Gail Wilson, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coordinator, says we all have a moral obligation to play our part in becoming a low carbon country.
The latest report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows the immensity of the risks we face if we do not take urgent action now to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
It is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people who will be most affected by these devastating changes
Gail Wilson, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coordinator
IPCC Chair, Rajendra Patchauri was right to say "Nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts of climate change.''
Depending on where you are in the world, those impacts include more poverty, rising food costs, less water, more conflict, more coastal erosion and more flooding. And it is the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people who will be most affected by these devastating changes.
But the IPCC also found that cutting carbon emissions over the next few decades can substantially reduce climate change risks in the second half of the 21st century.
That is what we should and must do. As a rich nation, Scotland has benefited from the era of big carbon, and so we all have a moral obligation to play our part and become a low carbon country. At the same time, that would create a better Scotland, where we have warmer homes, healthier transport options and cleaner air.
Stop Climate Chaos is the biggest civil society coalition in Scotland, made up of 60 diverse organisations, illustrating the breadth of concern about this issue. We will continue to push for climate justice, for more action to reduce emissions here in Scotland and across the world.
Gail Wilson is the coordinator of Stop Climate Chaos in Scotland.
