are being muirs back into woodland cover.

When the woods return so can the people and the sheilings. Ban muirburn The carbon dioxide released from the burning heather will have only a relatively short term effect on atmospheric gasses. The re-growth of heather in the years following the burn will re-capture an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to that released during the burn process. Much more serious would be the combustion of the peat under the heather as a result of poorly managed burns. I do however agree that a moratorium on muirburn is highly desirable, but from the perspective of maintaining the biodiversity of the moor - especially if the moor was allowed to regenerate to climatic climax woodland.

Heavy household Private land lords who rent properties should be made responsible to make sure there properties are footprint as sustainable as possible. Degrowth I think language is crucial. Degrowth sounds like a negative thing whereas what has been suggested here is a really positive suggestion. Need to find a more positive way to frame this. Degrowth I agree with kmcdermott that this title needs to be changed. It is a central concern but needs to be presented in a positive light.

I suggest a title called "Transition to Quality Growth from Quantity Growth - Less is More". Degrowth We urgently need to rethink our approach to economics to halt climate change. The best way to do that would be to move away from a GDP orientated economy, where the idea of economic growth is replaced by the importance of environmental sustainability and restoring nature.

A degrowth economy would allow Scotland to tackle racial and gender inequality and ensure the wellbeing of all citizens as well as protecting our natural resources Degrowth The link that many people perceive exists between spending power and success needs to change so that success is measured by what we give in service to others and to our planet. Degrowth I agree that degrowth is a difficult term to engage with. Wellbeing economy is a concept that all understand. Degrowth I also have problems with the terms 'degrowth' which has negative connotations to many people. I would prefer a switch from an economy obsessed with G.D.P to an economy where well-being is the primary measurement of a nation's health whether that be environmental, social, mental and physical well-being. I would encourage the Scottish Government to look at the ideas contained within Kate Raworth's book 'Doughnut Economics' which posits a system where we get our needs met without over-shooting the resources of this planet. It argues that the 'free market' has been left to run rampant and there must be a more balanced economy where the 'Commons' and 'Government' both play their part. We only have finite resources, we need to move to an economy that is much more regenerative. There are plenty of cities that have adopted Raworth's model. There is no reason why Scotland couldn't pilot this. In a time of crisis, it's an opportunity to be bold. Degrowth Whether we use the words degrowth, post-growth or wellbeing economy, the main thing is we need to build a new type of economy that is not based on perpetual growth, or where wealth/capital stagnates and accumulates with just a small percentage of people or is filtered off shore to the share holders of corporations.

Degrowth Agree that "degrowth" not the best word to use

Replacing GDP/growth as most important economic measurement with a happiness/wellbeing measurement would be far better - loads of research highlighting that GDP does not correspond with happiness as well as the perpetual drive for growth damaging the environment and clearly unsustainable Degrowth Whatever word we choose, a wellbeing economy is a step we need to take, and quickly. We are running out of time. Degrowth Our society's need for constant consumption and growth is the biggest obstacle to tackling the climate and ecological emergency. Incidentally, its becoming apparent that the need for economic growth is now our biggest obstacle to tackling coronavirus too. Our economy is no longer serving us, it is threatening to destroy us.

It is absolutely essential that the citizen's assembly considers this fundamental structural issue before getting pulled into discussions on detail and technology, and risking missing the big picture Degrowth Transition to a more sustainable future. The future should be community based. The Transition movement has a great positive vision for this.

Degrowth I view the concept of economic growth with incredulous terror. So degrowth sounds like a blessed relief. It's a well-understood term among more aware economists and is the only way forward. Growth must cease (unless it's peas). Resource Based Yes, we need resource based economics. In truth, that's what economics is: the application of human Economics muscle and brainpower on the physical resources of the plant. We need to recognise this and follow the logic of it.

But "doing" resource based economics is not possible within our current structures of finance and government.

Money is an astonishingly clever way of facilitating the production and distribution of the things that we need for our collective security and comfort but we are using it in the stupidest way possible.

We need radical reform of our financial and fiscal systems so that they promote productive activity that is sustainable and hinder that which is not.

And we need radical reform of our collective decision-making systems so that more people at local and regional level are able to collaborate on projects that contribute directly to sustainable prosperity.

While the logic of finance-driven economics and centralised government prevail the logic of resource based economics cannot be pursued. Public Tha mi ag aontachadh! Tha e cudromach gu sònraichte gun tèid an lìonra rèile a leudachadh le transportation, loidhnichean ùra/ath-fhosgailte. Bu chòir siostam thramaichean a bhith aig Mòr-sgìre Ghlaschu haulage and cuideachd. agriculture must switch to non- carbon fuels Public I would like to see substantial investment in upgrading and extending Scotland's railways as well as transportation, more electric-charging points across the country. I would like to see a more much integrated public haulage and transport system especially in rural areas where people without access to cars are often stranded and agriculture must unable to access services. switch to non- carbon fuels Solar capture. A shift from nuclear and coal is needed to provide funding for solar projects Solar capture. Solar and other renewable should receive government funding above other forms energy productions. Solar capture. Solar and other "renewables" should be held to the same high standards as the nuclear industry so that their true cost - both economic and environmental - is known. Solar capture. If Scotland is really going to take this seriously it needs to open access to the national grid. Many other countries such as Germany, have Energy Coops that generate and sell their electiricty to their memebers all using the same grid; the BT telephone network is used by a mulitiude of other busnesses, we need to do the same for electricity (and fibre). Solar capture. Solar PV is now much more efficient and much more affordable than it was 5 years ago and in our cities we have enromous untapped vandal free spaces. If our tenerment roofs were utilised we would reduce the load on the national grid and the need to import just about all of our urban electrity but govenment needs to provide an eneabling framework that allows for multiple ownership and power sharing. There is of course scope for battery storage to enahnce this. Solar capture. The site says I've not rated this idea yet but the stars are inert making it impossible to rate.

Economic rent as This is an excellent practical suggestion for changes in land use and increase social justice state revenue Economic rent as For more on this fiscal policy option please follow the Scottish Land Revenue Group at state revenue https://www.facebook.com/AGRforScotland/ It is called 'Annual Ground Rent' (aka Land Value Tax). For the widest range of positive effects AGR would not be added to existing taxes but be a replacement for taxes currently applied to wages and trade. All vehicles If all vehicles are to be electrically powered there has to be a simple system for everyone to be able electric to charge a vehicle.

People living in flats or who do not have access to parking except on a roadside, are by default prohibited to access for charging an electric vehicle. All vehicles ..I should have added, and ensure sufficient charging access available. electric All vehicles All electric vehicles will never work unless a way is found either to have an on-board power source electric that does not require recharging or vehicles can be powered from an external source. I believe the first is being worked on by Tesla and probably others, but I don't hear much about the second. Maybe an idea for a research establishment in a Scottish University All vehicles I have an all electric car There is a serious need for more changing points throughout rural Scotland electric All vehicles Ban all petrol/diesel cars NOW. Introduce scrappage scheme/ grants/ interest free loans so electric electric vehicles affordable.

The lack of charging points in rural areas, particularly the north west of Scotland is dire. It makes owning a EV impossible.

All vehicles Electric cars are OK in rural areas but will never solve the problems of cities - we can't afford to build electric and maintain the roads and parking spaces for them. We need to rethink urban transport and move away from indivudally-owned cars to car clubs (where you pay per mile and so are aware how much it's costing you; and needs much fewer cars) and electric bikes for those who can cycle but need a bit of extra energy. City roads should be dominated by pedestrians, cyclists, children playing and people meeting, as they used to be. All vehicles Car emissions do so much harm. This is a relatively straightforward and quick measure which should electric be accelerated given the beneficial effect on air quality experienced during the full lockdown. All vehicles In urban areas car clubs can be used, thereby reducing the need for car ownership, freeing up electric residential areas to provide richer biodiversity Instead of being giant car parks. Club cars should be electric, and a range of sizes. All vehicles As an owner of electric cars and living in rural Scotland the lack of charging points is very apparent. electric Also having arrived at a unit there is a high probability of it not working. Over the last two years we have arrived at 23 units only to find that they are out of order.

Another current issue is that a lot of units are positioned in secluded areas with little to no lighting, which is very off putting particularly for female drivers late at night.

A lot more thought has to be given to the general maintenance and the positioning of the charging units.

Local councils should encourage the supermarkets to install charging points in their car parks.

Ensure all homes So many wins on this. Can be done by a devolved government ie now! As well as all the climate and are insulated individual benefits, the new skilled jobs that it would provide will be invaluable in the post-Covid world. properly Linking this to district heating schemes where possible seems sensible too. Ensure all homes Planning permission for buildings may need to follow best design and materials that optimises energy are insulated conservation. properly Perhaps tax subsidies for some materials for this use ? Ensure all homes Agreed. My flat has single glazing, how should that be allowed in Scotland? are insulated properly Ensure all homes This should be happening right now. Retrofit of existing housing stock has the potential to create jobs, are insulated eliminate fuel poverty & reduce energy consumption. properly Ensure all homes Absolutely, across the board to support reducing cost/need for heating. Solutions that are suitable for are insulated the recognised 11/2 storey house that are ol stock but also stricter regs for new builds. properly Ensure all homes This is vital and is well-supported through the expertise of Home Energy Scotland and the 0% loans are insulated and other incentives they offer for a variety of measures. However, there is sometimes conflict properly between the ideas being promoted at national level and the ability to actually carry them out in your home, especially if planning permission is required. The local authority hoops you have to go through cause considerable delay. And we don't really have time do we? There needs to be streamlining at local authority level to facilitate retrofitting of existing stock and an injection of resource in the form of further grants and loans or other financial mechanisms and practical support to encourage householders and communities to carry out this work. As others have said it creates huge opportunities for new sustainable employment, it encourages both new technology and traditional skills to enhance energy efficiency whilst also maintaining the integrity of historic buildings. What is not to like? It is not enough anymore to leave this to the enthusiasts and committed. It needs to be up front and centre local and national policy, backed up by changes in law. Ensure all homes Vital that this is done to good technical standards, i.e. is overseen by Building Standards, not just are insulated done by cowboy builders... properly Ensure all homes We also need ambitious regulations for future house builds are insulated properly Ensure all homes What we need for retrofitting energy iprovements is something that's simpler than planning are insulated permission or building standards. Why do you need planning permission to replace the glass in your properly sash windows with double-glazed units? There should be proper regulation of joiners (in fact, all tradesmen) to ensure that they do a good job. This works all over Europe. Ensure all homes Moreover, Scottish government must avoid the trap of subcontracting this vital work out to large are insulated multinationals. BIFAB should have taught us by now that highest benefit to Scotland is more properly important than 'lowest cost' contracting.

Instead, retrofitting should be tied to local jobs and skills, and rolled out on a local area basis through partnerships between local authorities, community groups, and a dedicated national energy efficiency company. Ensure all homes Absolutely agree. We will need 4 times the amount of wind turbines if we do not insulate buildings are insulated first. properly

Please adopt the PAS2035 standard immediately (don't reinvent the wheel) and start training an ARMY of well trained retrofitters.

We should be aiming for Passivhaus or close-to-passivhaus performance which will reduce energy consumption by around 80%.

Ensure all homes The 2019 Sea Change Report by the Scottish Climate Change Coalition presents the case for how a are insulated Scotland wide home insulation programme can be a key part of quick and easy Just Transition from properly fossil fuels dependance. Ensure all homes In Moray 26% of emissions are from residential properties. While newbuilds benefit from pretty good are insulated levels of thermal insulation the vast majority of Scotland's housing stock does not (understatement!). properly Retrofitting of the exisiting housing stock is a MUST. Proper training is needed because there is still a lot of poor knowledge about how to do this right. Massive investment in this training is needed. Such a programme of retrofitting could not only significantly reduce emissions but also create a huge number of jobs, reduce fuel poverty and improve home comfort. Ensure all homes Vital that it's done well. Energiesprong retrofit housing with insulation, solar PV and thermal, and air are insulated or ground source heat pumps, so they are zero carbon. All within a week! Pilot scheme in properly Nottingham.

Ensure all homes Sutherland is an area with a high incidence of fuel poverty. We should start insulating houses at the are insulated north coast & work south until they are all done. Lots of job opportunities & carbon saved. People no properly longer having to chose between heating & eating Rewild the Bring the highlands back to its natural habitat Highlands Rewild the Towns and cities should be rewilded with trees etc to absorb the carbon where it is generated Highlands Rewild the Tha mi ag aontachadh gu mòr leis a seo agus leis a' bheachd gum bu chòir fada a bharrachd Highlands chraobhan a bhith ann am bailtean mòra gus am bi Glaschu is Dùn Èideann is msaa coltach ri Berlin no Moscow a tha loma làn chraobhan.

Nuair a thathar ag "ath-fhiadhaicheadh" (rewidling) na Gàidhealtachd, tha e cudromach gun tèid a' Ghàidhlig a bhrosnachadh mar phàirt chudromach den iomairt oir tha ceangal làidir eadar a' Ghàidhlig agus nàdar. Rewild the Rewilding is essential. There is no justification for the continuation of grouse moors. Highlands Rewild the This would be amazing to see. It would also support and regulate water flow, and prevent so much Highlands soil nutrient run off into the watercourses. It is great to see that most now believe the 'entitlement of a few', does not fit with our modern world. Rewild the Rewilding would not only help to reduce carbon emissions but restore eco-systems and encourage Highlands more biodiversity and wildlife. Rewild the Why stop at the Highlands? Scope for plenty of rewilding in the Southern Uplands, stating with grouse Highlands moors! And large areas of the central lowlands could also take more trees.

But let's remember the contribution that peatland etc makes to carbon storage. Rewild the Would love this Highlands Rewild the There should also be sufficient incentives and policies in place to support and encourage landowners Highlands to take this approach; and to create wildlife corridors so that there aren’t just islands of rewilded areas. It needs joined up thinking, collaboration and networks, and proactive Government initiatives. The book Wilding by Isabella Tree is a great starting place for ideas Rewild the Rewilding, ecosystem restoration or whatever term is used, we certainly need this. But if it's going to Highlands be done at the scale that's required to respond to the climate and ecological crisis, then this will require thousands of more people living and working in the highlands and islands. Given that depopulation is a huge issue facing H&I communities, this could not only be a great way to restore the ecological fabric but also create a new social fabric of the highlands.

So I think it's important that rewilding involves people living and working in these places. Rewild the We have been killing off our country's natural habitats for generations. To save wildlife, plants and Highlands ourselves we should require and incentivise landowners to undertake rewilding.

Rewild the I have read somewhere that estate owners are given tax exemptions for running grouse shooting Highlands businesses. When we know that this unregulated practice involves killing thousands of wild animals every year, it comes as a sport with a very high cost in loss of biodiversity. Mountain hares, birds of prey and foxes are killed in their hundreds to preserve the grouse so they can be shot dead as “sport” Re-wilding is a much healthier way to go - there is an estate in Angus that has taken this route. The flourishing of habitat and creature is a joy to see - so it benefits humans as well as the animal and plant kingdoms. And beavers of course work on the landscape and reduce the risk of flooding in nearby towns downstream, by slowing the flow of water. Rewild the Rewild not just the Highlands. Rewild full stop! It is a really powerful idea and should be a major Highlands element of the discussion by the Climate Assembly. It should be a key element of the big vision, a founding principle for all future planning, development, land reform and land management. Wherever possible (and obviously this varies according to location and context) rewilding should be explored. This could be as varied as a proper consideration of apex predator reintroduction as part of the restoration of climatic climax vegetation in our wildest landscapes to the encouragement and creation of wildlife habitats in densely populated urban areas through ecologically sensitive urban design and changed practices in gardens to encourage native wildlife. The possibilities are endless and the potential both to reduce our carbon footprint and mitigate against climate change impacts significant. Rewild the Not just the highlands but the lowlands. All land not used for growing food I’d living on should be Highlands managed to maximise ecological diversity. Ban driven grouse shooting now and consign hill sheep farming to history. Also - need land reform and community ownership. Rewild the Large-scale rewilding initiatives should be informed by the history of the Clearances and entwined Highlands with land-reform, with community 'ownership' of land designated as wild land for the common good. There should not be a model of billionaire landowners giving over 'their' land for 'nature' and keeping people off it, much as happened with sheep in previous centuries. Rewild the Rewilding is the complete opposite of what we have now where land uses (forestry, sheep farming, Highlands grouse shooting, deer stalking, etc) are siloed in separate land uses according to the whim of landowners. Instead we could have native woodland and scrub as the default within which would exist areas of commercial conifer forests, sheep farming within fields and not on the open hill, walked up grouse shooting and deer stalking within more natural surroundings. The restored ecosystems would lock up carbon and reverse ecological decline. There would be many more jobs than at present, in eco tourism, adventure sports and hospitality, giving hope for future generations. Rewild the And not just the Highlands. Large areas of the rest of Scotland will also benefit from rewilding which Highlands is starting to happen at the Borders Forest Trust's sites in the Southern Uplands. Rewild the There are large areas of the UK in general that are ripe for 'rewinding'. Remember though, that for Highlands re-wilding to function properly , the full ecological balance must be restored. That would mean the reintroduction and tolerance of predators capable on controlling the red deer. I for one, would love to see this, but I suspect much of the Scottish population would consider this a step too far. The mythical fear of wolves runs deep! Mass education in Yes. Climate change needs to also be integrated into the curriculum in schools and universities. climate and Everyone needs to know the truth and extent of the climate crisis if we want to be able to solve this ecology issue together. Mass education in I agree with this comment, although I think schools are already doing a good job of informing if my climate and children are anything to go by. Far greater emphasis needs to be on the adult population who think ecology they know better. This message needs to be front and centre of everything, and needs to be spoken of as if it were a global emergency, which it is. We did it for the pandemic, so why not something so much more potentially harmful. Mass education in This should perhaps be combined with "A Peace with Nature Constitution" climate and ecology Mass education in School already do a lot of this. It’s the parents we need to target. climate and ecology Mass education in I agree, and particularly the lessons from Covid. A daily or at least weekly briefing by the First climate and Minister and a Jason Leech equivalent (ie people who communicate very well and are listened to) ecology would emphasise the importance of the issue and how seriously government takes it and we need to take it.

Mass education in Education also need to be solutions focused to enable people to feel empowered to take action. climate and Provide a coding system on products to show carbon footprints to make sustainable consumption ecology easier. Lots of examples of simple and affordable changes that we can all make (that also bring greater benefits to wellbeing). Get these messages out into mainstream media, billboards, leaflets etc Mass education in Increase focus on localised, community based learning and carbon literacy. Help people better climate and understand the interconnectedness of climate change with other issues; climate change is not an ecology isolated issue, but very much interlinked with social issues.

Mass education in I agree and I also think that the commitment in the curriculum for excellence around developing climate and children and young people’s ability to critically appraise information must be delivered. Many people ecology don’t know how to determine if what they read is fact, opinion, true or false. The ability to critically appraise is crucial to understanding and accepting science rather than accepting (potentially ill informed) opinion. This is needed to engage the public in the kind of rational (but difficult) change that needs to happen and hopefully to mitigate against the risks of an anti-science backlash as seen in other nations such as the USA, India and Brazil Mass education in To back up the work done in schools, government should tell the truth, and put their climate promises climate and into actions. Media outlets, it should be noted, broadcast what global corporate lobbyists want them ecology to, because the same corporate billionaires own the media.. Hearing the truth from Media and from those in power would greatly help the children’s parents to understand just how urgent the climate emergency is. Mass education in Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) can be taught almost entirely through an Environmental climate and 'lens'. Audits done of the contents of this curriculum both by individual schools and by groups eg ecology EcoSchools (https://www.eco-schools.org.uk/), show that there is no shortage of available material to educate at both primary and secondary stages, without any loss to the contents of a curriculum that can be a worry to parents that are supportive of the needs of the 3 R's.

A shift in emphasis of curriculum is essential to support young people so they are aware of and able to deal with the 'issues' that will confront all societies in their lifetimes.

One significant endeavour of CfE is to equip young people with the tool-kit that will enable them to ask the right questions, such, that they can properly untangle facts from alternative-facts (lies!). In the context of climate change this is an important skill...the ability to deal with the interpretation of information is more important than having a store of knowledge in ones head. This is a paradigm shift; one that CfE recognises.

Given the anxiety that young people have about all aspects of their future we should support them not just with facts but the ability to understand the limitations of interpretation that much of our media provides. Schools are a good place to construct narratives, with the right narratives the future is not so bleak? Transport and http://tipiglen.co.uk/crit2.html freight

Observed two decades ago. No apparent significant change so far...

http://tipiglen.co.uk/hypermobility.html Transport and Agreed with the above. Could we use sea more for freight transport ? (electric powered) freight Transport and Totally agree freight Renewable energy Agreed. There needs to be a transition to clean energy sources asap. The Government needs to transition encourage the creation of jobs in the renewable energy industry and people working in the fossil fuel industry must be given opportunities to switch jobs. Banks also must stop investing in fossil fuels.

There should be more campaigns that expose the reality of fossil fuel extraction and use. Attractive green plans for home energy usage also have to be put into place.

Renewable energy The government to reintroduce clean energy grants to domestic and commercial users for installation transition of heat pumps, solar, etc including feed-in- tariffs for energy export. However, the cost benefits have to be for users as well as suppliers and fitters. Money back schemes over 5+ years perhaps not so attractive as initial low intallation cost. Renewable energy We need a planned transition which is efficiently planned but it needs to take place urgently as we are transition running out of time. Renewable energy Given that France, Sweden and Ontario-Canada have successfully to a large extent decarbonised transition their electricity grid with nuclear energy decades ago it's clear that renewables aren't the only choice, or even a good one. Of course electricity is not the only type of energy we use, but tackling others is certainly easier when you have access to clean, reliable, safe and affordable electricity. https://www.electricitymap.org/ Product Take-always should be taxed heavily on the plastic they use / supply and the waste thy generate packaging Product Packaging needs to be rethought and less recyclable packaging encouraged. The government needs packaging to encourage and legislate to reduce landfill. Product We are drowning in single use packaging. It would be great to see a shift of thought to 'what is the packaging minimum this item needs in terms of packaging'. Product I understand that the cracking of North Sea Gas at Mossmorran is the first step in producing the packaging plastics that appear so abundantly around most of our food.. If this plant, and others like it in Louisiana and around the globe, were to be closed, then we would very easily find our own alternatives. The owners are global corporations such as Shell and Exxon, and Ineos across the Forth is another very major polluter, and produces the material for these plastics. Product Non-plastic packaging could be used much more widely. Supermarkets need to be given a target to packaging drastically reduce plastic packaging within a short time period (there could be exemptions for a small number of products where it is really needed). Stop planting I agree with this motion. All the new science coming through shows that intensive conifer forestry has Sitka spruce no carbon Drawdown benefit Until it’s second rotation and even then it is negligible.

Then when you consider the End product It is generally short lived and 80% of it renters the carbon cycle within 20years(I.e it is going to have no positive impact when we need it)

Scotland is a net producer of this type of timber but still have to import quality timber that we don’t grow(because we done plant it). As we are sustainable in this type of forestry it makes no sense to keep covering our landscape in it, as pointed out above in this climate and biodiversity emergency We should be planting broadleaf forest which has far more potential to drawdown carbon into the soil which is where the most carbon storage Can occur. As well as being the best for our soil broadleaf forests support far more biodiversity. I would say 100% broadleaf is not nessasery it’s good to have a mixture of Conifer such as Scots pine and Douglas fir, Sitka spruce is ok too if allowed to reach maturity and thinned rather than be on short rotation cropping.

So to that end there should be a change to the grant system to ensure high diversity forestry with proper management systems that increase continuous cover and allow forestry to be managed with the environment in mind. Stop planting I agree with this motion. Any sitka spruce plantations should have at least a 75% broad leaf mix. Sitka spruce Biodiversity for habitat plus longterm forestry is better for combatting climate change, than short term monocultures of sitka spruce. Stop planting I agree with the above and wish to add that publicly funded grants ought to be awarded to Sitka spruce communities only and means tested in the case of wealthy landowners.

Furthermore, I believe that these areas of land could be best used for woodland crofting. Stop planting Currently there is a big push to establish sitka plantations under the forest/woodland grant schemes. Sitka spruce Whilst there is supposed to be a minimum of 30% broadleaves in any new plantation I was shocked to see that a scheme near me had been approved with over 95% sitka. Many - perhaps a majority of these new forests/woodlands are being planted on areas of shallow peat which form important carbon sinks yet are not currently protected. Our upland/moorland ecosystems have evolved to be largely without trees (shrubs yes, but timber trees no) and are now internationally recognised to be of huge importance as carbon sinks. The planting up of the Flow Country with conifers in the 70s and 80s is

now seen as mistake, so why is the renewed planting of conifers (mainly sitka) in the uplands still being supported through ever-more generously funded grant schemes? Stop planting I agree. More thought needs to be made to ensure native woodlands. Biodiversity is essential. Sitka spruce Stop planting I agree. Trees are hugely important in carbon capture, but need to be the right trees in the right Sitka spruce places. Plant native species, encourage natural regeneration, and recognise that carbon capture / storage comes from peatland, grassland, and even kelp forests off-shore. We need to understand far more about the potential relative contributions of these in working out what to incentivise and how, as well as what to protect from further damage. Stop planting I agree and find it scandalous that landlords of estates can profit in this way. I think the people who Sitka spruce have done planting in Glen Affric have a much better idea of what is needed. I am no expert but I try to listen and remember. Stop the scandal of subsidies for inappropriate trees, and introduce fines for destruction of habitat - though that may be hard to set up. Stop planting Couldn't agree more with the previous commenters. This species is totally inappropriate and should Sitka spruce not be part of any reforestation strategy. It is also invasive and hard to eradicate once established. The days of intensive conifer forestation should be over. Stop planting I support this motion. The Scottish Government is heavily subsidising the planting of non-native trees Sitka spruce which are damaging to the country’s biodiversity. It should reconsider its forestry strategy and only incentivise the planting of native woodland in appropriate settings which enhances both biodiversity and the beauty of the landscape. Composting Yes currently lots of restrictions in place that would need addressing to support this. SEPA, MANPOWER, SELLING ON would be good to have in place. Composting Absolutely this should be at the forefront of regional recycling. Add to this, education to provid people with the skills to compost at home, should they wish. Composting Nice idea but it could result in spread of plant diseases and other pests such as New Zealand flatworms that can wipe out earthworms which are extremely important as food for many wildlife species and for soil health. Would need to be done at very high temperatures to not spread these pests and diseases. Composting It's completely beyond my understanding why this isn't already happening!! Some local councils are making their own compost from their compost/refuse collections but they keep it for themselves for use in local parks, etc. Composting This is a sensible idea, but it doesn’t even begin to tackle the problem of the approaching climate catastrophe. It is a thing that should be normal, but it wont have much effect on biodiversity loss or on emissions Composting Good quality, disease free, compost should be a national priority. Using material that would otherwise be wasted to maintained healthy soil will support food security. Relates to the transition to a circular economy so ticks many boxes for me. Composting In areas where food waste is not widely collected e.g. Highland Council, households should be encouraged to compost food for gardens.

This needs to be a priority. Council repair, Tha seo na fhìor dheagh bheachd! reuse, recycle schemes. Council repair, We need to return to the idea of products being disposal and encourage repairing and recycling. reuse, recycle Local repair shops and lending schemes where large items (tools, lawnmowers etc) can be shared by schemes. the community should be encouraged. Council repair, While I agree we all need to reduce what we buy and waste, I would shift the focus onto the real reuse, recycle culprits who make massive profits from producing goods, paying low wages, transporting the goods schemes. needlessly around the globe, and selling them in High St shops or even worse on-line. How can I live As with the idea "Sustrans", I think this idea is fundamentally sound, implying that everyone needs to sustainably be encouraged to focus their minds on personally living sustainably.

It should be followed through and incorporated as axiomatic in the Climate Assembly thinking.

How can I live I think this is shifting the blame onto individuals, whereas the real culprits are banks which invest sustainably massive amounts of £billions to profit from fossil fuel extraction, and the fossil fuel extracting giants themselves. How can I live I acknowledge that we all have a part to play, but this problem cannot be solved on an individual sustainably basis. Such an approach lets policy-makers and corporations off the hook. The fact that it cannot be solved individually makes the case for a citizens' assembly. How can I live We are all individuals. The individuals who work in banks, to keep their job, have to do what is good sustainably for the bank. The reason XR exists is because policy makers, corporations and banks will not change unless pushed and what is good for the bank changes. While I totally agree with XR protests, they can rightly say the public is not interested and by and large does not live sustainably at all. I think at best, most are in denial because they fear it and feel powerless to personally do much about it beyond recycling and low energy lightbulbs etc. For there to be any chance of addressing the environmental crisis the public have to be on board and have real strategies to live sustainably and make demand for sustainable alternatives. Then they might support XR, as typically, from experience, people dont. Govt and corporations will only respond to sufficiently inconvenient protest and consumer and electoral demand. I would like to live sustainably, perhaps put money into land to grow food locally, bank sustainably etc, pension sustainably but where? How can ordinary people practically live and minimise our impact on the planets resources? How can I live Our arguments about looking after the environment may convince if we are fully doing out best to live sustainably by them.

How can I live I would support citizens' assembly sustainably Citizen carbon Great idea with a possibility of taxing high carbon footprints to help support sustainable lifestyles footprint public database Citizen carbon Although we allow need to make changes we also need to ensure that the top polluting companies footprint public are held responsible for there carbon pollution. database Citizen carbon I think this is a little bit too focussed on the victims. Our Council has not yet worked out how to do footprint public carbon accounting for its own various activities. However, if instead of tax rebates and subsidies, the database oil corporations were taxed on the carbon they are extracting and selling, I would be very supportive Resource I totally agree that flying needs to be curtailed in a way that is just and this rationing idea is great. allocation (aka rationing) for leisure air travel miles Resource We need to accept that our lives will have to change and that flying can no longer be an option. It allocation (aka should be rationed and businesses should have to justify the use of plans. The experience of the rationing) for Covid lock down shows us that much of the work which many of us can be done remotely on line leisure air travel miles Resource Absolutely agree with this point. Frequent flyers who travel for leisure or non-essential business allocation (aka meetings really need to be curtailed! rationing) for leisure air travel miles Rightsizing Equitable access to renewables and insulation for all according to accom needs governance Rightsizing This idea sounds well thought out by someone with appropriate knowledge. If it speeds up the pace governance of change I am all for it. A garden for Great idea - note that this will only work effectively if there is a teacher in the school who is already a every single competent gardener - some training of teachers will be needed. school A garden for Fits totally with Cof E Children need to learn about how our food is produced. If they grow it they every single are more likely to eat it. school

A garden for Agree, but in general teachers need to be afforded more respect and more time for admin work and every single marking tests. The time spent on teaching in the garden setting needs to be valued not sidelined school A garden for An incredibly important idea which has to be centre stage in the National curriculum . The food grown every single needs to be used by kitchens in every school with all pupils joining in cooking. Finally ALL pupils must school attend school lunches! Rethinking our this is basic - we need to focus on the wellbeing economy with sustainable growth at it's heart not on economy to tackle GDP, with incessant destructive economic growth and profit before all else. the climate crisis Rethinking our Stop focusing on GDP, more focus on wellbeing & equality. economy to tackle the climate crisis Rethinking our Absolutely, creating transition towns allows and supports localised economies focussed on producing economy to tackle and growing food for community, taking responsibility for identifying needs locally this could be done the climate crisis in a similar way as in France or Faroes, funding given smaller areas to spend. Too large an area covered currently by local authorities which slows down system, alienates population and so no buy in. Rethinking our The concepts of transition towns and - at a bigger scale - bioregions, allows for the regeneration of economy to tackle local economies supporting local SMEs. This results in the plugging of the "leaky bucket" ie more the climate crisis money stays within the local area, and builds resilience. The principle of Common Pool Resources also teaches us that, if local people are collectively given the opportunity to manage their local resources, they will do so in sustainable manner. Local Authorities need to be properly resourced so that talented officers can be attracted and help create a culture which sees tackling climate change at a regional level as being the top priority. Rethinking our We need to re think how we look at the econmny and move away from priortising profit over well- economy to tackle being and caring for people and the planet. the climate crisis Rethinking our We know that GDP is a flawed measure of the "health" of our country. economy to tackle the climate crisis It doesn’t take into account a number of things that could help measure national success more accurately: job quality, wellbeing, carbon emissions, inequality, and physical health. It doesn't take account of things like the work of volunteers and home based work and it doesn't take account of contribution to pollution. We should adopt a "wellbeing economy" as is suggested by New Zealand Rethinking our I completely support this idea and all the comments economy to tackle the climate crisis Rethinking our There is an urgent need to end an economy based on endless growth. It is destroying not only our economy to tackle climate and our ecosystems, but also us, the human race. We are sicker, physically and mentally, the climate crisis than we have been for centuries. The younger generation is in crisis, addicted to consumption, disconnected from nature and lacking resilience. We require an economy based on well-being. Rethinking our Need also to move towards smaller local businesses and away from large corporations which exert economy to tackle lobbying influence over governments and as a result get easier regulation than needed and subsidies, the climate crisis bothvisible and hidden. Rethinking our Also, don't forget that not spending money on useless things and reusing and recycling reduces a economy to tackle country's GDP, which pushes it down the tables for attractiveness to investors etc. GDP as a the climate crisis measure of wellbeing inherently encourages wastefulness. Rethinking our Also I did read somewhere that the profits gangs make from drug dealing also contribute to GDP, economy to tackle along with hedge fund betting and other dubious practices by banks. This is absurdity. We need to the climate crisis ditch GDP and use wellbeing as a measure. Health not Wealth. Rethinking our Unless the present form of capitalism that focuses on GDP is changed fundamentally the planet will economy to tackle continue to degenerate. the climate crisis Rethinking our Be good to have Kate Raworth the author of Doughnut Economics as an adviser to the Climate economy to tackle Assembly the climate crisis Rethinking our GDP has been considered a hopeless measure of societal well being for so many years. If I break economy to tackle every window in my street, that will increase GDP and therefore be considered a good thing. Utter the climate crisis madness.

Rethinking our In a finite world, we cannot continue to operate political economic systems that are predicted on economy to tackle continuous economic growth resulting from the consumption of the finite resources of the plant. The the climate crisis trouble is, I've yet to hear of any genuinely viable alternative. We need some brilliant economists and political thinkers, who themselves understand the finite nature of the resources available to us) to seriously address this. Of course Scotland cannot operate alone in this, but it could lead the way! Rethinking our This is basic, but sadly doubtful within the remit of the assembly, too radical to do more than talk economy to tackle about it. the climate crisis Rethinking our While there is a pie in the sky element to this worthy goal I think a tangible thing would be to redirect economy to tackle government subsidy away from private polluter businesses and into the social enterprise economy the climate crisis (hundreds of millions are spent in scotland annually on big business investment by government) that could be redirected to social businesses seeking to maintain a healthy planet. A move towards A universal basic income needs to introduced. We also need emphasis governmental and change at equity of income a national level rather than expect changes to fall on individuals. and assets A move towards Governments have resisted this, but Universal Basic Income would reduce costs on NHS due to equity of income better health because of reduced financial worry. Adult education take up will increase because and assets people could use the time they would have spent on a dead end job, getting training in what their interest is, and get a more rewarding job at the end of it. A happier and financially better off person and family would result. There is no profit to be had in Universal Basic Income so no wonder it has been resisted up to now. (Milk) farming The idea of industrial farming needs to be reconsidered as it is not sustainable. We need to move reform away from a dairy and meat based diet for both human health but also to help reduce carbon emmisions (Milk) farming A great number of processed food contains milk and milk products. I seriously wonder if we need this reform much milk in our diets. Someone is making big profits from this or it would not continue. I am not sure it is the farmers, more likely processed food global corporations. Farming needs to be seriously re- structured.

(Milk) farming I suspect that such large dairy farms with unsustainable practices are the results of low milk prices reform (supermarkets driving down the margins of dairy farmers for the supposed benefit of the 'consumer'). So it is a product of power inequalities in the current food supply system, and lack of public awareness of farming. Power generation Use of tidal energy is a major contributor an shoul be the main focus of our investment / development in Scotland and and should be enacted close to the Central Belt Gas capture Power generation It has been demonstrated that the UK can achieve zero emissions without fossil fuel use. See below in Scotland and for a couple of examples: Gas capture

Absolute Zero report

https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/299414/REP_Absolute_Zero_V3_20200505. pdf?sequence=9&isAllowed=y

or

Zero Carbon Britain

https://www.cat.org.uk/info-resources/zero-carbon-britain/research-reports/zero-carbon-britain-rising- to-the-climate-emergency/

There is absolutely no need to continue using fossil fuels, and in this case continuing to use high carbon gas to generate electricity. Continued use of gas locks us into a harmful, high risk and high cost scenario. It is far from guaranteed that all CO2 will be captured in any Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) or Carbon Capture Usage (CCU) process, and the costs of adding CCS to the generation process will be significant. In addition, any captured CO2 used for any purpose in CCU that results in it being leaked back into the atmopshere is also highly dangerous. For example CO2 used in agriculture will not keep 100% of the CO2 captured safely stored away from the atmosphere or oceans, thus any CCU processes should also be avoided. Make Scottish We need a far more radical plan for land reform, in particular, more equitable land distribution. Land Reform work

In addition, it must be made mandatory that land owners have to engage completely with local communities. Make Scottish All unresistered land should be given to the local community council Land Reform work Make Scottish Any brown field site that has not been developed in 10 years should be given to the local Community Land Reform work Council Make Scottish I do not believe that rivers, lochs or any bodies of water should be privately owned. Land Reform work Make Scottish We need to end the use of large areas of land for grouse and dear shooting. The protection of these Land Reform work lands for these purposes has massive consequences for biodiversity in Scotland. The government should be encouraging rewilding and the return of community ownership. Make Scottish The two Land Reform Acts and the setting up of the Scottish Land Commission have been a start but Land Reform work there is an urgent need to build on these by tackling the questions of land ownership, community land ownership (both countryside and urban sites) and land tax. Make Scottish And bybthe way, in urban areas, the many golf courses which are in danger of being sold to Land Reform work developers should become community-owned parks and greenspaces (and food growing gardens). Make Scottish I strongly agree about the urban golf courses. Dundee just had beautiful mature trees on the former Land Reform work golf course cut down by developers. This is why planning regulations need not only tightened up, but funded so that they can be enforced. The houses could have been built in a way that leaves the trees alone.

Reduce Again more education is needed to teach how to upcycle and reuse and to stop constantly buying population and more and not living a sustainable life return to simple living Reduce It is the East who are generating most goods and have very high populations so the West need to population and limit their acquisition from abroad and style their lives to locally sourced goods and food. return to simple living Reduce We have to stop growing.....over population is such a difficult subject to talk about. population and return to simple living Reduce It’s not reasonable or ethical to mandate population reduction. Postulation shrinkage is happening in population and the developed world and will begin to happen soon in the developing world. The world is capable of return to simple meeting the needs of the human population, but must do so rationally whilst setting aside a large part living of the world to remain wild or be rewilded to mitigate against the loss of biodiversity. People living in a self sufficient fashion is not an efficient use of land and can’t feed the human population let alone allow sufficient land for other species. Reduce This comment is not backed up by good evidence. The 2020 Oxfam Report and other reports makes population and it clear that the magority of carbon emissions is generated by the richest companies and individuals. return to simple living Empowering women to take charge of their own lives is a proven way to limit population growth.

Reduce The problem is consumption and inequity not population. It is more than possible for a population of population and 10billion people to live on the planet within planetry boundaries. But it is not possible if we don't tackle return to simple excess consumption of materials and energy. Targeting population is a distraction. living Reward farmers & Beef & Dairy Agricultural is a contributes to emissions.. so perhaps rewarding the industry to move communities. away from the production of these products to plant based products would be better. Reward farmers & Through grant incentives all farmers should be encouraged to become Carbon farmers. The number communities. one priority here is to increase SOG - soil organic matter - as this has the effect of sequestering carbon. Stopping ploughing, agroforestry, the building up of multi-species herb-rich pastures, mob grazing, use of clover instead of artificial fertilisers - all these practices will increase SOG. Reward farmers & Anything which can be should be done to promote change. Farmers are heavily subsidised. Any communities. monies given should be related to actions which promotes zero carbon practices Reward farmers & I totally agree with previous 2 comments. Those who profit from current destructive farming practices communities. are global corporations who sell the chemicals and products destroying our soil and ecosystem. These products - could they be subject to a hefty import tax? And any that are manufactured in Scotland should be closed down with just transition for employees. Protect our Scotland is well placed to do this - we have jurisdiction over an area of ocean 6 x our whole land oceans area. Our extensive kelp forests need total protection now - as they, like our land forests, also sequester carbon. Sustainable seaweed and shellfish aquaculture should be encouraged and salmon farming stopped (it is damaging in many ways to the health of our ocean). Bottom trawling should also be stopped except in areas where the impact on the seabed is negligible eg sand. Continued bottom trawling in sensitive areas eg maerl beds should be stopped with immediate effect. Protect our I agree totally with all the ideas put forward in this idea. oceans Protect our It's so important to protect our oceans. Scotlands also needs control over what happens in Scottish oceans waters as extracting vast amounts of fish, trawling ocean beds and all the military activity, are not in line with a climate emergency. Protect our Reduced better regulate the fish farm industry which has a detrimental effect on our seas, and on the oceans well-being of 'free/wild fish populations. Protect our I would also like to see the introduction of 'no-fishing zones' to enable fish stocks to recover. This has oceans been done successfully in other countries. Protect our Current protections do a pretty poor job of protecting our marine habitats from dredging, harmful fish oceans farming practices etc. If we are serious about protecting marine environments we not only need measures which are enforceable and enforced, we need to support fishing communities to transition away from harmful practices to sustainable ones.

Protect our What surprises me is that people have not joined the dots regarding fish depletion and ocean carbon oceans capture? If the fish are missing the most important carbon capture system on the planet fails. Sedimentation from ocean bio mass is approx 10 x more important than all the forests and plants put together. If we don't have the fish the bio system chain is broken and ocean carbon capture system fails. The phytoplankton and zoo plankton rot on the ocean surface if there are no fish (and few mammals/cetaceans) to consume it and the carbon/co2 (from the atmosphere) that makes these organisms returns to the atmosphere and does not form the sediment of detritus (that eventually falls to the sea bed) that it normally would. We need the fish stocks and Ocean biomass or we will have CO2 levels spiral out of control and no amount of planting trees or eco farming and electric cars will help us. I am an engineer not a marine scientist - this is just what I have read about -

check it out for your self. why aren't people more concerned about this????? Please share if this if it concerns you as much as it concerns me. We need to look beyond our own coastal waters and make agreements with all nations to protect and enhance fish stocks and the health of the ocean carbon capture system. How can we get this discussed and considered by our government and the scientific community at large? Protect our We need to have proper Marine Protected Areas where fishing is very much reduced, and protection oceans areas where fish can breed and young fish can grow. An offshore windfarm near Holland is being used to develop mussel beds (for food and filtering out pollutants) and will provide just that protection from fishing. Protect our Agree. In addition , a policy to re-seed seagrass meadows, as done off the Welsh coast, and oceans restoring kelp beds would be a massive contribution to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.

Protect our Crucial to live up to what is already in theory a commitment on Marine Protected Areas but which is oceans not respected. Protect our The David Attenborough BBC Extinction programme gave the heart breaking example of the North oceans West Scotland Orca pod whose females are infertile due to industrial chemicals entering the marine food chain.

These whales will die out because we have allowed industries to self regulate themselves.

So whats the human impact to people who eat a fish rich diet? Protect our The oceans are indeed the single most important stores of carbon and indeed of methane. At a oceans Scottish level steps are necessary to protect our waters from further pollution. Steps also are necessary to identify the sediments within Scottish water that store the most carbon and methane. Disturbance of these sediments is likely to result in the release of at least some of the GHGs sequestered there. Therefore these sediments need to be protected from disturbance by, for example trawling, Prògram de Fìor dheagh bheachd. dh'fhosglaidhean/ ath-fhosglaidhean reile Prògram de Fìor dheagh bheachd. Tha siubhal bho iar gu sear le còmhdhail pobach cho doirbh agus a' toirt ùine dh'fhosglaidhean/ cho fada, gu h-àraid a' tighinn bhon Ghàidhealtachd. Nam faighinnsa mo mhiann bhiodh an rèile ath-fhosglaidhean eadar An Gearastan agus Cille Chuimein air ath-fhosgladh agus a leasachadh cuideachd! reile Prògram de Bheireadh na tha seo de dh’fhosglaidhean/ath-fhosglaidhean rèile fìor dheagh bhuaidh air beatha dh'fhosglaidhean/ dhaoine agus an àrainneachd. Smaoinich air siostam ùr thramaichean ann an Glaschu! ath-fhosglaidhean reile Prògram de Chan eil mi cinnteach am bi feum air ceangal reile ri Port-Adhar Ghlaschu. Cha bu chòir dhuinn, dh'fhosglaidhean/ siubhal air itealan a bhrosnachadh! Ach rachadh mi leis, nam biodh an slighe-reile a' dol taobh ath-fhosglaidhean ospadal "Southern General", Braehead agus Rinnfriù. reile A-rèir iomradh "Connectivity ann an Glaschu", bidh cruaidh-fheum air crois-reile ùr fo Abhainn Chluaidh, oir bidh na Steiseanan Sraid na Ban-righinn agus Glaschu Meadhanach a' fàs loma-làn as- dèidh ùine nach bi ro fhada. Prepare now for Many countries who have and will suffer the consequences of climate change have benefited the giving refuge to least. The countries who have benefited like Scotland should be held responsible for the destruction refugees from the they have caused and help those forced to see refuge due to the climate emergency. climate emergency Prepare now for This would be a very welcome development. Scotland appears to be anxious to prove itself on the giving refuge to global stage: this would help enormously. refugees from the climate emergency Prepare now for This is just beginning. It will only worsen. giving refuge to refugees from the climate emergency Prepare now for Scotland and the developed world generally has a moral responsibility to support climate refugees giving refuge to and welcome them here. refugees from the climate emergency

Prepare now for If we manage to move to a wellbeing economy, based on kindness and sharing, then it follows giving refuge to naturally that we would welcome refugees, whatever they are fleeing from. There will be ugly scenes refugees from the by extreme right wing governments around the world. I would be happy to be helping people in need. climate emergency Prepare now for An increase in the existing number of climate refugees is something countries should be planning for. giving refuge to Scotland would have to control its own immigration in order to welcome refugees. UK immigration refugees from the policy currently creates a hostile (human) environment for those seeking safety. climate emergency Prepare now for The hostile environment is incompatible with positive climate action and Scotland should provide a giving refuge to safe and welcoming environment for refugees. With climate change as a potential driver to refugees from the exacerbate future conflicts, addressing Scotland's military involvement on the global stage is also climate relevant in trying to mitigate the continued displacement of people from conflict zones/climate affected emergency areas. Prepare now for We need to abolish borders globally and enable global freedom of movement for all. This will allow giving refuge to people to migrate away from inhospital environments resulting from our greenhouse gas emissions refugees from the and will ensure we tackle the gross economic inequalities created by our current colonial capitalist climate economic system. This is an essential target for a fair response to the climate and ecological crisis. emergency Prepare now for Firstly recognise the status of 'climate refugee' in law. To date there is no recognition of climate giving refuge to refugee status despite 30 years of being aware of the severity and accelerating rate of climate refugees from the change. climate emergency

This is apparently tricky in terms of establishing a definition of a climate refugee. For example someone may become a displaced person (forced to relocate within their country) for a number of years before becoming a refugee (forced to move to another country, often neighbouring, country). Their farms may become unworkable due to drought and they move to an urban environment to seek employment and a home. In Syria there were around a million displaced people as a result of the 2006 to 2011 drought which created serious difficulties in accommodation, jobs and public services. Some people can be displaced for a number of years before the become a refugee so a working definition should not have a cut off time from when they were forced to move from their original land.

It is vital that we first recognise climate refugees in their own right, not that they have any precedence over other refugees but we begin to understand the scale of the problem, how it is likely to accelerate and where it is accelerating fastest. We then begin to understand how better to prioritise our aid budget and where we need to increase our aid budget.

We should also use such information to improve our trading relationship and debt with other countries so it is more human and ecological orientated rather than GDP and growth orientated.

We should also ensure we inform the public on urgency of tackling the cimate, ecological and humanitarian emergency and draw the links clearly with our globalised food supply so that people understand clearly other countries' climate crises are also ours and we need to work together. Prepare now for This issue is such an important one and I am glad it has been raised as a key topic for the CCA. Now giving refuge to is the time to start planning and preparing for a future that will make refugees of many people. We refugees from the must start now to educate ourselves and lay the foundations for a society that will be welcoming. climate emergency Invest in Carbon Nice idea but this misses a much bigger target of seeking to end fossil fuel extraction altogether filters

Neucler Energy Cha bu chòir cumhachd niùclasach a bhith mar phàirt de phoileasaidh lùtha/àrainneachd na h-Alba idir. Tha i air leth fhèin cosgail agus gu math cunnartach. Chan e cùmhachd sheasmhach a th' inne idir. Mar a tha an t-seann bhaidse ag ràdh "Cumhachd Niùclasach? Cha ghabh idir!" Neucler Energy This is not a good idea. What happens to the waste produced and the damage caused to the environment by leakages? Neucler Energy Baseload power generation is just what we no longer need. Close down the Hunterston and Torness reactors as a safety imperative Neucler Energy I agree with the original post. Nuclear power is sustainable and rational. New technologies are capable of using nuclear waste as a fuel source. Partner with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to actually build one Neucler Energy Replacements for the life-expired AGR reactors at Hunterston and Torness need to be built urgently. For the future, the government should consider and invest in nuclear fusion as a safer, cleaner form of power generation that won't produce the same radioactive waste as nuclear fission. Take We must take responsibility for the emissions which in other countries because of products which we responsibility for use in this country. This is a global emergency and a global issue. our global emissions Take Totally agree. In addition, what has now become UK has been creating harmful emissions for responsibility for centuries longer than many other countries. We therefore have a stronger responsibility to reduce our global emissions. emissions Take As I understand it, sea and air travek is not included in our or anyone else's emissions calculations, responsibility for nor is the fact that the UK is a largely a service economy so imports huge amounts of food and other our global goods, effectively exporting the emissions to places like China. the Climate and Ecological emissions Emergency Bill currently slwoly moving through the Uk parliament address this. Scotland must take FULL responsibility for its emissions and in ding so show leadership t those who are also fudging it. Take We cannot doubt that our world is dividing along lines delineated by those population presently responsibility for having ready access to resources and those populations that do not. These in the former group will our global wish to define their version of ‘normal’ as that to which they are entitled, and by so doing, position emissions their values as having greater value than those populations in the latter group. This global circumstance further exacerbated by those people who are asset poor being less able to mitigate the effects of climate change and in many cases finding themselves in geographic circumstance suffering greater impact. (see https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/)

A further divide occurs along demographic lines where young people have real and increasing concerns about the future that they will experienced in their lives. We need to weight our decisions with respect for our duty to those that will experience the greatest effect of poor decisions.

From these two concerns emerges concepts such as the Green New Deal (https://www.greennewdealuk.org/) which requires that all citizens embrace the need for radical reappraisal of what is ‘normal’ in order to mitigate the impending difficulties that are becoming increasingly present. These difficulties local, National and Global.

The economy and It is time to rethink the economy and banking system. We cannot continue to empathize the need for banking system economic growth The economy and Totally agree with this. How? banking system The economy and The banks should serve the people, their communities and the national economy and this should be banking system written in to their governance in the same way as charities have to demonstrate adherence to their 'Objects'. As with all companies and associations, they should be required to demonstrate and adhere to 'climate-friendly' policies and procedures. The economy and There is a lack of understanding about how the economy works. The idea of government debt banking system needing to be paid back through tax has been blown out of the water by the COVID crisis. Governments can create money through quantitative easing as we have seen. While interest rates remain low and job losses remain high there is no risk of inflation. Unfortunately for Scotland we do not have the power to raise our own money because we do not control our own currency. We need to grow the Scottish Investment Bank and ensure that all the investments are focussed on creating a zero carbon transition

The economy and I think/understand maybe wrongly, that most banks are privately owned, or run for the benefit of banking system shareholders and investors. Since the late 1970’s a series of deregulation has been introduced globally by US and UK, and this has enabled banks to operate for their own benefit, and not for the good of ordinary citizens. The main banks eg Barclays, HSBC, Santander RBS etc invest massively in fossil fuel extraction projects. I think if our National Investment Bank were to be properly constituted and regulated, a lot of good would come of it The economy and Just to explain my previous statement/idea. banking system

The economic and monetry system that we have works on the basis of economic growth, this in turn gives us the quest for gross domestic product (GDP) and creates our 'market forces'. These market forces rely on competition and the simple fact that we must produce products for as little as possible and then sell them at the highest possible price, no matter the cost, because if we don't have continual growth the system collapses. Because of the competition it also concentrates wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer people. Thereby we have infinate economic growth on a finite planet which is of course impossible and we are beginning to see this now.

This system then drives species extinction, pollution and the loss of wilderness, farmland, topsoil, water, clean air, freedom, health, wellbeing, equality and security. It is also a driver of wars as there are huge profits to be made from the sale of arms and weapons of mass destruction.

So, this is about a lot more than climate change. If we do not change our economic and monetry system we will not survive as a species on this planet, the choice is ours.

The New Economics Foundation has solutions for this, as does Dave Darby et-al at 'Low Impact'. The planet has been telling us for a long time that we need to change, it is about time that we listened.

Scotland could be at the forefront of the change we are crying out for. Require oil I agree that the gas and oil companies who have knowingly profited from the earths destruction companies to should be held responsible and be involved in capture and storage capture and store excess CO2 emissions Require oil Given that Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) systems are at best in their research phase it's way too companies to early to enact such policies. capture and store excess CO2 emissions Require oil CCS will require a huge amount of capital to establish it at the scale that is required. I think R&D companies to should continue, but it has to be seen at this stage as a 'nice to have' rather than an essential part of capture and store the plan to decarbonise energy production. Its a huge gamble to make given that it is unproven as excess CO2 scale, extremely costly and has no guarentee it will work. We will be far better transferring resources emissions and capital from oil companies towards lowering are energy usage, making buildings more efficient and encouraging zero carbon transport including free public transportation.

If CCS is developed it should only be for heavy industry where it is proven impossible to use renewable energy resources.

Require oil Extraction of fossil fuels needs to end. Once that is done, we will have to think of ways to store its companies to toxic products. The various methods for CCS have been used by oil companies for greenwashing capture and store purposes excess CO2 emissions Require oil CCS in it's various forms is little more than a distraction from actually cutting our emissions. It has companies to been used to justify a slow transition when it is highly questionable that it can be implemented on capture and store anything like a significant enough scale. The volumes of CCS required to support a slow transition are excess CO2 immense, with a typical 2C scenario requiring we build 20 000 CCS facilities globally by 2100 (5 new emissions CCS facilities built every week, beginning 2023 all the way through to 2100).

We have to focus on cutting our emissions to zero as soon as possible and not delude ourselves that CCS will solve the problem. Ensure that NHS, Private companies should not make profit out of peoples basic needs Utilities, transport are nationalised Ensure that NHS, Unfortunately NHS is already partly privatised...... Utilities, transport are nationalised Ensure that NHS, It will not be easy to wrest control back from global corporations, but with political will surely it can be Utilities, transport done. If the majority of the population want this, it should be done. That is what a Citizens Assembly are nationalised is for, isn’t it? A Social This is a climate emergency and action needs to be taken which is not focusing on private profit but Enterprise Led on the general good Response A Social it would be good to see any profits made, reinvested into the community, rather than shareholders Enterprise Led pockets. Response A Social Agreed, this is a sensible direction to take. Enterprise Led Response Universal Basic Agreed -a very important driver to avoid the current economic endless growth paradigm. Income Universal Basic A form of Universal Basic Income has been shown to improve well-being, offering as it does a 'basic' Income level of security. As an element in addressing general and individual well-being, it should be part of such an approach to and understanding of the national economy.

A policy of UBI should also include an obligation to 'active citizenship'; a principle of both receiving and giving - a reciprocal relationship. If the state provides me with this basic level of income, I should reciprocate by participating or taking up some responsibility in some way as a citizen. Universal Basic I agree, we saw during Lockdown, that people will volunteer in their communities assisting others and Income generally working towards a better community. All they needed, was an income and time. UBI does that. great idea. Universal Basic For the well being of humanity UBI is a must...... Income Universal Basic UBI is such an important idea. Income Universal Basic Agree wholeheartedly Income Universal Basic Absolutely agree. This has to happen. Ties into the degrowth route: Income

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2020.1812222 Universal Basic Imagine how different this year would have been for so many people if we had a Universal Basic Income Income

Universal Basic It is important to take a holistic approach to climate solutions, which includes prioritizing issues of Income social justice and inequality. Universal basic income could be an effective tool for reducing inequality and could also be more directly tied to concrete climate action - for example, Citizens’ Climate Lobby advocate for a climate income (aka carbon fee and dividend) whereby revenue generated from a carbon tax is redistributed directly to the population as a universal basic income.

Source: https://citizensclimatelobby.uk/carbon-fee-dividend/climate-income/

Universal Basic I am grateful to Pauline Robinson for summarising the importance of UBI and its significance for Income tackling the climate crisis. I strongly agree with what has been said above in all the comments and would very much like to see the CCA consider UBI as a central issue. Universal Basic UBI would be good if we had a universal basic attitude to work. Income Why should some people work hard, putting their heart and soul into their work, while others may have a couldn't care less attitude, but will get the same basic pay Universal Basic In my opinion, this is an absolute must for tackling the climate and ecological emergencies. Our Income current working paradigm is destroying the living world - we need to put a break on consumerism, but at the same time, support people financially. How will people be financially secure if their job in fast- fashion or offshore drilling disappears? To enable people to make the huge decisions necessary to walk away from polluting jobs, a safety net is a must: UBI is one way to achieve this. Universal Basic I am afraid that I wholeheartedly disagree with this notion of UBI without an obligation to work. UBI Income May be, but that must be accompanied by a work obligation. The definition of work could be open to discussion, but receipt of UBI must be contingent upon the person making a meaningful , desirable and measurable contribution to society. Measure Human GDP is a purely exploitative measure introduced as a war metric. Important at the time but absolutely Well-Being disregards the resources required and destroyed to produce the product, and never measures the instead of GDP human and ecological cost. Measure Human Yes we need to rethink what we think is a successful economy is. We need to people and the Well-Being environment before profit. instead of GDP Measure Human Infinite growth is an unsustainable and politicised economic model that exploits the natural world and Well-Being the people who live in it, for the benefit of a small number of very rich people. Scotland needs to end instead of GDP its addiction to infinite growth and to construct an economy based on the wellbeing of its citizens. This is a way to provide meaningful jobs that don't destroy the planet we depend on for life itself. New Zealand is an example of a country which tries to base its policies in caring, kindness and respect. Scotland should make more efforts to go in this direction, immediately. There is no time to lose. Measure Human For Scotland to use GDP as the main measure of success makes it structurally impossible to Well-Being effectively tackle the climate and ecological crisis. If success is measured using an indicator that does instead of GDP not include any environmental or social harm, then there is little incentive to stop that harm fom happening. As a result Scotland should definitely use a well being indicator to measure success, such as the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). Measure Human ScotGov has flown a kite for these ideas. The First Minister's TED talk is eloquent on this subject. Well-Being Scotland is declared a Wellbeing Economy Nation. All good, yet there is still an obsession with GDP instead of GDP and with with the market deciding all the important issues of where resources should go. Please encourage all politicians to be braver and face down the corporate powers and truly embrace this vision AT SPEED. Measure Human The principles of Doughnut Economics (Kate Raworth) are what should be adopted here. A system Well-Being based on balance with the ecological system to provide a safe and just place for humanity. instead of GDP I would urge that members of the assembly to read Kate's book and investigate how it is being adopted in Amsterdam right now. Traffic light Most people have zero clue about the carbon footprint of their food. This would be a great thing to system for carbon see. footprint of food

Traffic light I would go a step further and introduce rations on sugary drinks and unhealthy foods bearing transfats system for carbon and palm oil. This is veering to the health side of food production, but possibly goes in parallel with footprint of food the carbon footprint issue Traffic light It's a good idea, and one that we should already have. We have health warnings on tobacco, so why system for carbon not something similar for all products. My only doubt and its a big doubt is that it puts the emphasis footprint of food on individual choice and could be used to make people feel a sense of shame, especially those who cannot afford to buy green all the time. Traffic light There is already the Giki app that does this and something similar could be promoted the government system for carbon and used much more widely. All consumables could have scale labelling like this. footprint of food Four day week Unless it essential, travelling to work should be restricted to less than 4 days per week locally. U.K. wide business travel should be restricted to 4 days in any month. People should be encouraged to work locally within Scotland. IT should be used more and taught freely. Four day week Like this idea. Four day week Encourage more working remotely, even for part of week Four day week Supported by the introduction of Universal Basic Income a four day working week would benefit the well being of folk. Four day week Yes agree and with the Universal Basic Income as said above. Four day week Slowing down in general is key for people to be able to live more sustainably. Less work commitments = time to grow food, skills share, travel more slowly, volunteer on our communities, support lots of independent shops. Working a 4 day week would be a great step in this direction Four day week Ties in with degrowth, this is a really important and necessary step.

Degrowth clarified: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2020.1812222 Four day week I like this idea as it would have health benefits reduce consumerism and waste and give people more time with being involved in their communities and charities as well as friends and family.

Also would give people more opportunity to be involved in lifelong education.

One drawback would be that products made or grown where a good good work/life balance isn't promoted could become significantly cheaper so safeguards would need to be put in place so that they don't undercut and overwhelm local markets. Green taxes on products brought a long way should be the answer to that. Four day week I think as part of covid recovery a 4 day working week and universal basic income make sense to mitigate against social and economic costs of high unemployment Four day week Agree strongly with the need for a 4 day week and a Universal Basic Income. As mentioned this allows more family time, more time in the community, more time to be engaged in understanding and tackling the climate and ecological emergency and more time to reskill in the skills that we need.

Overall a four day week would be a key change required in improving community resilience and empower others to contribute.

A 4 day week and UBI should be key components to part of a Just and Green Transition to fairer and more included communities.

Four day week I think this is a fantastic idea. It would also help with equality, as the same number of hours could be split between more people. Four day week A four day week would allow more time for food production at home and reskilling in other ways to live more sustainable lives. promote a sharing This is an essential idea, but it needs more fleshing out. economy promote a sharing Public bike share schemes are in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and the Forth Valley with others economy planned. They do work, but not everyone in the community value them. There are tool libraries, city cars etc. There are significant funding issues with all these. they take grant funding as they arent sustainable as stand alone businesses. Id love to see the Scot Gov invest in them, it would be very costly, so they would have to find the money from somewhere, oil perhaps, taxation on plastics? promote a sharing Car clubs are a way for sharing cars. Community Wardrobes for re-using perfectly wearable clothes economy that people have bought and no longer want, community food cupboards save food waste by collecting usable food from supermarkets who would otherwise send to land fill. But as the above comment indicates, each initiative has to spend much of its time applying for the next grant. These community initiatives could be enshrined as policies that become the norm, with funding from government through local councils. Ban the sale of Totally agree with the above idea unsustainable products in Scottish shops Ban the sale of Totally agree unsustainable products in Scottish shops Ban the sale of I agree with the idea, however I think it would be quite difficult and take a lot of time to determine what unsustainable is sustainable or not. I think there are probably better ways to achieve the same outcome other than products in banning. Perhaps the best way is to create an economy that incentivises the purchasing of Scottish shops sustainaable products and is based on a circular economy. Ban the sale of Some great work on this assessment process has been done. B&Q produced some great reports unsustainable 30ish years ago and piloted a means of scoring suppliers and de-listing the poor performers ( 'How products in green is my front door?' , 'How green is my hammer' and others.) Scottish shops

Unfortunately they seem to not want to talk about it, but the rigorous methodology and approach deserves to be re-used and shared. Support Scottish Privileging local and national manufacturing and procurement will also reduce 'freight miles' and manufacturing carbon emissions, and this should be considered as part of all contracting and procurement guidance. Support Scottish I agree, but to achieve this takes massive political will. Procurement is in fact in the hands of manufacturing politicians whose best friends are CEOs of global corporate enterprises. This set up has to be dismantled in order to allow resources to be produced and sourced locally. Support Scottish This is fundermental to a Just Transition. The STUC and Common Weal have produced a number of manufacturing recent reports setting out the case for supporting Scottish manufacturing as part of a Just Transition. Make built up I agree, but the basis of achieving this would be to have effective planning regulations, and enough areas nature staff to see they are enforced. Currently, developers promise to comply but they do not, and no one friendly. does anything about it. For example, wilful destruction of habitat goes on apace in Dundee. Each new housing development seems to involve felling mature trees. And they get away with it. Make built up Can we also get building regs stronger so new builds either need to have renewable (prefer) or at areas nature least need to be wired to enable renewables friendly. Make built up Change the planning obligations to ensure balanced community facilities NOT just endless sprawl of areas nature little houses. friendly. Make built up This idea for urban areas is really important as a huge proportion of the population live in cities and areas nature large towns. Planning regulations are one thing but that is just procedural. Even more important is a friendly. massive change in mindset. One of the only contributions to this debate that addresses this in my view so far is under the heading 'decision making' is the 'Peace With Nature' constitution. Whether

this particular version is the one to go for but the idea is great - nature is supreme and any kind of development or decision has to be ecologically safe. This would be enshrined in a new legal framework that would apply not just to planning regs but to all of society, the economy and politics. It is this kind of big vision that is needed. All the ecological solutions in terms of creating passive houses and sustainable urban environments are there already. Architects, designers and ecologists have been developing them for decades. It needs a flip in thinking to make these mainstream. Make built up I just thought I should have added that not all SuDs are amphibian friendly and some have gully pots areas nature as well which doesn't help at all. But SuDS can be very good if done the right way. friendly.

Water and wind Wind - no - note efficient. Hydro power - yes - 90% efficient. Scotland needs to develop more hydro power electric schemes. The wealth of countries like Norway and Switzerland was built on hydro power. Water and wind I agree - hydro yes. Offshore windfarms yes. Onshore wind: no. Not just inefficient: power Such a rush by developers, that I suspect it's more commercially driven than green.

If we're going to continue with onshore windfarms, they need to be in non-peaty places. It's daft to excavate and dry out peat if you're trying to stop greenhouse gases getting into the air. Even if the peat is shallow, it's still dried out by having roads constructed over it. And it takes millennia to regrow.

So much of our upland landscape is being destroyed by huge windfarms, dwarfing the hills. You may like the look of a windturbine, but you don't want to walk under a continuous stretch of them for 20km: rushing sound (and infrasound at that) - worrying.

Homes bought up if the owners object. Water supplies polluted and ruined. What price rural depopulation?

Besides, if you want to ensure a constant supply of energy from wind, you need windfarms in different places. Increasingly, there is infill of turbines between existing windfarms: if the wind ain't blowing there, it's not going to blow if you put up another load of turbines.

Water and wind Absolutely agree about onshore wind. Micro and mini hydro schemes are the way forward as I see it. power Why is Scottish Power closing down hydro stations and investing in wind - seems daft to me. Water and wind Onshore Wind Turbines produce Electricity cheaply and efficiently, helping to keep the price of power power to the consumer as low as possible. Yes they are inconsistent, but if operated in conjunction with a Hydrogen Electrolyser and fuel cells they could produce power 100% of the time.

On Rural Railway lines where the cost would be prohibitive to electrify it, Hydrogen/Electric Trains could replace Diesel/Electric trains with minimum of disruption and no pollution.

The potential for green Hydrogen is enormous.

Onshore Wind Turbines operators pay millions of pounds in Council Rates to the Scottish Treasury and get little in return. This figure is never reported or acknowledged, but I have a 10MW Windfarm and am charged £124,010 per annum in Rates.

Many local villages and communities receive significant annual voluntary payments from nearby turbines, which they greatly appreciate as they can fund local organizations and improvements.

Properly managed onshore Wind Turbines are a huge benefit to communities and Scotland Tax on single use There is a scheme coming into place 2022 consumables - plastic and glass bottle, aluminium and tin cans.

Tax on single use There should be an element of reward too, this will work only if people dont see it as a punishment. consumables - which some will. plastic and glass bottle, aluminium and tin cans. Tax on single use The best way to reduce single use is to insist on re-use. Wine bottles, soft dirnks bottles etc. can be consumables - glass, plastic or . .. but there should be a deposit and a requirement on manufacturers to re-use. Re- plastic and glass cycling is a second best option better than landfill but generally energy consuming. The side benefits bottle, aluminium from re-use and deposits on containers are considerable but just think of the litter that we wouldn't and tin cans. have. Tax on single use All plastic that is non recyclable should be banned. consumables - plastic and glass bottle, aluminium and tin cans. Uniform glass bottles, jars, etc should be used then returned to the food/beverage producers to use again.

What happened to the bottle deposit scheme????????????? Things are happening toooooooo slowly. Tax on single use My view is that the real culprits here are companies like INEOS, Shell, Exxon and so on. They spend consumables - billions to convince us we need plastic, merely so they can continue raking in subsidies and profits. plastic and glass We have Mossmorran in Fife and Grangemouth on the Forth. Both horrendously polluting, and bottle, aluminium producing stuff we truly do not need in these vast quantities. In the 1980s the slogan went “ Reduce, and tin cans. Reuse, Recycle”. We forgot about Reduce, which means try not to buy the stuff in the first place. I sometimes wonder how much PR money was spent on making us believe that we needed to buy water in plastic bottles. Ridiculous when you think about that for a moment. Tax on single use Regarding single use plastics - the tax on single use should be on producers as oppose to consumables - consumers. Very often consumers find it difficult to avoid plastic packaging. It needs to be the plastic and glass responsibility of larger companies e.g. supermarkets to offer a wider range of alternatives or even bottle, aluminium better to ensure all packaging is either 100% recyclable or biodegradable. and tin cans. Tax on single use I would agree if there was an exception for products which serve to overal reduce carbon emissions. consumables - For example some plastic packaging greatly enhances shelf life so reduces more waste than it plastic and glass causes. Look at the huge carbon emissions resulting from the plastic bag ban causing consumers to bottle, aluminium move to canvas, thick plastic and paper options all of which are vastly more carbon intensive even and tin cans. with multi use. Bus bicycle This would be very useful in rural areas where often the bus stop in not very near the house Bus bicycle When trying to commute by bicycle in Aberdeen to an area just outside the city being able to take my bike on the bus would have been so useful and extremely helpful Bus bicycle Excellent idea. I have often wished for this myself. And have haven’t tried the trains yet, but they should have proper space to safely carry cycles. Bus bicycle We lived in Denmark in 1980 and all rural buses had such bike racks as standard even then Bus bicycle The loss of the bicycle bus in Inverness has been awful. Resulted in fewer cyclists being able to access remote areas of Scotland while at the same time the North Coast 500 has boosted the number of motor bikes and cars. Using hemp & Trees and hemp make a lot of sense planting more trees native to each land Using hemp & Help to let nature heal itself. planting more trees native to each land Using hemp & Need to ensure we have appropriate machinery to harvest the hemp planting more

trees native to each land Using hemp & hemp clothing as far better for the environment than polyester and other plastics. no micro plastics planting more that leach into our water system with every wash. trees native to each land Using hemp & Love the idea of hemp and biodegradable plastic planting more trees native to each land Using hemp & Hemp has lots of possibilities in Scotland planting more trees native to each land Using hemp & Hemp is the second fastest growing plant on the planet, absorbs CO2 and does not require pesticides planting more or herbicides. Every part of the plant can be used for food, clothing and other materials and as a trees native to sustainable building material. It provides exceptional insulating properties and that carbon taken up each land in its growth is locked up in any building materials. And it grows in Scotland. It should definitely have a place in a low carbon future. Go Dutch, learn In any case, thanks to Covid, people are needing to commute less. the lesson Go Dutch, learn Yes more use of bikes would be so fantastic but unfortunately we will need drastic societal changes if the lesson are children are to have any future at all. Go Dutch, learn Going Dutch is also an expression of support for a combination of traffic calming and Home Zones the lesson where some roads have a second entrance blocked by planters - meaning everyone can get to their home but not everyone can rat-run through a residential area. Go Dutch, learn The Netherlands are an excellent example of a healthy and engaged population. We need to study the lesson how they have promoted cycling and copy their ideas. Dialogue with oil Vital that workers are informed and know their options. Retraining in high wage, safer jobs in green workers energy production could be just the thing they're hoping for. Dialogue with oil There's a fantastic lvel of skills in the oil sector - who better to explore how to use those skills more workers productively and sustainably than the oil workers themselves.

Dialogue with oil We must make sure that there is a quick transition from jobs in the oil industries to those in the green workers sector. They must not be left behind like those working in the coal industries. There needs to be a constructive rethink. Dialogue with oil Strongly agree with these comments. While pressure still needs to be brought to bear on the workers profiteers eg BP Shell, Exxon, Ineos etc, the oil workers are a strong workforce to be respected and given every opportunity to help transition to a greener economy. Dialogue with oil Increase taxation on oil and gas and ensure the billionaire owners of companies cannot avoid workers taxation. Stop subsidising the oil and gas industries.

Divert the funds to investment in renewables infrastructure. Dialogue with oil Agreed. And we need a skills centre that can help with the retraining. workers The RGU Energy Transition Institute should be doing exactly this, but unfortunately there is no such action from them as it stands, they are still focused on skills related to oil and has extraction. Dialogue with oil 2019 Sea Change Report, and 2020 Platform:Oil Workers report by the Scottish Climate Coalition workers have engaged with oil workers.

The 2020 Broken Promises report by the STUC demonstrates how the move to offshore renewables has not been supported by the Scottish and UK Governments to help provide alternative jobs for offshore workers and Onshore Communities.

Dialogue with oil It is extremely important that the oil and gas industry transitions quickly away from their core business workers . This must be assisted by the government to avoid hurting people and families. It is essential that a Just Transition is implemented, but that this concept does not become a vehicle for delay: this is an emergency, and Scotland should set an example for the world. Community I love this idea. I would buy a plot / tree Woodland Cemeteries Community You can create peaceful places which would encourage people to visit Woodland Cemeteries Community So much more welcoming Woodland Cemeteries Community and comfortable experience rather than rows of cold hard stones. Woodland Cemeteries Transport I agree with this - especially the bit about rail expansion.

The Scottish Government has committed to a rolling programme of electrification of Scotland's railways with a set number of miles to be electrified each year. It should also commit to a rolling programme of railway (re)openings with a set number of mileage to reopen each year (perhaps 10 miles per year).

At present, local activists and local authorities have to do all the hard work to bring about new railways and the process typically takes decades. The Scottish Government should take responsibility at national level for taking forward new railways as they are a part of national infrastructure and not just a local matter. The process should be faster and simpler. The programme should include much needed lines such as St Andrews, Edinburgh South Sub, the Waverley Route, Allow-Dunfermline and many more. Transport I agree Transport I agree, especially the point about cycle lanes. These can be installed across cities and incorporated with biodiversity corridors. With this policy, safer cycling is achieved on lanes not polluted by car fumes, and also new habitats are provided to give space to beleaguered wild life. In addition, pedestrians can then enjoy the feeling of wellbeing gained by experiencing nature quite close to home. And these green lanes could be kept free of harmful herbicides so beloved by certain councils, Dundee to name but one. Transport Transport can be transformed by a number of measures:

Changing our entire social and economic system (where we live, how we work, food supplies etc) to enable people to live locally, thus reducing demand for travel. This cuts both the demand for new transport infrastructure and energy requirements. We should not rely on a colonial expectation that we have a right to access the physical materials for transport infrastructure e.g. material for batteries. It will also support co-benefits of revitalising community life. The vast majority of transport requirements should be achievable through walking and cycling. Changes should however accomodate mobility for people with specific needs and disabilities and should tackle current social and economic barriers to accessing transport.

All public transport should be free. This is very much affordable with the political support of westminster if you utilise the economics of Modern Monetry Theory (Quick explainer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9pAPIUYXxQ&app=desktop).

All public transport should be electrified, with the exception of a small amount of hydrogen, but this needs to be hydrogen produced by renewable electricity, not the harmful "blue" hydrogen produed from natural gas.

Car ownership needs to be massively reduced, with shared vehicles becoming predominant.

Electric bicycles and tricycles should be economically supported/subsidised/free to support local living for a wider cross section of society.

All flights should be ended.

Ferries/boats should travel at much slower speeds and could utilise hydrogen generated by periods of excess reneable electricity generation. Transport If Luxembourg can make its entire public transport service free to use I'm sure Scotland can too. Transport The rail line north needs to be 2 lines not one as is the case for much of the network north of Perth. Transport Bus travel should be free to all there would then be widespread use. Could be funded by an aviation tax?

At times I have found it is cheaper to travel by car than it is by bus. Transport A really massive modal shift in transport is needed in a very short space of time (10 years) to achieve carbon reduction goals. We can't achieve this with the same old failed policies - we need a radical approach. We also now have the additional crisis for public transport created by COVID which is causing people who have cars to rely on them even more. The radical policy that's needed is free buses - and free public transport in general. But we also need to take control of our public transport and be able to plan and coordinate it as a transport system. Deregulation of public transport have been a disaster. The Scottish Govt needs to financially incentivise and support local authorities to use the powers to regulate and publicly run bus services - powers which are in the 2019 Transport Act, and were intended to give councils genuine options for how to run public transport in the future.

Review of major Sorry I can't put a zero rating. Upgrading Scotland's road network is essential for the economy. road building projects Review of major How about, instead of pothole patching, we insist on textile underlay of all minor roads? The Scottish road building Timber Transport Forum did this on minor roads in our area and they have been pothole-free for 8 projects years. A worthwhile investment, I think? Review of major Great idea, but as always it's the cost road building projects Review of major The whole transport infrastructure needs to be rethought. We can no longer put cars and roads first road building with out thinking about the affect on the environment. We need to accept that use of cars has to projects massively be reduced. Review of major It's proven throughout the world that building more roads generates more traffic - it's never a solution road building for more than a few years. We know that we should be reducing use of cars and lorries to reduce projects carbon emissions, pollution, damage to health and injuries.

More roads are not in fact good for the economy of rural areas - they make it cheaper for people to

travel to central supermarkets and other shops rather than buy from local suppliers. And they make it cheaper for farmers and foresters to sell unprocessed crops, livestock and logs to big centralised processors rather than to local processors who provide local employment and keep the money recycling in the local economy. If we want to rebuild local rural economies then building more and bigger roads is not the way to go. Review of major Agree on a review of major roads though if we follow through with the idea that we need to keep 80% road building to 90% of fossil fuels in the ground then by the same token we need to reduce emissions from projects transport dramatically. Building new roads does not help that in fact, it goes entirely in the wrong direction.

This means we need to urgently reduce the number of cars on the road and increase rail transport. Replacing all cars with electric cars is not an option as half the energy is in the manufacturing and will take years to reach net zero emissions for a new car.

Public spending on active transport and public transport should be set at a miniumum percentage of 40% to 50% so that we have more electric buses in our towns and cities with the lions share of the rest going to maintenance of existing roads, cycle tracks, paths and pedestrianisation.

At present in Scotland we have only a handful of towns / cities that have been designated a Low Emissions Zone. Around half the population live in an urban environment which means active or public transport should be an option, encouraged and made easier.

Children in low air quality areas have poorer lung development with as much as 10% reduced lung capacity and a higher incidence of asthma.

We should start from the principle that 'No level of air pollution is safe' and we need 'No Emissions Zones'.

Review of major Not just review - but pause! The money could re-open trainlines and stations and make alternatives road building much more affordable and attractive to driving cars. projects Legal requirement Everyone will need to change there behaviour and local authorities have a role in facilitating changes for local which that need to be made authorities to have climate action plan Legal requirement However, as has been demonstrated by Dundee City Council, fine words in a Climate Action Plan do for local not mean that there is any intention for things to change. Strict carbon accounting, and a willingness authorities to to take action has yet to be seen. Despite all the expertise and initiative by council employees, it will have climate all come to nothing if the Chief Executive And heads of departments can water down policies or action plan block them. Legal requirement Local authorities have a great impact on allowing polluting activities to exist. They can start by for local stopping any new ones being developed. authorities to have climate action plan Legal requirement They practically all do have such a Plan - what is needed is to require public bodies to collaborate for local effectively for mutual benefit. authorities to

have climate action plan Legal requirement for local authorities to Local authorities are well positioned to curate plans that are tailored to the specific needs and have climate aspirations of their communities. action plan Legal requirement Climate emergency resilience has to operate from the local to national to international levels. for local authorities to have climate action plan Climate Change Action Plans and Climate Emergency Risk Registers with annual review reports at a local council level are a fundermental part of building this climate emergency resilience in local communities.

Check out the Adaption Scotland website for more information on this. Legal requirement Great idea! We need there to be a legal responsibility by the councils and government to make sure for local they act in accordance of the Paris Agreements and The Climate and Ecological Emergency (that authorities to was announced last year by the Scottish Government). Only law will get people to act with the have climate needed measured to curb global warming to 1.5C action plan Legal requirement re #2, while renewable generation is great, the most important thing for buildings is that they be built for local to the highest standard possible in order to reduce their energy requirements in the first place (see authorities to https://scotclimateca.dialogue-app.com/how-should-scotland-change-to-tackle-the-climate- have climate emergency-in-an-effective-and-fair-way/mandate-passivhaus-in-building-standards), otherwise when action plan it's not windy and sunny, they will put heavy demand on the grid, which will likely be supplied by burning gas.

The planning system needs to stop allowing new car dependent homes and businesses to be built. Mandate I see NO good reason why this sensible measure + application of Enerphit Standard for refurbishment Passivhaus in of existing buildings should not be implements with next revision of Building Standards Scotland. Building Standards Mandate Mandating Passivhaus for new build would be a fantastic step forward. It would ensure residents Passivhaus in have comfortable and healthy living environments and tiny energy bills. In addition to improving Building quality of life for residents, it will also make it easier to decarbonise our electricity supply by radically Standards reducing heat demands, making the electrification of heat and transport (which we also need to do) much easier. Mandate The Passivhaus Standard is an internationally tried and tested methodology proven in practice to Passivhaus in produce new buildings with a reduced heating demand and overall primary energy consumption Building thereby reducing the ‘performance gap’. It makes absolute sense that this standard should become a Standards baseline for Building Standards new build if the construction sector is to progress meaningfully towards zero carbon goals for operational energy use. It can be applied to all building typologies and therefore no exemptions are necessary. Mandate Having self-built and lived in a house for many years which is constructed and certified to the Passivhaus in Passivhaus Standard I can see no reason why this standard is not mandated as a baseline for new Building buildings in Scotland. The standard guarantees new buildings have low energy demands and running Standards costs combined with high thermal comfort and occupancy health. Mandate This building standard is widely proven to deliver the quality intended and can be delivered now using Passivhaus in existing skills. A structure is in place for upskilling further across the industry to address the current Building growth and there is a growing demand for this. The benefits have been outlined above and shown to Standards be delivered in practice. Mandate We need radically reduced operational energy/ carbon consumption for both new and existing Passivhaus in buildings that perform as designed. Passivhaus achieves this. Performance of current compliance

Building standards varies widely and is locking in poor performance. This will require costly remedial Standards measures in the future to meet climate mitigation targets. Mandate I agree with the above comments. There needs to be an immediate and dramatic improvement in Passivhaus in building standards and the existence of the Passivhaus model means we already have an example to Building hand. Standards Mandate Please check out Energiesprong. Passivhaus in Building Standards Mandate I carry out thermal imaging and air tightness testing on new and old buildings, and see daily the Passivhaus in contrast in heat loss between Passivhaus and houses built to existing building standards. Building Standards

Passivhaus not only has a higher design energy standard, but the process and quality control used during its construction, ensures that what is built performs as it was designed. Many conventionally built houses in Scotland do not even perform to their design energy standards.

The non-PH houses currently being built are going to have to be expensively retrofitted to a higher standard in the next few years - so it makes sense to build to this higher standard now. We are locking in a huge financial liability for future retrofit, much higher than if we just built to a higher standard now.

Scotland has the architectural, design and construction skills to implement Passivhaus as a route to compliance. Doing so now, will also have an economic benefit for Scotland, allowing us to export these skills around the world, opening up opportunities for Scots. Mandate More generally, I think reducing our reliance on cheap, poorly built and poorly insulated homes is a Passivhaus in must, our current model which relies on homes beign built by companies, not people, means Building standards are continually driven down in favour of profit. We should be encouraging renovation of Standards our existing housing stock, reuse of materials and high quality new builds. As a first obvious step, renovating and upgrading should not be taxed above building new. Mandate Mandating Passivhaus for new buildings is essential if we are going to meet the Governments climate Passivhaus in change commitments. It is essential that our new buildings meet the highest standards needed to Building minimise energy demand and prevent waste; wasted energy during the buildings lifespan and wasted Standards materials resulting from defective construction. The Passivhaus standard provides a rigorous approach which ensures that energy demand and CO2 emissions are minimised, ensures healthy indoor air quality, (which has never been more important) and good thermal comfort (at minimal cost). Passivhaus buildings are also more resilient to the increasingly extreme weather events associated with climate change; particularly in terms of temperature extremes which is becoming significantly more important.

Support women to Education and emancipation of women and girls globally is considered the fifth most effective support the measure by Project DRAWDOWN. Very helpful analysis climate Support women to Research indicates that globally women are more adversely affected by climate change than men. support the Gender equality should be an integral part of any climate action plan to ensure progressive change climate and also emphasizes Scotland’s continued commitment to the SDGs. Media Government could help with this by encouraging/promoting independent media with NO subsidies to corporate media.

Noam Chomsky's propaganda model and other critical theories of the media to be taught in school

Newspaper front pages should be forced to provide a summary of their ownership and business model (e.g. reliance on advertising and identity of primary shareholders) so that the public have increased awareness of the disproportionate influence of business figures on the supposedly free press Media Fully agree Media We need the news to report the seriousness of the Climate and Ecological Emergency and make sure the government and bodies are supporting the science! Not leaving it up to opinion. Net zero is not What is needed is a regenerative approach to the Climate and Ecological Emergency enough Net zero is not Equitable global action is only way to get over barriers to the countries of the world fully implementing enough the Paris Agreement. So, totally agree Net Zero is not enough for any developed country like Scotland. Given developed countries have largely caused the problem, the majority of the remaining global carbon budget must be used to help developing countries implement infrastructure to enable them to live decent, sustainable lives. Net zero is not Net Zero is nowhere near enough. Many governments talk about net zero but they rarely talk about enough that figure is in absolute CO2 equivalence.

We need an absolute figure and references as to how the net zero value is derived and specifically what that value is in terms of emissions.

We further need a zero emissions date for decarbonisation of our national energy consumption by sector. We still have a long way to go on transport and farming in Scotland.

The UN IPCC 1.5 C Special Report was very clear we need to cut emissions by 45% by 2030 based on 2009 emissions. As the IPCC assessment reports have consistently understimated the rate of climate change we should be far more ambitious and set a date for 2025 with annual targets.

It is better to miss ambitious targets than to lack ambition and achieve easy targets.

We further need to take account of our off balnce sheet emissions. We do not take account of the following emissions:

- International trade including exports and imports

- Fugitive methane emissions from offshore oil and gas and, imported fracked gas from the US coming into Grangemouth and Mossmorran

- International aviation

- Military operations abroad in terms of their fuel, destruction

- and, as far as I know, the effects of trawler fishing that destroys huge areas of the sea floors and by catch which is discarded. We talk a lot about 'land use' but ocean use seems to be off the agenda.

Make air transport I would go further & introduce a frequent flyer tax to help off set carbon emissions from flying - you pay its way get one tax free (but still including suggestion that fuel is taxed - this would be an extra tax) return flight each year. Emissions from air transport should be included in national totals Make air transport Government campaigns to highlight cost to the planet of air travel and encourage minimisation of pay its way holidays overseas - public education on this needed as many people seem to assume that 2-3 holidays abroad per year is "normal"

Potential tax breaks given to companies investing in possibility of electric planes Make air transport Reallocate the current subsidies from aviation to industries which contribute to a liveable future pay its way Make air transport I agree with a frequent flyer tax too. pay its way Make air transport And increase business taxes for flying. The oil and gas industry in Aberdeen is infamous for flying pay its way people all over the world and often just for meetings. When I working in the industry I once had to send a team member to Australia for a 2 hour meeting. This is madness. Make air transport Yes A frequent flyer tax, the more profitable the company, the higher it is. pay its way Make air transport Agreed, Government need to URGENTLY switch from subsidising industries which create an pay its way existential threat for every living being on this planet, to heavily taxing them.

++ A frequent flier tax - this seems to me a fair way to make the transition. Larger Connected quality cycling infrastructure is key to driving modal shift from motorised transport to active developments to travel. provide links with cycle/footpath network Larger Such a good idea. At present alot of the Hydro Schemes provide great off-road cycling. We should developments to ensure the wind-farm developers consider networking some of their access tracks. provide links with cycle/footpath Some of our narrower & single track highland roads are really bad news for cyclists. Providing more network alternatives is much needed. Larger Good to see the concept adopted by Paris of a 20 minute neighbourhood being specifically referred to developments to in September 2020 Programme for Government - please can we see Statutory Instruments adopted provide links with which require each developer to provide community facilities in any new builds. Current sprawl is cycle/footpath known to be a disaster. network A democracy that This is utterly essential. Our current political system is incapable of responding adequately to the responds to climate and ecological crisis. Our current political system prevents, even well intentioned politicians, communities from making the necessary transformational decisions and actions that we must have. Re-connecting rather than the political system to the power that the citizens of Scotland hold, through peoples assemblies, is a billionaires and vital step for Scotland. corporate lobbyists A democracy that System Change not Climate Change - and re-connect our law-makers with the citizens they serve - responds to not corporate interests communities rather than billionaires and corporate lobbyists A democracy that The lack of local councils in Scotland is a gaping hole in our democracy. responds to communities rather than billionaires and The Assembly should consider local assemblies to fill this gap, alongside a national citizen's

corporate assembly to make our democracy more robust and, crucially, resistant to the influence of lobbyists lobbyists and an increasing gulf between the 'people' and the political elite Whole Systems A whole systems approach seems to be an efficient solution to cutting waste and developing Approach sustainable living. It could be enshrined in Planning Law, although developers would have to make huge adjustments to their thinking. Whole Systems Amend the guidelines for OFGEM as a regulator for Gas and Electricity Markets requiring them Approach toconsider both synergies between electricity and gas and between them and Heat Networks. At present OFGEM effectively operates as two unlinked divisions. Whole Systems Given complexity of changes required a whole system approach seems an essential part of forming Approach solutions. However the technical components seems the easiest part - building a consensus seems to be the most difficult part and this has to be a political project. There are inevitably going to be extremely difficult compromises around convenience (individual cars, air travel) reducing consumption ( need less shops if we are going to throw away less) and changing employment (oil, grouse shooting..) food traditions (much less meat). I don’t think we can duck the question of what kind of country we want to be (why should we change when others aren’t) and the real potential in being a proper early adopter for our own self interest but also forging a national pride that can actually sustain. Lessons from managing covid (very frequent emergency updates, agreeing priorities - death rate, children, sharing what is going well, celebrating, thanking, seeking expertise and placing this at core, acknowledging how hard it is and that these are not evenly distributed). Covid 19 is a minor problem compared to the scale of change we need to enact to actually reach carbon neutrality even by 2050 ( have to include the emissions of products we consume and don’t produce) which is already leaving it very late. Each city having an emergency plan seems helpful start but I fear the politicians are ahead of the population and would like this consultation to focus on how we communicate that can bring people with us. Otherwise we will get bogged down in the details and the pace will just be too slow and we’ll get caught up in the minor skirmishes of can we afford x or people not realising that the changes have to impact upon them individually (from the tiniest change of how do we drink a juice carton without a straw to there are no place for even electric 4 by 4s given energy that needs to go into producing unless actually really needed) .

So my key message would be that we need the system to change to allow us to make better choices but this is a project with individual implications like no other. Can we go with growth neutrality, getting basics right for everyone, building allies internationally (EU also really struggling with scale required), whether in UK or as independent country (sure there will be multiple views about whether independence will give us levers required or be a challenge too far) but on climate change we need consensus for action and this needs leadership beyond party politics that says carbon neutrality has to be achieved and that this cannot be delayed and then parties can put forward programs about the how we all compromise rather than endlessly focussing on narrow self interest.

So in that spirit - thank you to the Scottish government for creating this space. Tell us what you need from all the people who are most passionate that will help you lead so that we manage this emergency. Whole Systems Hear, hear Lredin! Approach Government Scotland has huge potential to mitigate carbon emissions from mass peatland restoration. But this pronouncements needs legislation to stop burning on deep peat and restore peatland. This could provide thousands of on the climate new jobs. emergency need to be matched by urgent action Government Please check out the ISM Toolkit - based on research undertaken for ScotGov and DEFRA in London pronouncements - on the imperative to properly align advocacy effort at all three levels of Individual, Social and on the climate Material [or infrastructure] - otherwise not change can achieve real buy in ... join the dots between the emergency need political rhetoric and the changes needed at every level to be matched by urgent action Government Totally agree! We need to see moves by government to match the warnings of international bodies to pronouncements curb global warming to 1.5C on the climate emergency need

to be matched by urgent action Government I agree - the Scottish government makes some of the right noises about the environment, but is far pronouncements too cautious and conservative in its policies. on the climate emergency need to be matched by urgent action No more gas in This is within the powers of Scottish Government and makes perfect sense. No excuses that these new builds are reserved powers. It's madness that we have the low carbon technology to heat new homes (solar and heat pumps) but we are still installing massive housing estates with gas boilers and gas infrasturcture.

Installing boilers locks in homes to carbon emissions for over 10 years. Even if these are changed to low carbon tech within that time its a complete waste of resources. No more gas in OK - so gas at present is extremely cheap and does not pay its true cost - so consider establishing new builds district heating networks fired with gas fired combined heat and power engines in a small number of energy centres that can subsequently be transformed into renewable energy capture heat centres. No more gas in I have read that gas boilers have been designed by two leading companies to burn hydrogen that new builds can be produced in a sustainable way by extracting from water using green electricity. The waste product at the end is water. Cars are also available for sale that run on hydrogen and are efficient but most people would have to drive a long way to refuel them at the moment. That could improve.

This is a strong possibility for the future that has had a lot of consideration No more gas in The topic is no more gas in new builds, I agree very strongly with this. new builds

This should also include retrofitting older homes to use electric cookers instead of gas. This could be achieved via a grant, funded by central government or the green investment bank through local authorities who could provide a list of registered fitters.

The use of gas cookers in well insulated homes means an extracter fan is needed to remove excess moisture or there is an increased risk of damp and increases demand for electricity.

Initiating a reconnection scheme for new cookers also allows the option for survey for overhauling the heating system.

Heating systems need to change urgently and while there is much talk of replacing the grid with hydrogen, hydrogen gas tends to be much more leaky. There is also a concern that the oil and gas industry are seeking to push through brown hydrogen which is a regressive step.

An additional method is a technological fix using smaller hotter water boilers that can be heated overnight and used for showers and washing up rather baths. We urgently need to conserve more water and as more people tend to take showers we do not need such large boilers as we once had for baths. This would work with homes that use mixer taps rather than a shower.

Such systems would be somewhat similar to economy 7 white meters but would allow the balancing of the grid between day and night so there is less need for grid storage using battery and other power storage systems and less demand for water heating in the day.

No more gas in If the scottish gvtn can introduce this, it is an obvious immediate action. new builds Grow Your Own Grow you own makes a big contribution to the climate.

Biodiversity on allotments has been shown to be much richer than in many agricultural sites.

Ordinary people can become involved and actually do something - beside contributing to their food supply and well being to provides a year round activity where they can replenish the soil; feed themselves and the wildlife (soft fruit starts flowering in February and berries and brassica flower in November beside the seeds and habitats) and show what can be grown in Scotland particularly by minority groups who bring skills and plants from other countries (e.g. we do not appreciate the value of fungi in Scotland) .

This knowledge and skill base from allotments and community gardens is essential if we are to survive Grow Your Own We have a temperate country that is likely to not suffer quite so much as other countries due to climate change .

At least for a while some foods may grow better if weather doesn't become too extreme.

It would not only be better for the climate to not import food from far away but it might encourage those countries to grow more basic essential food for their own people rather than cash crops to send to us to make a small minority rich at the expense of the rest of their population. Grow Your Own CEC charge for garden waste removal. They could sell compost made from it, benefitting everyone. Maybe they do, but just don’t advertise it well? Standardize This is so obvious it should be done right now! Should not be any reason to discuss it! public recycling bins across Scotland Standardize Part of the problem is the privatisation/contracting-out of waste collection services. Every time a new public recycling company takes over, the bins change. Bring waste collection back into public ownership, then it will bins across be easier to standardise services across the country. Scotland Transform the Oil It is vital to prioritise a just, green transition away from reliance on fossil fuels where noone is left & Gas Industry to behind. 'Not for profit' Transform the Oil A great idea. Though important to link this process to commitments to end fossil fuel extraction as & Gas Industry to soon as possible (2025). 'Not for profit' Transform the Oil I like much of this idea. But we must stop burning fossil fuels. Now. & Gas Industry to 'Not for profit' Transform the Oil This is probably the key issue for the assembly, the elephant in the room, Scotts opening paragraph & Gas Industry to says it all. 'Not for profit'

Transform the Oil Brilliant idea which should be acceptable to left and right wing thinkers alike. & Gas Industry to 'Not for profit'

Transform the Oil I beleive Scots opening paragraph is key to the whole assembly. & Gas Industry to 'Not for profit'

The Petroleum Act 1998 (amended 2015) requires the 'recovery of oil and gas from UK territory to maximised'

The Government's net zero policies of 2050 (UK) and 2045 (Scotland) doesn't include fossil fuels extracted and exported to another country (climate change act 2008).

So on the one hand emissions have to be reduced

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/nov/01/oil-majors-must-cut-production-by-a-third-to- meet-climate-target-study

and on the other the oil companies are planning to expand

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/23/opec-predicts-massive-rise-in-oil-production- over-next-five-years

All the Government's of the world are doing this, setting targets and setting up schemes but leaving the companies at the very heart of the problem to carry on as normal. The idea of setting up not for profit companies is a good one, the assembly needs a speaker to discuss whether its possible - Will Hutton.

The Petroleum act needs changing, how can it be done? Absolute zero not Link to UK Fires absolute zero report: net zero

https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/299414/REP_Absolute_Zero_V3_20200505. pdf?sequence=9&isAllowed=y Absolute zero not VERY careful analysis is required to ensure there is no mere accounting sleight of hand in magically net zero "trading" away greenhouse gas emissions associated with Scots consumption patterns - whether within the landmass, including aviation and shipping or also including imports. I'm particularly concerned at the reliance on BioEnergy with Carbon Capture and Sequestration as a supposed magic bullet. Absolute zero not Totally agree with the above comments. We need to be aware that the big corporations are net zero appropriating the use of 'net-zero' while at the same time carrying on with business as usual. The fossil fuel industries in particular have so-called 'net zero' while pushing ahead with billion dollar plans for expansion ! We need REAL zero, not 'net' zero. BECCs and CCS are a way of the oil and gas industries making sure that we are dependent on them and their continuation with fossil fuel extraction. We need instead a rapid but managed phase out of oil and gas at the same time as a rapid move towards renewables. Absolute zero not The solutions to the climate crisis are known. Carbon capture is a tool to keep the fossil fuel net zero companies active in both extraction and capture, to keep their business model alive.

We wont get to absolute zero carbon. but too much dependency on capture and carbon sinks will go wildly out of control. Decolonised All these elements of structural injustice are inter-connected and until we acknowledge the gross Transformation exploitation over hundreds of years of Scotland and Britain as an empire nation then we cannot find a way to right the wrongs and live in harmony with others. Decolonised Scotland should continue to build on its climate justice commitments, fully acknowledging its colonial Transformation past and the historical imbalance in greenhouse gas emissions from developed countries. Its contributions to the Climate Justice Innovation Fund under the Paris Agreement indicate willing support for developing countries which is a positive start but more should be done. A people centred approach is vital both globally and in Scotland itself; Scotland should commit to centering the needs of marginalised communities and breaking down the oppressive power structures that have facilitated the climate crisis. Decolonised I have read this just before the the deadline for comments and thus do not have time to comment in Transformation depth. So suffice to say that I fundamentally disagree with this analysis. Decolonised Furthermore, I wonder how his suggestion of a sovereign Scottish currency fits in with the desire Transformation stated here to end institutions and nation states. Fair and equitable I think this is a good idea as it considers energy use within a global framework, and recognises that Energy Target we need to not only decarbonise but also reduce energy consumption overall. Fair and equitable Yes, this is climate justice. As a country, we must shoulder a lot of the culpability for the industrial Energy Target revolution and colonialism. Give the Citizens' Agree totally with this, but it has to be on the basis of a few fundamental requirements. Assembly true power

1. The Citizen's Assembly participants must have the opportunity to consider all responses to the climate crisis. This has to include system change, that is political system change, economic system change and social system change.

2. It is also dependent upon the public members of the citizen's assmbly having access to the full range of academic perspectives, not just those aligned with the current economic and political systems.

3. It is also essential when the citizens assembly considers how Scotland should effectively tackle the climate crisis, that this is done through a lens of equity and fairness, both within Scotland and globally.

If all these requirements are present, then the citizens assembly would be a shining example of demacracy and should have the power to enact their recomendations. If they are not present, then the citizens assembly will be nothing more than yet another greenwashing exercise. Give the Citizens' In the fullness of time consider a second chamber for Scotland's legislation - with citizens selected by Assembly true sortition to serve a term of office - say one or two years as a means of injecting some common sense power into decision making. Give the Citizens' In full agreement with Paul's comments Assembly true power Give the Citizens' Fully agree with comments above Assembly true power Give the Citizens' Totally agree with comments too. The Assembly cannot just be a talking shop. The politicians have Assembly true to implement the actions agreed by the Assembly. Like davidso's idea of a permanent 2nd chamber power of "the people", ensuring all decisions viewed through an environmental, community, welbeing, etc lens (not just cash value). This could go a long way to ensuring local, regenerative nature-based solutions prioritised. Give the Citizens' I too like davidso's idea of a permanent 2nd chamber, selected by sortition. We so desperately need Assembly true to re-think our political system and this could be one effective way of doing so. I also agree with power Paul's three points - it is essential that the CCA is enabled to come to decisions in a way that is well-

informed and that the participants consider the need for fundamental change in the economic underpinning of our society. Give the Citizens' I agree with Paul's provisos. Assembly true power Give the Citizens' Fully agree with Paul. This assembly has the potential to steer Scotland out of the climate Assembly true emergency, or to be a greenwashing exercise which allows the Scottish Government to continue power claiming t's doing everything it can and leading the world on climate change policy, whilst completely failing to examine the structural issues which drive climate change.

The assembly MUST be allowed freedom to explore systemic issues if the government wants an outcome which protects the people of Scotland, and the world from climate catastrophe. Give the Citizens' Fully support Pauls statement. The English citizens assembly on climate were given the remit of how Assembly true to get to net zero GGE by 2050, far too late. power

Paul wrote "the citizen's assembly must have access to the full range of academic perspectives, not just those aligned with the current economic and political systems. "

The skeptic in me this will not happen. Please those of you drawing up the agenda and deciding on the speakers, give the humanity of the crisis, and this rare moment in history when the mainstream is shaking and alternatives have a small glimmer of a chance to shine, a chance. Give the Citizens' I endorse Paul's comment. Assembly true power Cigarette-style tax What rubbish - cars are essential in many parts of Scotland for basic transport. Apart from that, some and treatment for people are car enthusiasts including myself. Much of the tourism industry is based on visiting tourists car owners coming by car and touring our fantastic roads by car. Our roads are in dire need of maintenance and much money needs to be spent on this. Emissions from vehicles is being reduced to negligible levels now so I cannot see the argument here. I really don't think this post is serious. Cigarette-style tax I think the post above highlights many of the issues around transport, and how dependent our society and treatment for is on the car. However, that is not to say that nothing should be done about this, and increasing the car owners cost of driving would make people think more about how much they drive.

Emissions from cars are still significant, and transport is the main source of carbon emissions in Scotland, most of which comes from cars. Measures to make driving more expensive and less appealing can be introduced alongside improvements to sustainable transport to help address this. Require all My view is that this idea would produce more benefits if applied to Chief Executives and Department elected officials to Heads and Civil Servants. I see our elected representatives as committed to their communities, but walk, wheel or paid Council and Government employees resist change of any kind, and are happy to keep quiet and cycle to and for collect their generous salaries. work. Require all I would definitely cut the number of chauffeur-driven cars and taxi rides taken by both elected officials elected officials to and civil servants. By all means allow MPs and MSPs the privilege of first class rail travel to reflect walk, wheel or their status, but they could do without all the car journeys. Also get rid of air travel for elected officials, cycle to and for royalty and senior military officers and civil servants. Once again, preference should be given to work. trains. Perhaps horses and carriages can be used for formal events instead of limousines? (That would be both good for the environment and add a bit of extra class to such occasions.) Community As a way to manage all the different energy supply options we need the thermal fywheel of heat Heating Schemes networks serving multiple different customer types - industry, commerce office retail and domestic as they all have different demand profiles - further we need to be able to cheeply store excess wind energy when wind farms would otherwise be curtailed - simply input into heat stores on networks.

Community Community heating schemes would remove the anxiety that individual householders might have in Heating Schemes dealing with contractors and adopting an unfamiliar energy sources on their own.

Being in a community would provide more confidence with dealing with any problems that might arise.

Second Chance People have been asking for this for decades, but we're told that the councils could be sued if something injures a recipient since, once it's been dumped, the council becomes responsible for it.

SURELY someone can work out a way round this - a simple disclaimer? It's appalling how much useful 'waste' is dumped which someone could use. Tree Height Across the cities, towns and villages of Scotland there are many trees above 30 feet or 10 metres in height which are a vital part of the communities natural environment and deliver a range of natural health and wellbeing services, vital biodiversity and act as carbon sinks.

Very few of these trees will impact directly on solar panels especially in the winter.

The latest solar panels can work optimally in a range of light conditions not just direct sunshine.

This idea is very contentious and not very evidence based in terms of current solar technology or the value of trees! On rail, off road More trains. Less cars. Reconnect remote areas as much as possible. On rail, off road We need to divert tax breaks from oil and gas companies and use it to invest in our railways and public transport, along the way we create thousands of new jobs. On rail, off road When the Norbord factory near Inverness expanded, there was an excellent opportunity to take loads of lorries off the A96.

The rail line runs alongside the factory and in any other country there would have been incentives to take the logs to the factory by rail. Aim for limiting I like the emphasis on this idea, i.e. aim for 1.5 degrees, rather than say limiting to 1.5 to 2 degrees. global warming The only thing is that temperature is the end goal. I would still keep carbon emissions as the proxy for 1.5centigrade as monitioring and evaluating where we are heading, but instead of date, I would suggest Scotland main output no allocates itself a carbon budget that is fair and Just. just net zero carbon dioxide Aim for limiting We should aim to be negative carbon, not just zero carbon. We need to stop emitting carbon as fast global warming as we can, and faster. And also aim to draw down and store carbon. It is possible. See the work of 1.5centigrade as Walter Jehne. main output no just net zero carbon dioxide End economic This is absolutely essential. growth/ profit maximisation; Make the wellbeing economy real End economic The David Attenborough Extinction tv programme provides a range of evidence in support of this growth/ profit idea. maximisation;

Make the wellbeing economy real End economic Totally agree. We cannot help the ecological crisis unless we change our view of what goals we are growth/ profit pursuing and abandon the idea of constant economic growth. maximisation; Make the wellbeing economy real End economic growth/ profit maximisation; Totally agree that pursuit of continual growth on a finite planet is one of the main drivers of climate Make the and ecological disruption. The “Limits to Growth” were understood as far back as the 1970s! wellbeing economy real

The primary purpose of any economy is not producing GDP, it is increasing the wellbeing of people, the whole population. So, we need to empower leaders to focus on delivering increasing true value, not just GDP economic growth – and develop organisations that have a purpose beyond profit. Also, to encourage bold leadership to pursue longer term greater gains, not focus on short term profit. For many orgs, there may have to be a significant transformation.

However, the imperative to transform due to climate and ecological emergencies, perhaps allows Scotland to recapture the true meaning of value, which very much includes environmental, social / community, individual / wellbeing benefits. Not all decisions and actions taken need to turn a profit to be valuable! End economic Our system is not able to make the level of changes necessary while it is predicated on the concept growth/ profit of continual growth. Individual action cannot sort this out. We need to acknowledge that the current maximisation; system is not 'fit for purpose' to address the climate emergency, and so we need to change our Make the economic system, because the climate emergency won't go away. And if we take no action, it will only wellbeing get worse, quicker. economy real End economic I very much agree with the above contributions. A wellbeing economy is an idea whose time has growth/ profit come: it is essential that the CCA considers the kind of society that we could, with enough political maximisation; will, create together. So that out of a time of crisis and fear there might emerge something so much Make the better. Scotland, like New Zealand, could be leading the world in this. wellbeing economy real End economic I applaud the aim here but as someone running charities and businessesyou have misrepresented growth/ profit the sense of a legal obligation here. A charity trustee is free to ensure that their asset are best used maximisation; which could involve ethics over profit or even giving them away freely if there was a good charitable Make the reason for it. wellbeing economy real Defend the trees Scotlands native woodlands either broad leaved or Caledonian Pinewoods make up only a small from percentage of Scotlands land cover and are our rainforests. deforestation

So much still to be done to ensure their health and wellbeing. Defend the trees I think this is important because we have seen an upsurge in support for planting new trees, but not from for protecting the trees that already exist. Trees will only store carbon so long as we actually protect deforestation them (or make them into long-lived timber products). Renewable energy Completely agree. Electric vehicles can also help to smooth the supply & demand balance on the grid EV charging which helps grid stability when increasing the contribution from intermittent sources like wind points

Renewable energy Yes, we run our electric car and bikes on our own micro-hydro. Instream hydros might be less EV charging damaging to river ecosystems. Dams and weirs can be harmful to fish and invertebrates. points Acknowledge the links between militarism and Very important to acknowledge the links between militarism and climate change, especially that a climate change simple search here indicates that, these links have hardly been explored so far. Acknowledge the No funds/grants from the Scottish government to any companies in Scotland involved in producing links between arms/military equipment or equipment for repression. militarism and climate change Tax air fuel to At present it can often cost more to travel by train than to fly. This cannot be allowed to go on. fund cheap rail Travelling by bus / train should always be the cheapest option. The price of air travel should reflect travel its true costs and be heavily taxed. Domestic flights should be banned unless exceptional circumstances. Advertisements promoting flights to holiday destinations should be banned. Carbon credit scheme where those choosing to fly more frequently can purchase carbon credits from those choosing not to fly. Tax air fuel to And don't build any more airports! fund cheap rail travel Don't bail out the airlines Tax air fuel to Is there anything we could do about car parking at airports? In Edinburgh you now can't drive to fund cheap rail Waverley which is great. Imagine if we could remove all private car parking at airports and only allow travel access by bus, tram, train, foot or wheels. Economy thats Totally agree with this. It is essential for Scotland move past the current growth economy to be able to based on effectively address the climate and ecological crisis. circulation, not accumulation Economy thats I also agree with this but it is hard for an individual country to just do this on its own. This requires based on wider economic co-operation globally and a huge change of mindset. It's time for that though - no circulation, not more mucking about. accumulation Economy thats I am no economist, but from an ecologist's perspective, it is self evident that the continued pursuit of based on growth through the consumption of resources cannot continue indefinitely on a planet with strictly circulation, not defined and limited material resources. It is clear that we need economic and political thinkers who accumulation can find away from the current 'god' of growth, who is worshiped seemingly by all political systems, not just the capitalist west.

This however is a vast enterprise and as a previous commentator has indicated will be hard for one individual country to do. Nevertheless the process must start somewhere - so why not Scotland. Do we have the political and economic brains (and will) to grasp the ecological and thermodynamic realities of living on a finite plant and turn this into a political and economic system that genuinely is sustainable? Economy thats I agree with the above comments and feel this must be considered by the CCA as a central concern. based on What is the use in considering such questions as sustainable transport (important as that is) if we circulation, not neglect to tackle the really fundamental issues? If the CCA isn't enabled and encouraged to think accumulation about the underlying economic assumptions that underpin our society it will be not be equipped to come up with the solutions for our current climate crisis. Economy thats I fully believe that Scotland could do this on its own. If not us, then who? We have a small population, based on and lots of land. We can be totally self-sufficient. To be honest, we have to, and the sooner we get circulation, not on with it, the better. We have so many skills, a wonderful land, creative and resourceful people. It's accumulation time to get on with it. Economy thats Totally agree with all of the above - Scotland can be a leader in this process, and will be more based on effective if we seek like-minded countries to work with internationally. They are out there; we are not circulation, not alone in this process - thinking Denmark and New Zealand but there will be more. accumulation

Establish a new Yes, we need a less materialistic culture - and I fear that won't happen while the whole economy is non growth based around the drive to sell more and more stuff. Culture change and system change will need to circular economy work in tandem. Establish a new Yes, it's completely crazy to continue with such an out of date model of economics, which patently non growth makes no sense. We cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet. Any child would tell us that. And circular economy yet that is what our government is always wanting.

See the work of Manfred Max-Neef, a Chilean economist. Establish a new Would be good to present some examples to the assembly, such as the one trialling in Amsterdam, non growth and I am sure there are other places working with more circular economy models as well. Or perhaps circular economy some companies that embraced it. (Unfortunately I don't know enough about it to give any good examples in Scotland, but I am sure they are there!) Establish a new We need to move away from the idea of growth as a measurement of economic success. We cannot non growth have infinite growth on a finite planet. circular economy This may require redistribution of wealth, universal basic income... Land reform to Scotland has one of the least equitable land ownerships in Scotland due to a range of factors. reverse the ecological emergency Finding ways to return land to local communities would help with a range of climate emergency resilience solutions like local food growing. Land reform to Scotland has been prevaricating about land reform for too long. Sorting this out is fundamental to reverse the both carbon sequestration and mitigation of the inevitable impacts of climate change as described ecological above and in the previous comment. emergency Land reform to 1. Set aside a sizeable proportion of the country for true rewilding (not the same as national parks) reverse the ecological 2. Land tax reform to encourage the distribution of land away from large landowners to smaller emergency landowners

3. Ban on grouse hunting to free up high hills for rewilding

4. Investigate the potential to grow more of our own food in Scotland eg through indoor growing of food normally imported to reduce carbon emitted in transport

5. No more peat extraction

6. Rapid end to oil extraction

Land reform to Strongly agree to all points by Jbredski reverse the ecological emergency Land reform to I love the approach taken in Ireland through the BRIDE project. This has an ecologist survey land and reverse the farm subsidies are linked to good practice/improvements. We have farmers in our family - who miss ecological out on grants because they've already taken the ecological improvements being supported. I have emergency heard gossip of people getting grants for "new woodlands" by felling old ones. We need positive action that can be implemented now, not linked to lengthy land reform. Also aren't some large landowners are buying land for Rewilding? - they don't need to farm it for livelihood. Land reform to We have an inequitable land distribution. Most of Scotland is owned by a select few landowners, reverse the many of whom do not even live in Scotland. Ordinary people have no chance of owning land because ecological it is too expensive and there is no land available for sale. emergency

We need to make our land as productive and as biodiverse and healthy as possible. We need to plant trees, rewild and improve our soils. We need to reconnect with the land, and to make the most of

every acre we need people who want to go and live on the land, and look after it, and pay attention to what is happening and what is needed to get our land in the best possible shape in the future.

There should be a maximum amount of land that any individual or corporation is allowed to own. Above that, the govt should be entitled to make a compulsory purchase of all excess land. This land could then be made available to individuals or corporations etc. who would apply to look after it. Individuals could have life long leases on the condition that they look after the land, and improve it, produce food on it, promote rewilding, reforest it or restore it. To improve soil quality and promote biodiversity. Communities could apply for land. People who wish to live a low carbon lifestyle should be helped and encouraged to do so.

Why the contribution is important

Land reform is essential if we are to move towards a more sustainable system, and support ourselves in the way people did centuries ago. We have so much technology which means we will be able to live on the land in a positive way, warm, well fed, within communities. It offers a chance to look after our land, improve the soils, rivers, seas and benefit from active lives, healthier diets and connected communities.

Land reform to Confiscate land that is not managed for maximum carbon storage and biodiversity. Rewild as much reverse the as possible. ecological emergency Land reform to Land reform must be taken seriously. Scotland cannot remain a country which allow so much to be reverse the owned by so few, largely as shooting estates which encourage excessive numbers of deer and game ecological birds at the expense of bio diversity. Furthermore a new generation of small scale eco friendly emergency farmers and other rural workers have almost no possibility to establish a foothold. Land reform to Put an end to Sitka spruce plantations and similar monocultures. Scotland's Forestry Commission has reverse the been very damaging to the land, growing vast monocultures which are wide open to disease, such as ecological phytophthera ramorum, which has killed all our private larch. The Forestry has felled it at speed, emergency transporting it all around so they can sell the timber, while spreading the spores all over the rest of the land. Non-native monocultures of trees do not support biodiversity, allow soil erosion, don't hold water, and are often established on peat bogs or unimproved permanent pasture.

Instead we should be allowing scrub and native trees to regenerate, as well as grassland, all of which hold the soil, filter and hold water, sequester carbon and promote biodiversity. Allow beavers to slow water flow, allow herbivores and ruminants to roam, give Nature space and time to recover. Land reform to o Re-train farmers to de-intensify agriculture, end industrial animal farming. Re-direct farming reverse the subventions into that transition and correlate post-transition subventions to air, soil and water quality, ecological biodiversity and habitat provision, tree planting, use of land as public amenity, and offer of training emergency workshops, heritage / cultural events etc. To improve soils and reverse their currently adverse climate impact into a positive one, adopt organic soil standards, encourage crop rotation, permaculture and agro-forestry, restore insect and earth worm habitats. Create opportunities for new farmers with climate-smart projects. Diversify food production, processing and distribution, currently controlled by a handful of multinational corporations, into more local circuits to increase resilience and re-define how prices are set.

o Protect wetlands and peat moors. Rewild and reforest 25% of the land to sequester carbon. Extend and protect urban green spaces, and democratise their planning and use. Legiferate on land ownership as necessary. Give councils new duties to create parks, urban green spaces, wildlife

refuges and public amenities. Extend the right to roam in farmed areas and on grouse moorlands to encourage a sense of connection with, an accountability towards, the land.

Land reform to I agree with Jbredski on banning grouse hunting to fee up land for rewilding. Grouse hunting is an reverse the unecessary activity which only a tiny percentage of the population participate in and benefit from, but ecological rewilding would benefit us all. Grouse moors are artificially managed in a way which is designed to emergency maximise grouse numbers and which as a result leads to decreased biodiversity and possible risks of peat getting burnt. Instead, these areas of land could be rewilded to both allow greater biodiversity and to create more areas where trees can grow and absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Land reform to One (maybe more) of the comments above highlights the need to protect peat moors/bogs. In order reverse the to do this, the Scottish Government should stop the plan to construct a space port on the Mhoine ecological peninsula. The planned space port would risk releasing large amounts of stored carbon into the air by emergency degrading the peat bogs where it is stored and damaging the moss which keeps it stored underground. The launching of space craft also risks setting fire to the peat, destroying areas of habitat and releasing even more carbon. Abandon Many high tech jobs could be created for oil workers in the renewable industry, we need a just maximum transition for the work force economic recovery of oil Abandon We cannot extract all the oil and have a livable planet. maximum economic recovery of oil Abandon Agree strongly. Tell the truth and end oil subsidies for a start. maximum economic recovery of oil Abandon International Energy Agency still shows fossil fuel subsidies 2-3 times higher than support for maximum renewables development and implementation. There is also a "hidden" cost / subsidy of fossil fuels economic too - for every £10 of value a fossil fuel delivers, £8 has to be spent address the health implications recovery of oil (eg. from poor air quality) and £8 to address the environmental implications (flood defences, fire fighting etc). This £16 is generally paid by you and I, the taxpayer! Abandon We simply cannot afford to burn all the oil and gas reserves that we already have; if we did then we maximum would be in a situation of way past 2 degrees of global warming. The present expansion plans of the economic oil and gas majors would take us into a 4-6 degrees of warming scenario - a scorched earth with recovery of oil massive impacts especially on the global south but also on the poorest of our own country. We need a managed phase out of oil and gas coupled with a just transition which involves an actual plan which is worked out with workers and trade unions. We can't just give lip service to a 'just transition' , we need action on this that starts without delay. The climate emergency is not going to allows us to wait a few years till we have something sorted out. Abandon Encourage use of green energy and renewables. Make the subsidy as attractive to the renewable maximum sector as possible. economic recovery of oil Abandon Agree strongly, we need to keep 80% to 90% of fossil fuels in the ground. maximum economic recovery of oil We should cease maximising extraction and call for an end for new exploration licences in Scottish waters.

A recent survey highlighted 80% of workers would get out of the oil and gas industry. This is on a par with the general population being concerned about climate change. This to me looks like we have a significant proportion of workers in the industry and the general population echoing the same message.

Engineering is a key skill in tackling climate change and we sorely need engineers in tackling our energy infrastructure, decommissioning oil rigs, sea bed equipment and other infrastructure,

Engineering as a profession has been in decline for decades and yet one of the key skills sets we need is being left high and dry.

Professions / skills sets that are needed are rail electrification and reopening rail lines, manufacturing electric buses, district heating systems, renewable energy to name just a few.

Spain has demonstrated clearly that a Just Transition can work with the coal industry allowing some to cross train in renewable energy and others to take early retirement to close down a number of mines.

Scotland should accelerate a Just and Green Transition. Abandon Stop subsidising the fossil fuel industry. Redirect that money into green energy and business that maximum help to reduce our carbon emissions. economic recovery of oil Abandon I agree with all the other comments. It is of vital importance to stop extracting and burning fossil fuels. maximum There are no two ways about it it we want to have a chance of keeping below 1.5 degrees C. economic recovery of oil There could be so many jobs in the renewables - especially floating wind turbines in deep sea offshore - so much wind blows across the Atlantic. Plus all housing needs to be retro-fitted so it becomes zero carbon (eg. Energiesprong did a pilot scheme in Nottingham - check it out!)

There is work on the land, regenerative farming and horticulture, which provide good local in-season food, while drawing down and storing carbon.

Green lants are the air-conditioning of the planet; they can bring down global temperatures. (See the work by Walter Jehne on the soil-carbon sponge.) Abandon Yes, all government ministers should attend a Zero Carbon Britain course (with the Centre for maximum Alternative Technology). And all the Citizens Assembly folk too. And all local councillors. It should be economic taught in schools. It's all so possible, it's doubly tragic that governments are so timid that they have recovery of oil done nothing to alleviate the greatest threat the entire biosphere has ever encountered. Abandon Strongly agree. The assembly needs to be able to tackle the question of North sea oil extraction in maximum the context of the climate and ecological emergency. economic recovery of oil Abandon Completely agree. Meaningful action on the climate emergency cannot happen when government is maximum in bed with the fossil fuel industry. End the addiction, starting by moving from "maximising economic economic recovery" to "minimising extraction". recovery of oil Abandon When the public hears politicians talking about how the climate crisis is real and how the government maximum is doing all it can to address the issue, they are not often aware that The Petroleum Act 1998 (as economic amended in 2015) requires that the ‘recovery of oil and gas from UK territory is maximised’ (which recovery of oil would result in the extraction of a further 20 billions barrels from new fields, on top of the 5.7 billions already in operating oil fields), or that The Coal Industry Act 1994 requires that ‘an economically

viable coal-mining industry in Great Britain is maintained and developed’. These acts are completely obsolete and need to be abolished, now!

Who should Robin McAlpine Common Weal speak at the Assembly Donald McPhillimy Rewilding Scotland Who should Trust the people who are invited to the assembly and give them as wide a range of perspectives as speak at the possible. It would be dishonest to try to control what they hear by narrowing the input to the assembly Assembly Who should Contributions from people living in/forced to leave the most-affected areas are vital. speak at the Assembly Who should You can only hope to generate the highest quality outcomes from the Assembly, having allowed speak at the consideration of all the potential options, if all potentially viable opportunities have been presented to Assembly the delegates. This needs a more diverse range of knowledgeable speakers than currently proposed. Who should This should include people who have suffered from the effects of climate breakdown, in Scotland and speak at the globally. This is important because it isn't just Scotland that will be affected by the decisions made Assembly here. Who should I agree with Paul's contribution above, and the other comments. The climate crisis requires us to speak at the think in new ways precisely because it has been precipitated by our existing patterns of thought. It is Assembly indeed essential for the Climate Citizens' Assembly to be given the opportunity to consider fundamentally different solutions which involve structural change. Who should Yes, structural changes should be on the table speak at the Assembly Who should The consultation process also needs to be wider - there didn't seem to be much publicity. speak at the Assembly Who should I would like to reiterate Catherine's statement that speakers / experts in assemblies should include speak at the those with experiences of the effects of climate change (be it people from Ayreshire whos homes Assembly have been flooded or migrants facing insecurity as a result of desertification / extreme weather). It is essential that the scope of the project considers the global implications of any decisions Scotland makes, even if our choices seem small in comparison to those of larger states.

I also think it would be good to have speakers from enterprises / businesses ahead of the curve in transitioning, for example those who help run the community owned wind farm in Shetland, so that we can look directly at what potential complications will arise from transitioning away from carbon- intensive and/or environmentally damaging industry. Who should I agree in principal with Paul. speak at the Assembly The speakers:

Sir David King

was the permanent Special Representative for Climate Change from September 2013 until March 2017. Sir David was previously the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor from 2000 to 2007, during which time he raised awareness of the need for governments to act on climate change and was instrumental in creating the Energy Technologies Institute.

Rowan Williams

former Archbishop of Canterbur

to give a social, spiritual and relational view of the climate crisis.

George Monbiot

Journalist, to give an outline of the political and historical context of the climate crisis.

Who should A worthwhile speaker would be James Rebanks, farmer and author. Rebanks works at the coal face speak at the of matters relating to land use, food production, biodiversity, climate change and human well-being. Assembly His ideas are pragmatic and far-sighted, and he is honest enough to realise that in the short term, compromises will have to be made, eg in how the farmers feed the world.

Ref: ‘English Pastoral’ by James Rebanks, published by Allen Lane, 2020. Who should Same as Simon Clark: speak at the Assembly

The speakers should also include:

Sir David King

was the permanent Special Representative for Climate Change from September 2013 until March 2017. Sir David was previously the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor from 2000 to 2007, during which time he raised awareness of the need for governments to act on climate change and was instrumental in creating the Energy Technologies Institute.

Rowan Williams

former Archbishop of Canterbury

to give a social, spiritual and relational view of the climate crisis.

George Monbiot

Journalist, to give an outline of the political and historical context of the climate crisis. Who should Core to the assembly are the gas and oil companies in the north sea. How can they as a business speak at the change and use all their engineering expertise for the common good. A worthwhile speaker to advise Assembly would be:

William Hutton, British academic and journalist. He was Principal of Hertford College, University of Oxford from 2011 to 2020, and Chair of the Big Innovation Centre having been chief executive of the Work Foundation from 2000 to 2008. He was formerly editor-in-chief for The Observer.

Sustainable Love this! We had a new hospital built in our area - really missed opportunities to showcase green development in build ideas, eh solar panels, green roof, using grounds (& roof) to grow fresh produce for hospital the NHS community.

Also needs a more stringent approach to plastic waste. Plastic has been shown to host live Corona for longer than paper, so let's have a real look at what is required for hygiene - does every item in a patient's food required cling film? Tackle soil Stabilising existing soil, and moving to land management practices that rebuild topsoil are key to erosion and begin increasing our local sustainability. regeneration Tackle soil I have not seen the film mentioned here. However, the soil is one of the most precious resources that erosion and begin Scotland has. Not only is it the growth medium for our food, but it also is (or should be) a hugely regeneration significant store of carbon. Unfortunately much of our standard agricultural practice encourages the release of stored carbon rather than fostering further sequestration. Drainage is fundamental in many soils if the ground is to be dry enough for most of our crops to grow. As the soil dries, more air is allowed in and the carbon is oxidised to carbon dioxide. Cultivation similarly aerates the soil and thus accelerated the oxidation of the stored carbon. Farmers must continue to develop and refine minimum tillage cropping and such wet pasture that remains should be protected from further drainage. Tackle soil I have not seen the film. But I know a lot about regenerative farming and carbon sequestration. Yes, erosion and begin we must stop burning fossil fuels immediately (it's a no-brainer if we want a future life on Earth) but regeneration we also have to draw down and sequester carbon in the soil. Grassland is potentially as effective as forest at storing carbon.

Currently, D&G, landowners are subsidised to plough up semi-improved permanent pasture (which already supports thriving ecosystems) in order to plant Sitka spruce plantations. They presumably make money from this appalling practice, and believe that this forest will store carbon. Do they not realise that ploughing up the pasture releases all the carbon to the atmosphere, kills all the soil organisms and mycorrhizal fungi, leads to soil erosion, and gives rise to a monoculture of non-native trees that will be harvested in 4 decades to be burnt as biomass (an inefficient use of wood if ever there was one) or made into toilet paper. Sitka spruce plantations support very little other life forms. Simplify recycling This is a good idea, and one that should already be the norm. But I don't think we need use the time information of the citizens assembly to discuss and recommend. Governments/councils should be insisting this already.

I think the citizens assembly should be spending time on how we make systemic/economic changes, which means these types of ideas become the default/norm. Simplify recycling I think we need the citizens assembly to discuss both the practical and the systemic solutions to the information problems that we face. It's an up hill struggle to make progress due to vested interests and apathy whichever road we take. Practical action can support systemic change and vice versa. Simplify recycling I think this is a sensible proposal, not simply for its direct benefits but because making recycling a information simple routine would help to embed the idea that we all need to change day-to-day behaviour. It is something that governments should have achieved long ago by acting on behalf citizens to create and enforce coordination and simplification. Work with farmers I've been following the literature on regenerative agriculture - minimizing ploughing but rather working for immediate with radically reduced tilage, cover crops and organic systems of mulching and composting to keep biodiversity the soil covered as much as possible, companion planting and crop rotation to help rebuild carbon in improvements the soil, increase healthy biodiversity and the nutrients in food. It can be win win. Work with farmers First stop the widespread practice of pre-harvest spraying with glyphosate. Over 90% of crops such for immediate as barley, wheat, oats and potatoes are sprayed with the toxic, carcinogenic, soil-destroying chemical biodiversity 2 weeks prior to harvesting our food. improvements Reinstate hefgerows too. Work with farmers So important to replace industrial agriculture with regenerative farming and horticulture. Stop the use for immediate of artificial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, including the ubiquitous glyphosate (Round-Up), as biodiversity well as slurry. improvements See the research and work of Walter Jehne, Alan Savory, Isabella Tree, Gabe Brown. The Scottish Soil Association is currently conducting field trials on the effects of mob-grazing.

Make ecocide An excellent idea, which builds on the work already done by Scottish lawyer, Polly Higgins. illegal Make ecocide I totally agree with this proposal. Making Ecocide a crime would change the playing field and enable illegal government to take action against major polluters, and change the way businesses operate.

For those that aren't already familiar with the term, there are several excellent videos on explaining the concept of Ecocide as an international law, such as this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EuxYzQ65H4

I feel this topic needs to be high up on the agenda for the CCA to discuss. Make ecocide This gets to the nub of the solution to the ecological crisis. We are all interdependent and the air we illegal breathe, the water we drink, the plants we eat and the nature whose ecology nurtures and enthrals us should have the right to be natural and free from human contamination. Make ecocide Didn't know Polly Higgins was Scottish - even more of a reason to pass this into law. illegal Make ethical Food poverty is a huge and growing problem in Scotland. A Just Transition demands that we factor in decisions a range of mechanisms that will allow working people in all Scotlands communities to access healthy affordable fresh food. More democracy Support a national conversation with local communities ( including schools ) to foster and create a vibrant and well informed ( that is to say not led by the tabloid press ) grass roots democracy More democracy The principal of citizens assemblies (CA) is a good one. Real democracies need an informed and knowlegable electorate. So many news outlets don't inform about the climate emergency because the vested interests, the owners, deny the science of climate change because it doesnt serve them. CA's require the education of our people, and then they can vote! More democracy I really agree that we need more local democracy, but if anything I would expect that to reduce our ability to respond to climate change. We should be devolving delivery of community services and local service planning. But some things require decisions at a higher level like energy, air travel, resource allocation, environmental regulation, agricultural policy - these are not good things to devolve to ever lower governmental levels in my opinion More democracy Community ownership should be a central focus in any transition of our energy mix. It will ensure increased local participation and buy-in incentives, create jobs and stimulate local economies.

Areas where this can take place will likely experience a new form of direct democratic interaction with the available capital, ensuring developments profit local communities and are not siphoned off to large companies based in metropolitan areas. To ensure that decisions made are reflective of the communties wishes it is essential that these occur on the ground in this area, this might also increase the overall support of development projects. Re-establish the As the author has identified, the seafloor sediments are vital repositories for GHGs sequestered from three-mile limit on the water and therefore from the atmosphere. Disturbance of such sediments is likely to result in the bottom trawling release of the stored gasses. and dredging all around Scotland's coasts Re-establish the If confirmed, this '10cm of seabed holds more carbon than soil, peat and forests' data means this three-mile limit on action is highly important bottom trawling and dredging all around Scotland's coasts Let it Bee This is a great idea. It costs nothing, and allows Nature to just be! Our local council is always mowing grass and spraying glyphosate, and planting serried ranks of pelargoniums. Instead it could mow a

few paths, leave the rest and allow Nature to take her course. We would soon see so many wild flowers and insects. Let it Bee Agree, as well as ecosystem recovery this significantly reduces our use of carbon intensive and environmentally harmful chemical pollutants. Let it Bee While this sounds lovely it is about diversity and sustainability and does little for the climate emergency. We must treat both environmentalism and conservation as important topics but not conflate them with carbon emmisions (although to some extent they are linked of course) Interbeing in all Gaia theory for Scotland  matters Integrated Travel This area needs to be considered when new housing developments are planned. Where is the Timetables designated space for car sharing in new housing developments? This would encourage people to reduce car use. Integrated Travel Yes, I agree that this is a key factor for promoting public transport. There often seems to be no real Timetables attempt at integrating timetables, making rail travel unnecessarily difficult. In many cities the bus station is not near the rail station, and can be hard to find (Dundee is an obvious example - despite the current redevelopment of the areas around the railway station, there seems to be no plan to create a bus interchange opposite the station, which would be an obvious benefit). Integrated Travel I agree about organising transport links but in my experience the world is too complex to think that we Timetables can centrally plan coordinated timetables as set out here. Local When governments sets standards for businesses to follow they should buy from them otherwise procurement what is the point of setting the bar Local I wish local people would take up those positions on farms where seasonal labour is required. procurement It is hard work, and mostly at least the minimum wage is paid, or paid on results. Foreign workers are willing to "stick in" and subsequently can earn a good wage. But British people seem to have lost the inclination to do this kind of work.

As a child we looked forward to the "tattie Holidays" where we could get picked up at 7.30 Am by the local farmer, work till 5Pm with a couple of breaks for our "piece", and at the end of the day, when we were paid, the money earned was most welcome.

This was not child labour. or exploitation, but the way life was then, and everyone appreciated it! Local It depends what "local" means here. There are multinationals with HQ in Edinburgh. There are small procurement local business that are some of the biggest polluters. I think we mean to be buying through wellbeing economy businesses like social enterprises which seek wellbeing and environmental protection over profit by definition. Show real An excellent idea. So far we have had decades of the UN trying so hard, and yet carbon emissions leadership at have increased in the last thirty years, emitting more carbon in those 30 years (when we knew for COP26 sure what we were doing) than in any of the previous years. If we have Johnson at the helm I hold out little hope of the Glasgow CoP being anything more than a charade. He is the PM who spoke eloquently in favour of protecting biodiversity ("extinction is for ever"), and the very next day gave the go-ahead to his very own vanity project - HS2, which is currently responsible for the clearing of many ancient woodlands and all the wildlife which it supports. Can Scotland make this CoP any different? It's time we did, and the proposal is a good one. Show real Scotland should lead on this not the U.K leadership at COP26 Show real COP25 in Spain was sponsored by an oil company. Of course they have massive resources that will leadership at be very seductive to organisers, but they are greenwashing. COP26

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/10/oil-firms-barrels-markets

Stay away from polluters and involve those involved in creative solutions.

Show real We must also ensure we are putting forward a dynamic and diverse presence that represents our leadership at society - and that should include a gender balance. With female leaders repeatedly being COP26 instrumental in ambitious environmental policy, and women disproportionately impacted by climate change world wide, we must allow their voice to be heard. Show real With a year until COP26 we have the chance to show the benefits of running an inclusive, evidence- leadership at driven citizens assembly that looks to both local and global solutions to combat climate change. COP26

If the CA is given the ability to create a climate plan for Scotland that shows true ambition, Scotland will be able to provide the world with a blueprint of running a climate citizens assembly and the persuasiveness of a bottom-up approach that empowers local actors.

This will be all the more effective if the decisions and ideas emerging from the CA are given formal backing in the legilstaive process of Holyrood's policy-making process.

This could be through a process by which they can propose a bill or collection of bills to parliament, through having them included as a distinct body in lawmaking akin to the function of the House of Lords or through having them oversee current and future policy emerging from Holyrood, with the ability to add, change and promote specific ideas. Business and Although there is much that makes sense in this idea, it is deeply flawed in that there are already all financial sector sorts of promises about how corporations (or even our own government) can become carbon neutral by 2045, but promises and demonstrations mean very little, as typically nothing is actually done when it can be put off until later. Furthermore, we need to reduce carbon emissions far faster than by 2045 if we want to have a chance of keeping below 1.5C (average global pre-industrial temp.) Aiming for 2025 would be best, knowing that it would possibly not be fully achieved until 2030. See Climate Action Tracker, December 2019. https://climateactiontracker.org/global/temperatures/

Currently we are at 1.1C, and we have out of control wildfires spewing carbon and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (There was one this last summer, behind my house in Dumfries and Galloway! It took three days to put it out.) Not to mention droughts, heatwaves, flooding, and icemelt at the poles, Greenland, and the permafrost. We are dangerously close to tipping points, if we have not transgressed them already.

Task force of We need to learn to do regenerative farming, building the fertility and biodiversity of the soil, and unemployed and sequestering carbon in the soil. Encourage the growth of mycorrhizal fungi. underemployed to address carbon Stop all industrial farming and the use of artificial fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides, which kill the reduction. soil microorganisms. Redistribute land, so more people can work on the land, learning how to grow organic fruit and vegetables, and to raise entirely grass-fed animals. Bring back the use of horses for carts and log extraction. Practice no-till farming and horticulture. Re-establish wood-pasture.

Discontinue the practice of driven grouse shooting, of muirburn and of draining peatlands. Stop allowing rich landowners to tolerate the persecution of wildlife by gamekeepers.

All of this will go a long way to becoming food-secure in the UK, while increasing health through good local, in season food, increasing biodiversity and drawing down and storing carbon. Task force of Tree planting task force! The tree planting that occurs through private busines contributions and NGO unemployed and work often lack the ability to maintain tree growth properly (i.e. revisiting sites, adding growth support underemployed to structures, checking for health of saplings etc) address carbon reduction.

A committed, regional workforce could ensure the efficency of such projects. They could also be tasked with other rewilding tasks focussed on local biodiversity, pollution etc.

Also, these projects could prove to be therapueatic and helpful for people who may find it difficult to emerge into 'standard' workplaces serving as a crucial steppingstone between, or into, employment. Build an Read Global Planet Authority  intergovernmental network on the climate emergency Vegbelt local food production must be encouraged and financially supported in every possible way. Agricultural colleges should be educating mentors to enable local communities to run community gardens and farms and every community should be given financial support to build and run centers to preserve fruit and vegetables Vegbelt every school should have a growing project and there should be colleges in most towns that run courses on food growing and agriculture. Currently, many schools that do have growing programs and gardens, use them as places for the lest scholastic children or children with additional support needs. All children can benefit from learning how to grow and then prepare veg, salads, fungi and fruit. Vegbelt If it can be done organically where possible as well it will be even better for biodiversity and climate change mitigation. Vegbelt It would be excellent if a significant amount of this land was given over for use as allotments. From my own experience I only really became a successful vegetable grower when I had access to an allotment - what made a difference was the opportunity to copy more experienced gardeners and get lots of advice . World trade I like this, but getting global adoption would be very slow. carbon tax

Meanwhile, individual countries could introduce local carbon taxes on products based on C02 (& equivalent) emissions. Abolish private Seconded. Car shares and car hire could continue but especially in towns and cities there is no need car ownership to own one. Increase minimum I would be very wary of legislation which discriminates against young adults, who already have some driving age to 25 reason to feel disadvantaged. I agree that public transport should be promoted, but in an equitable way. Reckless driving among some young adults is indeed a problem (although not only young adults!), but road safety is a somewhat separate issue (and may be addressed by, for example, speed limitation technology). Increase minimum Or increase the age of free bus travel to 25? driving age to 25 Minimise food Where are the food compost bins for those living in urban areas with gardens? waste and make positive use of waste that cannot be avoided Minimise food We need to be mindful of a few issues here: waste and make positive use of - composting is not carbon neutral, it releases methane. waste that cannot be avoided - some food waste is good and means we are not using risky food (old chicken anyone?)

- the push to reduce plastic packaging is increasing food spoiling and increasing carbon emissions as a result Minimise food In response to JohnH, composting can indeed release methane. However I was advocating waste and make biodigestes in which the methane is captured and used. I dispute that food waste can be good - the positive use of example of old chicken would in fact be an example of poorly planned purchasing! waste that cannot be avoided

Woodland Why wait till 2050...green transition now linked to banning flights tax expansion and a carbon tax. Woodland I agree with much of this suggestion. The sustainable production of timber will be critical interring to expansion and a reduce our dependance on material such as concrete. And naturally regenerated woodland is highly carbon tax. desirable, although not necessary a practical source of harvestable timber. Care must however, be taken to ensure that that the reforestation occurs in appropriate locations without repeats of, for example, the Flow country debacle. Woodland Agree with Gregor - good idea but 2050 is too far away. Make it 2040. expansion and a carbon tax. Sovereign I believe, that for Scotland to be truly independent, the country must have a fiat currency. Currency for Scotland Require carbon Could also be extended to land use, deforestation, pollutants or species impact. labelling Require carbon Great idea! labelling Require carbon And water use - don't forget water! labelling De-incentivise air Allow a maximum number of flights for all citizens per year. Improve rail prices and ferries from transport Scotland to Europe and Scandinavia! De-incentivise air I agree - there are also fewer ferry routes than there used to be (e.g. to Norway), and the government transport could consider ways of encouraging these to be reinstated. De-incentivise air Agree, we must make ferries and trains cheaper, and air fares should reflect their true cost. Air travel transport should never be the cheapest option. In particular, the cost of the NI Scotland ferry link is outrageous, and poor connections either side make taking acar almost a necessity. De-incentivise air Also agree, the more exponential the tax for additional flights the more effective I think this will be. transport Should also be far, far higher for domestic flights which are completely un-necessary. De-incentivise air ban domestic flights, including ones to england and wales. Replace with other forms of transport. Ban transport all airport expansions A carbon fee and We need to consider the potential unintended consequences resulting from measures such as a dividend scheme dramatic cut in red meat consumption. To what use will the now redundant land be put? It may of as an course be used in an environmentally benign way - but it may not! With a dramatic reduction in beef incentivisation production, milk availability will fall. What will replace this milk? Not I hope, some of the alternatives tool such as almond or soya milk whose production have very significant negative environmental impacts, not to mention the GHGs released during their export across the globe. A carbon fee and We need the compulsory annual or bi annual carbon reporting of all companies and organisations. dividend scheme only once we have this level of information can reduction be monitored. as an incentivisation tool A carbon fee and Totally agree with the original idea. Regarding unintended consequences by Mark of cutting red meat. dividend scheme we can easily use the land for reforestation and rewilding. It is also possible to make milk substitutes as an from oats. These grow well in Scotland. incentivisation tool Implement an Totally agree...and slow retrospective fines and compliance and rectification! Independent System of Quality Control checks on new houses Implement an If we are to build new houses, they must be to the highest environmental standards. Independent System of Quality Control checks on new houses

Stop oil and gas Totally and transfer subsidies to green transition subsidies Stop oil and gas Ending fossil fuel subsidies is essential - it is shocking this still goes on. subsidies Stop oil and gas The Government needs to get serious, commit and act on shifting subsidy and support for fossil fuels subsidies to renewables and low carbon industry.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/23/uk-has-biggest-fossil-fuel-subsidies-in-the-eu- finds-commission Advertising The advertising industry actively, and successfully, keeps us consuming and supporting our current unsustainable society. This is a really important step to take. Establish proper Totally agree. This is an area where a change can be easily made, and its effects easily measured. Marine Protected areas...ban fish farms. Urgent actions for Excellent idea. The set of 5 priorities could be the first in a rolling series of sets to keep up the an emergency momentum, preferably with the priorities established by an independent (not government-led) situation Citizen's Assembly, informed by experts ( rather than by stakeholders). Urgent actions for Yes, I support the idea of urgent action now and it would mitigate against the citizens assembly being an emergency dismissed as merely a talking shop . I think one/two of those 5 priorities should include a notice situation period being given to the big polluters that subsidies will be withdrawn and carbon taxes will be implemented within a period determined by the citizens assembly. Important that the 5 ideas don't get hijacked by a SG "wear woolly jumpers" mindset that puts the onus on individuals. Woolly jumpers are important but stopping fossil fuel production more so. Urgent actions for The reducing speed limit idea is a great one. Could help bring more people to travel by train, or an emergency crucially cut out needless short journeys or indeed make them by car instead. situation Local Work Hubs Yes, this is an excellent idea, which I have come across in rural areas of England. It could make things like cycling to work far more practicable, and promote the sense of community. Environmental This is vital. It is also vital to discuss this without getting stuck on Independence else we wont bring Tax and Subsidies the whole country around to embracing green taxes. Net Zero policy Absolutely agree with this. It is a delusion if we ignore consumption emissions from our targets. must include Equally all aviation and shipping emissions need to be included. consumption emissions. Overpopulation Using population as a route to tackling the climate crisis is deeply flawed. It ignores the primary drivers of the crisis of consumption, economic growth, oppression etc, Also, any policy relating to population is a very slow long term approach and so cannot deliver changes quickly enough. plus, possibly most importantly, it opens the door to ecofacist ideas. As a result it should be ignored as a way for Scotland to effectively tackle the climate crisis. Ensure buses and Couldn't agree more. It should be as easy as possible to take bikes on trains. ScotRail making good trains allow bike progress with new carriages to Fort William I think but let's have these active travel carriages on transport every train across the country. Free Public Free public transport is so necessary. Transport Nationalise all This is a really important idea. energy companies