Nicola Sturgeon’s Programme for Government lacks the ambition, scale and courage required to tackle inequality and the climate emergency, the Scottish Green Party has said
Nicola Sturgeon has put climate change at the forefront of Scotland’s Programme for Government, revealing a range of green policy pledges.
Among the pledges was a plan to make the Scottish Highlands and Islands the world’s first zero-emission aviation region. Sturgeon also announced a £500m funding boost for Scotland’s bus network to create priority routes for buses across towns and cities, and a promise to decarbonise Scotland’s railways by 2035.
While adopting the language of a Green New Deal, “measures do not go far enough if Scotland is to provide a future for all,” Scottish Green’s co-leader Patrick Harvie said.
Responding, Harvie said: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all, and a week after we launched our Scottish Green New Deal, it is gratifying to see the First Minister adopt our language.
“I am obviously pleased that, six months after she declared one, the First Minister has recognised that the climate emergency requires more than just ambitious targets, and I welcome the commitment to introduce the Good Food Nation Bill, at last.
“But this programme for government is a cheap imitation of ours.
“Her version lacks the ambition, scale and courage required of an emergency response.
“We welcome her adoption of the idea that the Scottish Investment Bank should prioritise the climate emergency, but the funding is limited. This is not system change.
“The Scottish Government also seem infatuated with consumer choice and unproven technologies that apparently promise a quick fix – Carbon capture and storage, electric aeroplanes and hydrogen trains – yet the technology we need to solve the climate crisis is already here.
“The response to the climate emergency cannot be piecemeal. It must mobilise the economy behind a just transition, one that creates jobs, gets Scotland moving and gives people warm homes. It must harness the power of the public sector to align in one direction – providing a future for all of us.
“Scotland needs a Scottish Green New Deal which recognises the purpose, scale and bravery required of an emergency response. Building a future for all requires us to be bolder.”
