We're As Ambitious As The Next Country

...or not, if we're talking climate change

I was wanting to comment on the UK Climate Predictions report which is coming out this afternoon, but it's still being debated in Westminster and hasn't actually gone online yet. So I'll leave you to discover the wonders of climate change on your town for yourself.

Instead, I was mildly surprised to discover climate change being front and centre in First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament. This follows yesterday's publication of their "road map" of how they will deliver their emissions reduction targets.

Actually, I shouldn't call it a road map, should I? Maybe a "cycle-path map"!

The Scottish Government have repeatedly said their climate change bill would be the "most ambitious in the world". Then, when it was published, we discovered that actually it was no more ambitious than the UK bill being published at Westminster. Actually, given the lead we have in renewable energy generation over England, you could argue that it is less ambitious.

The Labour opposition decided to go on the offensive on this today, and called for a 40% reductions target for 2020 rather than the proposed 34%. (Which makes you wonder why they can't do 40% in Westminster too, where they are still in power...)

Then the real reason for the targets being the same came out. It's being used as a political football. We could do more if we had independence, said the First Minister, but because we don't we're stuck with the same 34% target as London.

Complete nonsense, of course. Unless he has in mind gaining control over "Scotland's Oil" and then immediately shutting down all the North Sea oilfields.

Incidentally, I went googling for the old SNP "It's Scotland's Oil" poster to illustrate this piece, and only found one instance - embedded in a book. It appears to have been whitewashed from history.