Lang Banks says the climate summit was a mixed bag and now we must make governments deliver
While we did not achieve all that we wanted from the Paris agreement for people and nature most threatened by climate change, we all return home ready to push our national governments to deliver on the promises they did make and work to strengthen the national actions triggered by the new agreement.
The Paris moment created several firsts, including the securing of pledges from over 180 nations to limit their climate change emissions, as well as seeing transformative plans to massively scale-up renewables across India, African nations, and many other countries.
Now that the talks are over, it's time for the real action to step up a gear. Hundreds of thousands mobilised across the world on the opening weekend of the talks, including more than 5,000 in Edinburgh, to show they want our leaders at home and internationally to take meaningful action on climate change.
The ambition shown by communities working towards positive solutions is massive
Lang Banks, WWF Scotland
The ambition shown by people, communities and businesses working towards positive solutions is already massive, and now governments must match that and harness the environmental, social and economic benefits of tackling climate change.”
During the course of the talks it was great to see the first minister in Paris sharing Scotland’s ambitious climate story internationally.
We can rightly be proud of Scotland’s climate legislation on the world stage but it’s true value lies in turning our ambitions into actions to create a thriving, low carbon, socially just Scotland.
From the Scottish Government, we need a clear, long-term funding plan for boosting the energy efficiency of our homes and tackling fuel poverty.
This would send a strong signal about Scotland’s intent to meet future targets. Indeed, all political parties should be responding to the global challenge that has been laid down by setting out manifesto pledges that will ensure we meet our climate act targets and fully grasp the benefits of Scotland’s climate change ambition.
Lang Banks is director of WWF Scotland.
