SCOTLAND’S Climate Week is now underway – celebrating and showcasing climate action throughout the country, and raising awareness of how people, businesses and organisations can adapt to a low carbon lifestyle.
This is the first Climate Week to be held since Glasgow hosted COP26 late last year.
The world was looking upon COP26 to see positive and significant steps being taken by countries, governments and delegates at the annual UN Climate Change Conference.
The result at the end of the COP26 fortnight was the Glasgow Climate Pact, which included a near global commitment to keep ‘1.5 alive’ – to stop the global average temperature increasing above 1.5oC; curbing methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 and a commitment to end and reverse deforestation.
We, at South of Scotland Enterprise, were keen to use COP26 as a catalyst for change in our own region.
We participated in a diverse range of COP26 events and encouraged our region’s businesses and communities to do so as well, in the hope that we could stimulate action in the South of Scotland.
We are almost a year on from that global conference, with COP27 in Egypt on the horizon. What has happened since?
The region experienced the devastating impact of Storm Arwen, which we are visibly still recovering from.
We have also seen temperatures exceed records this summer along with extended periods of dry weather. We can see the climate impacts in our region.
But we can also see progress and commitments to do something about it.
Many of our businesses and communities have been inspired by COP26, and encouraged and supported to bring forward investments, explore areas of innovation and product development, and to work with others to realise their ambitions in making a difference in terms of their own impact.
We too took inspiration, in particular from the journeys to Net Zero set out by both UK and Scottish governments. And we are now preparing to develop our own regional plan to take the South of Scotland to Net Zero emissions, realising the opportunities this can bring economically, socially and environmentally.
We have a fantastic opportunity to lead the way – let’s not miss it.
*Further information, resources and suggestions for Climate Week are available at https://www.netzeronation.scot/
