51 Comments

1. It sounds like the people of Scotland are beginning to experience the logical outcome of believing in something as illogical as the “climate crisis”.

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2. I especially liked the bit that coyly referred to ‘perception of conflicting priorities’. The conflict is not a perception but a reality, and what is needed is management of reality rather than management of perception.

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3. John, thank you for drawing that point out. It occurred to me as I was writing, and I meant to return to it. No harm done, though, thanks to you. 😊

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4. Quote: “In some respects, of course, England is no better,…”

   Of course. The problem of converting many more homes, for both heating and cooking, has simply not been addressed, still less honestly & openly discussed with those whom it will affect, i.e. the public (because the elite in charge will always manage to take care they don’t suffer from whatever foolishness they impose on the rest of us).

   When the penny finally drops all round, there will be hell to pay as well as weeping and gnashing of teeth (can I squeeze any more metaphors into the mix?) Not to mention having all their internal combustion vehicles taken off them (or left to rot) and forced to buy incredibly expensive,exotic-resource-consuming EV’s with a poor range, or potentially explosive hydrogen vehicles, or more likely, just priced out of the private vehicle market altogether.

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5. Conflicting priorities. For politicians. Fancy that.

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6. And today’s Daily Telegraph, Scottish edition, has another similar story, this time about Bute House (The First Minister’s official residence). Even though it’s leased by the Scottish government from the National Trust, the taxpayer is to foot the £800,000+ bill for converting it from gas to electric heating, it appears.

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7. “Covid in Scotland: Restrictions impact ‘worth it’, says Sturgeon”

   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-60102560

   “…she told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme that “we’re hopefully seeing Scotland firmly on the downward slope”….”.

   I know she was talking about covid, but she still expressed a very real truth under SNP governance.

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8. “Thousands of Scots already struggling to afford energy bills ahead of price hike
   More than a third of Scots are already struggling to pay heating bills ahead of a price cap rise in April.”

   https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/thousands-scots-already-struggling-afford-26026556

   “One in three Scots are already finding their energy bills unaffordable, a poll has found just weeks ahead of an announcement which could see rates soar.

   Some 36% of people say their energy bills are unaffordable, a survey for Citizens Advice Scotland (Cas) by YouGov found.

   Kate Morrison, the charity’s fair markets spokeswoman, said: “With one in three people finding their energy bills unaffordable, lots of us are struggling with soaring bills.

   “But it’s significant that hundreds of thousands of people would identify their home being hard to heat as a reason why they are finding bills unaffordable.”

   Rate payers across the country are facing soaring bills, with the energy price cap expected to rise in April. An announcement on the new level of the cap is expected early next month, with fears bills could go up by as much as 50%.”

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9. Under the SNP, I fear that Scotland has turned into a banana republic:

   “Humza Yousaf denies ferries contract was awarded for political purposes”

   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-60886637

   “A Scottish government minister has denied claims a £97m contract to build two ferries was awarded for “political purposes”.

   Humza Yousaf said he did not agree with the assessment of Jim McColl, who owned the yard which won the contract.

   The ferries will be five years late and could cost more than £250m – the additional costs will have to be picked up by the taxpayer.

   It follows the publication of a damning report by Audit Scotland into the saga.

   The watchdog was unable to establish why the order was given to the Ferguson shipyard without normal financial safeguards.

   Official documents show several former and current ministers were involved in the decision to award the contract.”

   Here’s the Audit Scotland report:

   https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/news/multiple-failings-have-led-to-delays-and-cost-overruns-which-continue-to-obstruct-delivery-of

   “Major problems remain unresolved at the shipyard constructing two lifeline ferries for Scottish islands. More than two years after the Scottish Government took over control of the shipyard, significant operational failures still need to be fully resolved and further remedial work on the vessels continues to be uncovered.

   The project to deliver Vessels 801 and 802 for the Clyde and Hebrides has been beset with delays and spiralling costs. The ferries are now almost four years late, with no certainty on when they will be complete. The total cost of the project is currently estimated to be at least £240 million, around two and a half times the original contract price. These issues have frustrated island communities and weakened resilience across Scotland’s ferry network.

   Scottish ministers approved the contract award to Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited (FMEL) in October 2015, despite significant risks caused by FMEL’s inability to provide mandatory refund guarantees and the severe misgivings of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL). There is insufficient evidence to explain why Scottish ministers made this decision.

   As the project progressed, delays, costs, and a contract dispute between CMAL and FMEL, escalated. Despite CMAL and the Scottish Government intervening to support the project, FMEL entered administration in August 2019, with the Scottish Government bringing the shipyard into public ownership.

   Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said:

   The failure to deliver these two ferries, on time and on budget, exposes a multitude of failings. A lack of transparent decision-making, a lack of project oversight, and no clear understanding of what significant sums of public money have achieved. And crucially, communities still don’t have the lifeline ferries they were promised years ago.

   The focus now must be on overcoming significant challenges at the shipyard and completing the vessels as quickly as possible. Thoughts must then turn to learning lessons to prevent a repeat of problems on future new vessel projects and other public sector infrastructure projects.”

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10. I think this shows that the SNP windbags are finding out that actual government is harder than it looks, i.e. when real things have to be done, like building ships. Bit more difficult than expending hot air on how wicked the English government is (although they are experts at that, I’ll give them that).

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11. “Sturgeon lobbying London firms over ‘willingness’ to fund net zero policies”

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/20090521.nicola-sturgeon-lobbying-london-firms-willingness-fund-net-zero-policies/

    “NICOLA Sturgeon has lobbied London financial heavyweights to help plug a £31 billion funding gap to decarbonise Scotland’s buildings in just eight years’ time.

    The First Minister has admitted she would back her Government and UK ministers jointly drawing up “green new deals” potentially worth billions of pounds to help Scotland’s biggest cities clean up how buildings are heated by 2030.”

    Unfortunately the rest is behind a paywall, but those 2 paragraphs are enough to see what a mess the policy is. Comments are totally hostile to the SNP and their policies. This offers a flavour of them:

    “Why do these scientifically illiterate clowns persist with this net zero rubbish. Attempting to achieve it will be financially ruinous and will leave people with a much lower quality of life. Perhaps Harvie and has gang of eco crazies think a modern economy can run on sunbeams and puffs of wind, but China, India and the rest of Asia do not. They are building hundreds of new coal fired power stations to supply cheap secure electricity.”

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12. “Use £700million windfall to protect Scotland from ‘green lairds’, says ex government minister
    A former government minister has called on the SNP to use a recent £700 million windfall to buy-up land across Scotland to protect it from the new “green lairds”.”

    https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/scottish-politics/4205300/use-700million-windfall-to-protect-scotland-from-green-lairds-says-ex-government-minister/

    “Peter Peacock also wants a Holyrood inquiry amid claims the super-rich are being handed a “licence to print money” through tax breaks and subsidies on offer to cut carbon emissions.

    He fears these incentives are supporting a “dark market” of secret land deals at eye-watering prices, as businesses seek to greenwash their operations.

    The former Labour education minister said the Scottish Government could ensure communities benefit from their local land by using the £700 million windfall raised during the recent ScotWind seabed sell-off to purchase estates across the nation.

    The move would establish a “sovereign wealth fund” of land.”

    That would be the sell-off at giveaway prices – much lower prices than south of the border.

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13. “Failure on climate change would be catastrophic, says Sturgeon”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-61457983

    “First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will issue a warning over climate change targets during a trip to the United States later.

    She will warn that failure to meet targets agreed at the COP26 summit in Glasgow would be “catastrophic” for the planet.

    The first minister will also say the world “looks very different” in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    And she will predict it may result in a Europe-wide rethink on energy policy.”

    This looks like two bites of the cherry reporting from the BBC. Sturgeon “will say” this, Sturgeon “will say” that. No doubt there’ll be another report in more or less the same terms, once she’s said it. Still, look on the bright side, if she’s in the US and not Scotland, then given the SNP’s appalling track record in government, the damage might be minimised while she’s away.

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14. Delusional thinking and levelling-down on the agenda, apparently:

    “Sturgeon: Renewables could form basis of Scots economy”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-63195532

    Scotland could establish a sustainable new economy based on renewable energy if it becomes independent, Nicola Sturgeon is to claim.

    The first minister will set out details of her economic prospectus during her SNP conference speech in Aberdeen.

    She will tell delegates that Scotland’s “massive renewable energy resources” could form the basis of a new system…

    …She will promise not to lift her government’s effective ban on fracking, and will paint renewable energy as the potential basis for a whole new system.

    She will say: “Our economic prospectus will set out how we can build a new, sustainable economy based on our massive renewable energy resources.

    “It will show how in an independent Scotland, we can deliver lower energy prices and stronger security of supply.

    “With independence we will show how we can break with the low productivity, high inequality Brexit-based UK economy – and use the full powers of independence to build an inclusive, fair wellbeing economy that works for everyone.”..

    I love Scotland, and have just returned from an enjoyable (if wet) hill-walking trip there, but I’m very glad that I don’t live there. Being able to see Scotland from the first floor of our house will do nicely for now.

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15. There’s more:

    Tayside transport bosses are considering backing road charges as they work to meet climate change targets, says The Courier. The paper says the Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership (Tactran) have warned that a “business as usual” approach will not deliver on key Scotland-wide targets to reduce the number of kilometres people drive by 20% in less than eight years.

    It’s in the Courier, but I found it here at the BBC website:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63154602

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16. Mark – you have to wonder how many Scottish people are aware that “Mark Speed” is planning to slow them to a stop.

    ps – thought we still used miles, but the link uses Kilometers?
    wonder how they plan to check how far people have travelled!!!

    sometimes you just have to shake your head.
    consultation at this point, but wonder how Speed tried to sell his plans –
    “aye we need ta save the planet an that, 8yrs isny long, so get on yr bike.

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17. You almost couldn’t make some of this stuff up:

    “Scotland’s ‘green’ ferry to begin service using diesel fuel”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63445479

    One of the ferries in a controversial Scottish government contract will initially only operate on diesel – despite being built to also run with liquefied natural gas (LNG).

    The Glen Sannox is one of two delayed and overbudget dual-fuel vessels.

    Builder Ferguson Marine has told MSPs a “technical issue” had delayed part of the LNG system by at least nine months.

    The vessel was once hailed as a step towards a greener future for Scotland’s state-owned CalMac ferry fleet.

    The technical issue relates to delays in the supply of sensors needed for the LNG fuel system.

    The yard is now proposing the Glen Sannox runs only on diesel until the LNG sensors can be fitted next summer…

    …Advocates of LNG argue that it is less harmful to the environment than traditional marine fuels such as oil or diesel.

    However, this does not take into account greenhouse emissions during extraction and transport of the gas.

    Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: “This revelation just adds to the shambles around the building of this vessel, which was supposed to be climate-friendly.

    “Surely it was known these sensors would be needed but now we are going to be left with a gas guzzling, climate-busting ferry for at least the first nine months of its service.”

    “No doubt this will also increase the already spiralling cost of the Glen Sannox.”

    The two vessels being built by Ferguson Marine, Glen Sannox and the unnamed Hull 802, will be more than £150m over budget and five years late when eventually delivered….

    …A spokesperson for CMAL said: “It is disappointing that there will be a delay to the commissioning of LNG on Glen Sannox, however it is still our intention to commission the LNG tanks for both Glen Sannox and Hull 802.”

    A Scottish government spokesman said it had been informed of the LNG issue.

    He added: “Ministers are seeking urgent options on the next steps and expect all possible measures to be taken to deliver the vessel to serve islanders as soon as possible.”

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18. “The Highland haven insulated from rising energy prices”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63402811

    Hmm. Sort of. Hydro is the renewable power source that makes most sense, IMO, but there’s always the issue of cost.

    Scotland’s last great wilderness seems an unlikely haven from the energy crisis gripping the nation.

    Knoydart is one of the most rugged and remote parts of the British Isles, accessible only by boat or via a two-day hike through glacier-sculpted glens and mountains.

    Life on this stunning slice of land between Loch Nevis and Loch Hourn in the west highlands can be tough, especially with winter approaching.

    But the 120 inhabitants of Knoydart have one huge advantage over the rest of the country – a body of water nestled out of sight high above the village of Inverie.

    It is called Loch Bhraomisaig and from here water gushes at 129 litres per second down a big pipe to a turbine which powers a post office, primary school, private homes and more.

    …Knoydart, though, is different – so remote that it is not connected to the National Grid, meaning prices here are not dictated by the wholesale cost of more expensive forms of energy such as gas.

    The 280kW hydroelectric scheme is run by a community trust called Knoydart Renewables….

    …Among those grateful for the plentiful supply of renewable power is Knoydart’s forester Grant Holroyd. He says recent upgrades to the hydro’s capacity have enabled the community to invest in an electric sawmill, an electric timber-drying kiln and an electric planer.

    “We’ve just got the tractor to decarbonise now,” he says with a smile….

    …Sam says the hydro scheme is “critical” because “we know we’ll be able to keep the lights on and keep the beer coming”….

    …Knoydart Renewables plans to extend its network after having completed a £2.7m upgrade, part funded by a £2.4m Scottish government grant along with financial assistance from the Knoydart Foundation and Perth-based energy giant, SSE.

    Bills may eventually rise a little to maintain the infrastructure admits Mr Atherley but he insists the increases will be nothing like those the rest of the country is enduring.”

    Of course not every community has the resources to set up its own hydroelectric scheme but Mr Atherley argues that the community trust model could be replicated in some other parts of the country….

    That £2.7m upgrade” works out at £22,500 per inhabitant. Assuming, say, 2.5 residents per household, it’s £56,250 per household.

    I have visited Knoydart twice, for a week’s holiday on each occasion, while climbing its Munros, Corbetts, and its Marilyn, and I arrived by diesel boat, as does pretty much everything that reaches Knoydart. It’s not so “green” as the BBC puff piece makes out. Being protected against rising energy prices is great, but it helps if you have a taxpayer-funded sugar daddy to the tune of £50,000+ per household.

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19. “‘Take to the skies’: Scot Gov agency proposes more and cheaper flights to help ferry fiasco-hit islanders”

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/23105161.take-skies-scot-gov-agency-proposes-cheaper-flights-help-ferry-fiasco-hit-islanders/

    A Scottish Government agency has proposed that more travelling islanders be moved from the seas to the skies as investigations continue into how to overcome the unreliability of the lifeline ferry fleet.

    Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which has provided £15,000 of public money to allow a group of islanders investigate taking routes off state-controlled ferry operator CalMac has indicated that aircraft could help take the strain to support islanders fed up with lifeline service disruption, by laying on extra flights and making them cheaper.

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20. “Nicola Sturgeon accused of hypocrisy on climate change as she jets to Cop 27
    Labour accused the SNP of double standards after it last week cut £133 million of funding for energy efficiency schemes in a budget review”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/11/07/nicola-sturgeon-accused-hypocrisy-climate-change-jets-cop-27/

    Behind a paywall, unfortunately.

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21. “Scotland loses UK climate change lead, advisers warn”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63872365

    Scotland has lost its lead over the rest of the UK on tackling climate change, advisers have warned.

    A report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) said progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions has “largely stalled” in recent years.

    Its independent assessment said Scotland’s targets – some of the toughest in the world – were “increasingly at risk”…

    …The latest CCC report points out that since its Climate Change Act became law in 2009, the Scottish government has failed to achieved seven of the 11 legal targets.

    Although it met the latest one, for 2020, it said that was because the Covid pandemic saw a temporary drop in transport emissions and that the figures will rebound in future years…

    …The CCC report recommends lowering the annual targets so that the 2025 aim would be to reduce emissions by 61.7% rather than 65.5%.

    The report describes the target to cut emissions by 75% by 2030 as “extremely challenging” and suggests a 65% to 67% cut is more feasible.

    It said the Scottish government lacked a clear delivery plan and had not offered a coherent explanation for how its policies would achieve the targets…

    All that money, all that hype, all that destruction of Scotland’s environment, and they’re failing, even in their own terms. Not that success would “tackle climate change” as suggested by the article, given that Scotland must be responsible for less than 0.1% of human greenhouse gas emissions globally.

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22. Here’s the Guardian’s take on that story:

    “Sturgeon told Scotland’s climate targets are ‘in danger of being meaningless’
    Committee on Climate Change says nation is highly likely to miss 2030 carbon reduction goals because of lack of plans to reach them”

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/07/sturgeon-told-scotlands-climate-targets-are-in-danger-of-being-meaningless

    The CCC’s latest report repeats many of last year’s criticisms but this time warns the first minister there is an “urgent need” for a dramatically accelerated and detailed strategy to get closer to meeting the 2030 targets.

    Hitting that target was now “extremely challenging”. Emissions only dropped in 2020 because of the Covid crisis; as things stand, Scotland’s emissions would probably fall by 65% to 67%, leaving the country up to 8 megatonnes of CO2-equivalent short of its legally binding 75% target.

    It also reported that if the climate impacts of Scotland’s consumption of imported goods and energy was included, the rates were 22% higher a head in Scotland than the UK average, at 13 tCO2e a person in 2018.

    It found that:

    Despite pledging to stop the sales of all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, sales of electric cars in Scotland had fallen behind England.
    Scotland’s plans to rapidly decarbonise heating in buildings “were still wholly inadequate” despite recent funding increases.
    Scottish ministers were failing to tackle high levels of meat and dairy consumption, key causes of CO2 emissions from farming.
    Scotland was meeting only half its target to restore 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of peatland a year.
    Scottish ministers were failing to work collaboratively with other UK governments on shared climate strategies.
    Colin Smyth, Scottish Labour’s net zero spokesperson, said the report left the Scottish government’s “empty rhetoric in tatters. On the three biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions – transport, heat in buildings, and land use – the report card on the Green SNP government is a resounding fail, fail, fail.”

    Matheson said the CCC’s report was “a timely reminder of the scale of the challenge faced by government, industry and civil society”, and said it would influence the government’s forthcoming climate strategy.

    He insisted the government knew it had to dramatically step up its action. It was spending £1.8bn on decarbonising buildings, on renewables and on free buses for under-22s. “We are now entering the most challenging part of the journey to date, with a need to halve our emissions again within the next eight years,” he said.

    Reality bites. The low-hanging fruit has long since been picked, now it becomes difficult and ever-more expensive.

    As for “Scotland was meeting only half its target to restore 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of peatland a year”, it’s a pity they’re ripping up peat ever faster as they approve more and more windfarms in environmentally inappropriate locations. Utterly incoherent.

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23. “What could 2023 hold for Scottish politics?”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-64108137

    …An updated Climate Change Plan has also been promised, in a bid to hit the government’s ambitious targets for net-zero carbon emissions by 2045.

    A key part of that will be debated in the coming days. MSPs are due to sign off a new planning framework in January which will prioritise environmentally-friendly applications such as wind farms and other renewable energy projects…

    Environmentally friendly? Who are you kidding?

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24. “Fears bottle return scheme will not be ready by August deadline”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64484085

    A leading trade body fears Scotland’s deposit return scheme will not be ready to launch in August.

    The flagship initiative is designed to boost recycling via a 20p deposit on single-use drinks bottles and cans.

    But the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) said its members, who must sign up by 1 March, had yet to see an operational blueprint…

    …consumers faced disruption, higher prices and reduced choice.

    Mr MacDonald-Russell said: “Despite this enormous investment we are alarmed at the failure of government and the bodies it has approved to provide the key information needed for retailers to build a workable return system.

    “We are already beyond reasonable deadlines for this scheme to land well in August.”

    Following a meeting with Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater on Tuesday, Mr MacDonald-Russell said the scheme was in “last chance saloon”.

    He added: “Unless the Scottish government and its partners can deliver a complete operational blueprint by the end of February, covering the key information retailers need to deliver the necessary infrastructure for DRS to succeed, we do not believe the scheme can launch successfully in mid-August.”

    He cautioned the potential fall-out would see consumers face “a bewildering patchwork of approaches” that would make the recycling process “cumbersome”….

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25. “Under the scheme every producer based in Scotland will have to add a 20p to every product that they make before it is sold anywhere in the country.
    It will then be charged to the retailer who will in turn bill the consumer.
    In order to recoup this money people need to take the empty bottles or cans to a reverse vending machine in a supermarket or designated return point.

    Dougal Sharp, founder of Innis & Gunn, told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme there would be an additional 10p to 20p in admin costs per product associated with the scheme.
    Put together that could mean consumers face paying an additional £1.60 for a four-pack of the company’s craft beer and £4 for a 10-pack.”

    Not sure what figure is nearest, but the “bill the consumer pays” will be eyewatering.

    “empty bottles or cans to a reverse vending machine in a supermarket or designated return point”
    had to look up https://www.eco-vend.com/2021/05/25/st-georges-school-install-an-ecovend-machine/

    ps – many years ago in Scotland at least, if you took your empty glass bottles (pop only?) back to a shop to be reused you got a few pennies.

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26. “Scotland will miss heat pump targets claims WWFScotland will miss heat pump targets claims WWF”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64674520

    Scotland will fall “significantly short” of its target for decarbonising heating in homes, a new report warns.

    Environmental campaigners WWF Scotland said a faster rollout of heat pumps could lower energy bills and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

    The heating of homes is the fourth-largest cause of emissions.

    Zero Carbon Buildings Minister Patrick Harvie said the government’s strategy sets a hugely ambitious vision to cut carbon across Scotland’s homes.

    Scotland has pledged to become net zero by 2045, meaning its contribution to climate change will have ended by then.

    As part of that target, the Scottish government is aiming to remove fossil fuels from heating in more than a million homes by 2030…

    There is some sense available from the BBC correspondent’s analysis:

    Heat pumps are the quickest solution for domestic heating but they are not cheap, starting at about £12,000 per household but reduced to £4,500 with government grants.

    Costs are falling but that’s still an eye-watering amount for many and they’re still expensive to run, requiring huge amounts of currently expensive electricity….

    Government grants, of course, don’t fall off a magic money tree – we all pay for them. As for WWFScotland, what are they doing interfering in this? And “could” lower energy bills, eh? There’s that weasel word again, and even the BBC (as quoted above) seem to dubious regarding that claim. And if any poor saps put in heat pumps only to have their electricity knocked off by Storm Otto, well good luck with that.

    By the way, does the SNP/Green government in Scotland ever hit any of their self-imposed targets?

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27. “Glasgow city council spends £3k a week hiring vans at eleventh hour to comply with LEZ
    Hundreds of vehicles belonging to the SNP-run local authority are not compliant with the controversial low emissions zone – so it is simply spending taxpayers’ cash to hire new motors instead”

    https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-city-council-spends-3k-30424575

    That report is about 6 weeks old. Today the Scottish Daily Mail has an update, visible by visiting the BBC website’s summary of Scotland’s papers:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66562689

    It relates to the introduction of Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ), which was introduced in July by Glasgow City Council. The paper reports the scheme has been called a “costly shambles” after the council spent £100,000 hiring LEZ compliant vehicles. Similar schemes are set to be rolled out in Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh next year, the paper adds.

    The BBC summary (quoted just above) manages to minimise the cost and incompetence. Those £100,000 hire charges were allegedly incurred in a single month, for 131 vehicles.

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28. The BBC has the story now:

    “Glasgow council spends £100,000 to hire LEZ-compliant vehicles”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-66567690

    Glasgow City Council has spent almost £100,000 to hire vehicles to replace parts of its fleet that do not comply with its low-emission zone (LEZ).

    Figures also reveal the council was fined several times because its vehicles breached the rules.

    The LEZ launched in June in a bid to improve air quality in the city centre.

    The SNP-run council said the cost was mitigated by taking older vehicles out of service. The Tories said the rental outlay was “farcical”.

    The LEZ covers an area from the M8 motorway to the north and west of Glasgow, the River Clyde to the south, and the Saltmarket/High Street to the east.

    In response to a freedom of information request, the council said that between 12 June and 14 July it had spent £95,344 hiring 131 vehicles to cover fleet vehicles that do not meet LEZ standards.

    This included two eight-tonne DAF trucks, a Skyking cherry picker, a Mercedes refrigeration van, 52 Ford Transit vans and 22 Vauxhall Corsa cars.

    The council said some of the 131 vehicles were hired to replace older non-compliant parts of the fleet that were earmarked for removal as part of a planned process, rather than specifically because they were required in the LEZ zone.

    It said £74,128 was spent in the two months from 1 June on hiring 50 vehicles for LEZ compliance purposes.

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29. Delusional!

    “Humza Yousaf: Scotland can lead world in climate crisis”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-66842054

    Scotland will transition from Europe’s oil and gas capital to its net-zero capital as it provides “moral leadership” on the climate crisis, Humza Yousaf has claimed.

    The first minister said his government was “putting money where our mouth is” during a speech at a New York Climate Week event.

    He announced funding for countries worst affected by climate change.

    Mr Yousaf was the keynote speaker at an event on “financing climate justice”.

    He warned countries in the global south who had contributed least to global CO2 emissions were bearing the brunt of the climate emergency.

    “We are collectively guilty of catastrophic negligence and our children have every right to be angry and they have every right, quite frankly, not to forgive us if we do not step up,” the SNP leader said.

    He announced an extra £800,000 of funding, in partnership with the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, to help the victims of Storm Freddy in Malawi.

    The first minister also said the government would partner with the Climate Justice Resilience Fund to deliver £5m for a non-economic loss and damage programme.

    A further £1m is to be provided to address loss and damage through the Humanitarian Emergency Fund….

    He might like to ponder the fact that China’s daily GHG emissions broadly equate to Scotland’s annual emissions.

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30. “SNP-Green Government poised to delay climate change plan”

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23905821.snp-green-government-poised-delay-climate-change-plan/

    SNP ministers are poised to delay their crucial updated climate change plan – adding to fears that Scotland is off track in hitting its ambitious legal emissions reduction targets.

    The Scottish Government is due to publish its updated blueprint to reduce harmful emissions by the end of the month, but ministers are set to delay the publication of the plan into next year amid Rishi Sunak rolling back a series of UK-wide net zero policies.

    The targets (more ambitious than those set out in the UK Climate Change, naturally) are unachievable, and always have been. No doubt when this becomes apparent, it will be Westminster’s fault.

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31. Said it before, but a target means that’s what you aim for, the Bullseye best result, but any hit on target counts, but most times Pols seem to aim for the stars with a broken bow.

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32. The BBC has the story now:

    “Watchdog criticises Scottish climate report delay”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-67345011

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33. “Ministers downgrade Scottish offshore energy projection”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67396526

    The Scottish government has been accused of a lack of transparency over the country’s renewable offshore power potential.

    Ministers used a letter to a Holyrood committee to downgrade Scotland’s projected share of Europe’s offshore energy capacity.

    For years, ministers said Scotland had 25% of that capacity but new figures suggest it is around 9%.

    The Scottish Tories said ministers showed a “contempt for transparency.”

    The Scottish government said the previous statistic was “understood to be accurate” at the time, but a new analysis had since been carried out….

    Except, if I understand it correctly, isn’t true. The figure has long been known to be inaccurate. Meanwhile:

    “Scottish Government slammed on freedom of information”

    https://theferret.scot/scottish-government-freedom-of-information/

    Scottish Government delays in responding to freedom of information (FoI) requests have been condemned as “extremely disappointing and wholly unacceptable”.

    The outgoing Scottish Information Commissioner, Daren Fitzhenry, described government FoI procedures as “not fit for purpose” in a damning final report on his six-year investigation into the government’s FoI performance.

    His report revealed that there was a backlog of 117 FoI cases in May 2023, that some government FoI responses had been delayed for over two years, and that the role of political advisers was “ambiguous” and “anonymous”.

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34. The latest Scottish nonsense, from the BBC, with additional comments from Paul Homewood:

    Cost of new greener Elgin procurator fiscal office rises to £3.5m

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35. More on the hybrid ferry that runs on diesel:

    “Nicola Sturgeon’s flagship hybrid ferry now only runs on diesel as battery too expensive to fix”

    https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/hybrid-electric-ferry-nicola-sturgeon-31823730

    “…the battery broke on the £10million vessel in September and bosses have admitted it could be April 2025 before it’s fixed because the replacement part is no longer available.

    It’s now the third problem ferry in Scotland after the controversy over the MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa which are six years overdue and £260million over budget.

    Alfred Baird, formerly professor of maritime business and director of the Maritime Transport Research Group at Edinburgh Napier University, said he was consulted on the hybrid ferries but advised against them. He claims officials at the Scottish Government then complained to his bosses about his work and tried to stop his research being published.”

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36. “Climate change target warning over forestry cuts”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67980671

    Scotland’s forestry sectors have warned budget cuts could “torpedo” climate change targets for new woodland.

    Woodland Trust Scotland and an industry body said a grant scheme to encourage tree planting was facing cuts of more than £32m or 41%.

    Ministers have missed all but one of their last six annual targets for creating new woodland, which helps absorb greenhouse gases,

    The Scottish government said the UK budget had forced it to make cuts.

    Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon admitted they would fail to meet next year’s target but said that Scotland would still be creating more woodland than the rest of the UK combined.

    Increasing the amount of woodland is an important part of Scotland’s aim to become net zero by 2045.

    Forestry and conservation group projects have been financially supported by the Forestry Grant Scheme.

    Industry body Confor and Woodland Trust Scotland said 14,000 hectares of new woodland had been approved for creation this year, but that the budget allocation would only support the planting of 9,000 hectares….

    Context:

    “Scotland cuts down 16 million trees to develop wind farms”

    https://dailytimes.com.pk/1115858/scotland-cuts-down-16-million-trees-to-develop-wind-farms/

    Almost 16 million trees have been chopped down on publicly owned land in Scotland to make way for wind farms, an SNP minister had admitted amid a major drive to erect more turbines. According to the Telegraph report, Mairi Gougeon, the Rural Affairs Secretary, estimated that 15.7 million trees had been felled since 2000 in land that is currently managed by agency Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) – the equivalent of more than 1,700 per day. She insisted there was a planning presumption in favour of protecting woodland and wind farm developers would be expected to undertake “compensatory planting elsewhere”….

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37. It looks like the Ferries disaster comedy is trying to break new records this year ! There are now 4 major ferries out of service and 2 ferry berths. 2 ferries require rusty steel replacement so extending yearly maintenance, 1 is in Liverpool in dry dock no reports on progress and MV Alfred (on hire from Orkney at £1m/month) is now out of work as the berth it uses is closed after a dive inspection revealed major issues with structure, the ferry is too big for most of the ports, why did they not take the other ferry which is slightly smaller and fits in more of the island berths. The other berth is Port Ellen on Islay closed for maintenance requiring passenger transit to Port Askaig by taxi, there are usually 2 ferries on this route 1 is covering on the Outer Hebrides routes . The 2 ferries being built in Glasgow are STILL in the construction stages with further delays on the cards. OMG what next for the people living on the islands, it is bad enough at this time of year with storm this and storm that cancelling crossings, but if there are not enough boats to maintain a good service ??

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38. I think (I certainly hope) that the SNP/Green coalition of chaos is doomed at the next election, and not before time.

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39. Unfortunately this is behind a paywall, but the headline says it all:

    “‘Greenwashing’: The ‘farce’ of ScotGov’s eco-friendly fiasco ferries”

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24078151.greenwashing-farce-scotgovs-eco-friendly-fiasco-ferries/

    Still, the first couple of paragraphs are visible to non-subscribers, and they tell enough of the story to get the idea:

    The green credentials of the vessels at the centre of Scotland’s ferry fiasco have been thrown into disarray as experts predict they will be expected to produce far more dangerous emissions than if they ran on pure fossil diesel.

    Details of the lack of green credentials of the ferries have emerged as concerns have been raised that ministers have admitted they are unable to check on the levels of greenhouse gases that will be pumped into the atmosphere by the much delayed and over-budget vessels….

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40. Yes saw that, the SNP / CMAL ” Ferry replacement plan ” involved cascading out the hybrids to short routes and replacing with fully electric vessels and eventually on all of the shorter routes. They will probably claim the net reduction in gases offsets the dual fuels. BUT all 5 vessels on order from Turkey are diesel, the first may even arrive before the second dual fuel from Glasgow. The BBC will have fun with this !

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41. This is probably my most Victor Meldrew moment when I read this.
    ” It became apparent later that the yard offered CMAL a deal for three such ships for the price of two – a deal which would have seen three sisters built for less than £90m – a deal which would have allowed for major shuffling among the fleet, allow for great improvements across the network both in terms of capacity and sailing frequency and allow for the disposal of some of the oldest vessels in the fleet – a deal was rejected by the powers-that-be.” The ship is the Loch Seaforth (built in Germany) which runs from Ullapool to Stornoway, it is the largest and fastest in the fleet making 3 trips per day including a night freight run. During the summer the ship is virtually fully booked every sailing !

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42. Behind a paywall, unfortunately:

    “Anger as ferry fiasco costs rise after ’emerging’ green fuel risk”

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24093757.anger-ferry-fiasco-costs-rise-emerging-green-fuel-risk/

    A new wave of delays to the two vessels at the centre of Scotland’s ferry fiasco have been signalled because of an “emerging risk” over the use of so-called green fuel.

    Ministers have been told by Ferguson Marine that there have been delays to the supply of vital piping systems that should have been taken place at the end of 2023….

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43. The ”ferry fiasco” continues OMG , FFS. CALMAC are now in the position of 1 nearly 40 y.o. ferry to support all the Islands from South Uist to Harris while waiting for the other ferries to return from extended overhaul. The support ferry on hire from Orkney is also leaving service for yearly overhaul. How the – does this happen. It is not only the lifeline requirement for people on the islands it is also the freight services supplying food to the shops etc , there are already pictures of empty shelves. We
    now also have an argument brewing over Ardrossan port is not suitable for the 2 delayed ferries

    LikeLiked by 1 person

44. What a misleading and ridiculous headline:

    “Scotland will bear the brunt of climate costs”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj7vz8vjgrno

    “The financial burden of tackling climate change will fall disproportionately on Scotland, the financial watchdog has warned.

    The Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) said it would cost the public sector £1.1bn a year – 18% of the Scottish government’s capital budget.

    Environmentalists and economists say this is still cheaper than doing nothing – which would result in more having to be spent on the impacts of climate change, such as flooding, in the long term.

    The Scottish government has already urged Westminster to provide more funding for important measures like tree planting.

    The £1.1bn bill relates to the commitment to reach “net-zero” in Scotland by 2045 and for the UK as a whole by 2050.

    That is the point where we will have reduced our planet warming greenhouse gas emissions close to zero, with the remainder being offset by things like trees which absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

    The figures do not include spending on adapting to more extreme weather events by building more flood defences, for example.

    SFC said the financial burden may fall disproportionately on the Scottish government because a greater share of the UK’s overall commitments fall to tree planting in Scotland.

    That equates to £207 per person in Scotland compared with £149 in the rest of the UK…”

    To be clear, these aren’t “climate costs”, in the sense of problems caused by a changing climate, the costs of adapting to it, etc. No, these are the costs imposed on the people of UK (and apparently disproportionately, on the people of Scotland) by dogma-ruled politicians and those “advising” them. To achieve what? None of it will make any measurable difference to the climate.

    18% of the Scottish government’s capital budget, for goodness sake. I am starting to think that these people are mad.

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45. Irony is alive and well in Scotland, it seems:

    “Scottish grouse moors to be licensed in attempt to protect birds of prey

    MSPs vote for controls as it emerges another hen harrier has vanished in area ‘notorious’ for persecution”

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/21/scottish-grouse-moors-licensed-msps-vote

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46. “…Jim Fairlie, the rural affairs minister and a former hill farmer, said its measures “would protect our wildlife, support our rural businesses and protect our iconic moorlands”. It would “end the stain and the shame of raptor persecution and [allow] animal welfare to be at the forefront of responsible land management”…”

    Wind farms, anyone?

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47. Mark – Missed you 14 MAR comment on that BBC article by Kevin Keane BBC Scotland’s environment correspondent.

    Partial quote –

    “The £1.1bn bill relates to the commitment to reach “net-zero” in Scotland by 2045 and for the UK as a whole by 2050.

    That is the point where we will have reduced our planet warming greenhouse gas emissions close to zero, with the remainder being offset by things like trees which absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”

    The “We” being the UK only I take it. You have to laugh or you’d cry at the madness.

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48. “Scotland to ditch key climate change target”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-68841141

    “The Scottish government is to ditch its flagship target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030.

    The final goal of reaching “net-zero” by 2045 will remain, but BBC Scotland News understands the government’s annual climate targets could also go.

    Ministers have missed eight of the last 12 annual targets and have been told that reaching the 75% milestone by the end of the decade is unachievable.

    A statement is expected at Holyrood on Thursday afternoon…”

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49. “Farewell to Scotland’s coalition of cranks”

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/04/25/farewell-to-scotlands-coalition-of-cranks/

    LikeLiked by 1 person

50. “Scotland loses £250bn+ in wealth as overseas interests plunder nation”

    https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24282417.scotland-loses-250bn-wealth-overseas-interests-plunder-nation/

    “One study shows that Scotland outpaced both the UK and Europe on foreign investment in 2022 for the second year in a row – by securing a record 126 inward investment projects in 2022 – up 3.3% on 2021’s 122 projects.

    But the concern is that foreign investment requires a return – meaning profit extraction from the country.

    It comes as foreign governments including China and overseas firms are known to have major financial interests in Scotland’s offshore wind farm revolution.”

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51. THE SNP’s delayed ferries have been hit by a new farce after it emerged that their special ‘green’ fuel must be imported 8,000 miles from Qatar then driven thousands more miles each year by road.The vessels were designed with ‘dual-fuel’ engines which can run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), designed to cut emissions, as well as conventional diesel.However, eight years after work began on the ferries Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, the Scottish Government says there is no clear date for when LNG tanks, known as a bunkering facility, will ever be built here.As a result, LNG must be imported in diesel-powered ships from Qatar to a terminal in England and then driven 450 miles to Scotland.It is feared that will lead to emissions far in excess of savings generated by the supposedly environmentally friendly engines.

    [No link, picked up from Press reader].

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