PRIMARY school pupils have joined almost three dozen organisations calling on Nicola Sturgeon to put nature at the centre of Scotland’s post-Covid recovery programme.
All want her new government to act urgently to halt the rapid decline in Scottish wildlife and plants and set legally binding targets by next year, to help set Scotland’s nature on track to recovery by 2030.
Their call comes ahead of this year’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, as nature faces grave challenges, with biodiversity declining worldwide faster than at any time in history. Scottish Environment LINK, through the Fight for Scotland’s Nature campaign, successfully canvassed for new Scottish laws to replace the EU’s environmental protections post-Brexit.
This week, after months of lobbying from environmental charities, the UK Government also committed to amending the Environment Bill to require an additional legally-binding target for species for 2030, aiming to halt the decline of nature in England.
“Nature is in crisis and climate change, pollution and over consumption are wreaking havoc on our planet, and spell out huge repercussions for the future,” said Deborah Long, chief officer of Scottish Environment Link. “I welcome the UK Government’s decision to amend the Environment Bill to include a legally-binding target to help halt the decline of nature.
“However, this target will apply to England only. The time has come for the Scottish Government to commit to legally-binding targets by 2022 to help set Scotland’s nature on a path to recovery by 2030.”
Andrew Robson (above), headteacher at Hillhead Primary School – some of whose pupils are pictured above – said: “We strive to ensure our young people are aware of the importance of looking after the environment and actively involve them in making our school more environmentally friendly.
“Sadly, despite not being responsible for causing climate change and the environmental degradation we’re seeing, they will be the ones who will bear the brunt of it.”
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