Glascow Conference As A Banana Peel For Both Boris Johnson And Nicola Sturgeon
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There’s a real sense emerging COP26 could prove a banana skin to both Holyrood and Westminster. Former climate secretaries, some particularly used to embarrassment, have lined up to tell both governments how underprepared we are. The UK Government, under Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wants to siphon off as much black gold as it can from Cambo.David Duguid, the Conservative MP for Banff and Buchan and recently deposed junior minister in the Scotland Office, wanted to drain the North Sea’s remaining oil and store it in barrels, lest it go to waste.
Mr Johnson went to the UN and misquoted Kermit the Frog, suggesting it is easy being green, but only after years of penning newspaper columns casting doubt on the irrefutable evidence — not to mention his voting record. We know being green is not easy. That’s the point. If it was, we would already have made the sacrifices. We haven’t and to suggest it is going to be easy undersells the challenge we all face.
Meanwhile, recycling and refuse workers in Glasgow have voted overwhelmingly to strike as the city hosts COP26. ScotRail workers have also planned industrial action over the 12-day event, no doubt leading to major disruption on what is not exactly a world-leading transportation network. Both industries are on the front line in the fight against climate change.
And yet, workers in both have chosen to disrupt a global climate event, as the eyes of the world watch on, so undervalued do they feel. The UK and Scotland are not global leaders on climate change. Recognising that is the first step. Even when we try a sticking plaster, like electric vehicle provision, we fail to understand the larger chain-costs, having not thought it properly through.
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https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/scottish-politics/2660481/comment-first-minister-speech-to-arctic-cooled-by-cop26-concerns-and-cambo-cloudiness/