A brilliant talk that punctures current discourse on climate ambition in Scotland, setting out what's really needed, by @KevinClimate for @ScotClimateCA



Well worth watching. Otherwise, here's a summary thread
1/10

Want scientific assessment of what Scotland should do to achieve Paris Agreement temperature targets? Look to carbon budgets. See that a failure to rapidly reduce emissions will eat up the carbon budget in just a few years, leaving impossible burdens for future generations. 2/10

Are UK emissions down 45% in 30 years? Not when including emissions from aviation & shipping, and imports & exports – then they are only down 10%. Over three decades, we have had reductions of less than 0.5% per year. 3/10

Scotland’s average per person consumption emissions are still double the global average. Scotland’s consumption emissions have not meaningfully reduced in the last 20 years… 4/10

Principles of global equity and justice mean that Scotland’s fair slice of the global carbon budget is just a few hundred million tonnes of CO2, which is less than ten years of Scotland’s emissions at current levels. 5/10

Scotland’s current plans disregard principles of global equity and justice, as they take a slice of the carbon budget 2-3 times bigger than what is fair.

Negative emissions technologies cannot be relied on to make up the difference at that scale. 6/10

UK and Scottish climate ‘leadership’ stories are hot air. They present success as being slightly less inadequate than other countries that are failing. 7/10 https://twitter.com/jamiedmaxwell/status/1339157190150676481?s=20

Annual emissions reductions of 10% per year are needed in Scotland immediately, to achieve 75% reduction by 2030.

Scotland’s wealthy high emitters must reduce more than 10% each year.

Real zero energy is needed by 2035.

8/10

Needed rapidly in 10-15 years
Home retrofits & new homes at Passivhaus standards
Phase out gas heating
Shift from cars to public transport and active travel
Frequent flyer levy
Huge electrification with renewables
Phase out of oil and gas, with just transition
9/10

Not easy, but there are opportunities: new jobs, better air quality, reduced fuel poverty, improved public health, and a focus on working for public services.

This is what it means to show international leadership at #COP26 and to deliver the Paris Agreement.

10/10

In case of interest @jamiedmaxwell @patrickharvie @AdamRamsay @TyndallManc @GCUclimatejust @MMikulewicz @JessCHope @keithalexander @markballard27 @markruskell @TransformScot @ScotGovClimate @COP26_Coalition