Will Humza Yousaf still be First Minister in a week, in an hour? Will Labour’s no confidence motion in the whole Scottish government pass or not? And yet, as the immediate once again drives out the important, what we should really be talking about with urgency is the climate and biodiversity crises. The current political crisis does impact on those bigger, more important … [Read more...] about What about climate policies in this political crisis?
climate crisis
Ignore farmers’ protests at your peril
Farmers in Wales have been taking to the streets in a series of protests against the sustainable farming scheme (SFS), which the Welsh government is proposing as a post-Brexit replacement to the EU’s common agricultural policy. They’ve blocked motorways with convoys of tractors and held large rallies in the capital, Cardiff, leaving behind thousands of empty wellington boots to … [Read more...] about Ignore farmers’ protests at your peril
Let’s end public subsidies for commercial conifer tree-planting
The Scottish and UK Governments spend a significant amount of public money to incentivise tree planting and woodland expansion in the form of grants and tax reliefs. The policy basis for this is extensive, as reflected by Scotland having some of the world’s most ambitious net zero targets and prioritising national outcomes such as nature restoration, economic prosperity, and … [Read more...] about Let’s end public subsidies for commercial conifer tree-planting
Northern Ireland environmental catastrophe
As the aul rebel song went, 'Only our rivers run free'. Well, it seems not even our rivers have much freedom these days. A new report from the Rivers Trust shows what a dire situation our waterways are in. Via Niamh Campbell in the Beltel:Not one stretch of river in Northern Ireland has managed to meet ‘good’ overall status, while Lough Neagh is an “ecological disaster”, … [Read more...] about Northern Ireland environmental catastrophe
Green backlash: EU, farmers and the Far Right
If your business or job is in a sector increasingly hit by the twin biodiversity and climate crises, do you demand deeper, more rapid climate measures or do you demand that environmental measures are weakened or binned? If you’re an EU farmer, the answer, it seems, is the second. Agriculture protests have spread across Europe in recent months from Greece to France to Poland to … [Read more...] about Green backlash: EU, farmers and the Far Right