Scotland’s Role? leadership options for the Scottish Government at COP26
In the face of an escalating climate emergency, a sixth extinction, and rising inequality, 2020 is a defining year for the world. The three main pillars of multilateralism aimed at solving the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis, and ending extreme poverty all face litmus test moments that could give us the political impetus needed to make the twenties the decade of delivery, or see efforts fall at the first hurdle.
The Paris agreement was hailed as a turning point away from fossil fuels, but in the 5 years since, carbon emissions are still rising. We need an injection of speed into the low carbon race, and as a nation with a gold standard climate law, Scotland can be the pacesetter.
Progress will be tricky to ascertain. Powerful activism from youth movements will mean COP26 will be expected to respond to the gravity of the science. But rising populism and a fraying of global bonds mean many governments will struggle in this task. And the US Presidential Election just 6 days before COP26 could make or break the multilateralism atmosphere in Glasgow.
Given this backdrop we cannot expect one voice alone to carry the day -- there has to be room for a chorus of leaders from unique and diverse backgrounds. Voices that can authentically show that while challenges remain and more must be done, from boardrooms to town halls, and classrooms, the world is getting going on climate.
Such a dynamic role isn’t always possible given the formalities the COP Presidency. But given Scotland’s climate ambitions, and ability to convene, supporting and conducting this chorus could be a well calibrated leadership role for the Scottish Government.
This would not be new. Every COP has had roles for alternative voices to the official COP President -- the UNFCCC has a rich history of hosts sharing responsibilities and roles. From Fiji and Germany co-hosting in 2017, to the ‘African COP’ in Durban, to the NAZCA Portal in Lima which gave stakeholders beyond official UN parties a platform to take climate action.
This is the challenge of COP26. To be clear-eyed about the distance left ahead, whilst ensuring the pace is increased - below are some options that could help make the Scottish Government a COP26 pacesetter.
The North Star Observatory - Paris gave the world a Long Term Goal of Net Zero, but no clear deadline to get there, in Glasgow, the Scottish government can help make that North Star shine more brightly. Sharing its experience from national law, and working with the likes of the Carbon Neutrality Coalition, the Climate Vulnerable Forum, the Scottish government could host workshops in 2020 inviting stakeholders to come to Scotland and observe first hand how to chart the right policy course forward. If in Glasgow, 1.5 and Net Zero before 2050, become the de facto leadership criterions of a new high ambition coalition of governments, businesses, and leaders -- it can send a powerful signal to the world about how to adequately benchmark climate ambition. Currently the Carbon Neutrality Coalition is chaired by New Zealand, and a joint advocacy effort by Prime Minister Ardern and First Minister Sturgeon could prove incredibly effective.
The Glasgow Nature Pact - in 2019 there’s been a massive upswell of interest on the biodiversity crisis and the role of nature as a solution to climate change. In 2020 via new commitments and mechanisms to protect nature -- the IUCN in June, COP15 of the CBD in China, etc -- there’s a chance to fuse together a new movement of indigenous peoples, countries, and non-state actors, to push the boundaries of possibility in the climate/nature spaces. One option for the Scottish government, who are already committed to ambitious Biodiversity targets, could be to use COP26 as a moment to ensure that Nature's role is understood, championed, and real. To achieve this, the government could spearhead a “Glasgow Nature Pact”. A new mechanism which socialises the importance of nature within the UNFCCC space, and add much needed definition to what constitutes a real “Nature Based solution” as opposed to an emissions accounting trick. A Glasgow Nature Pact could be developed to carry and cement targets and learnings from the IUCN and CBD into the climate world. This could give the Scottish Government a role to play in engaging with key stakeholders in the Nature space, from biodiverse countries and indigenous peoples, to land use industries. It could also make sense for Scotland to offer to host the Pre-Cop of the Convention of Biodiversity ahead of CBD COP15 in China in October. That way, the Scottish government would have a critical role to play in brokering this important space between two key UN conventions.
The New Lanark Just Transition Fund - Show don’t tell is a basic principle of creative writing. As the world moves to a Zero Carbon economy, climate advocates are writers of a future vision for the world, but we aren’t yet skilled at showing people what that future means to them. And if people can’t see how they will be included in the transition, they will reject it. That is why from Chile to France we’re seeing mass protests when governments grapple with climate action which doesn’t meet people where they are. But it is here that Scotland’s historic and current experience of transitions can give it a unique role in highlighting a different path. 28 miles south of Glasgow is the village of New Lanark which was built at the height of the industrial revolution. A UNESCO world heritage site, 200 years ago, the village offered the world a different vision of the industrial revolution, one where workers were valued beyond output and where groundbreaking policies and principles were born. From banning child labor, to creches for working mothers, and trade unions, many of the protections we have today in the workplace can be traced back to New Lanark. And that spirit is still present in Scotland today. It’s one of the few countries in the world with a Just Transition Commission that helps the government ensure the move to a Net Zero economy that is inclusive and follows the ILO’s just transition principles. This gives Scotland the legitimacy to work with the ILO, trade unions, other leading Just Transition countries such as Spain, and philanthropists to create a New Lanark Just Transition Fund. The Funds aim would be spread principles on the Just Transition globally, pull out and showcase the best learnings for the world, and arm the next generation of policy makers with the policies that deliver Net Zero, with the maximum support of citizens.
Regardless of what happens with politics in London, or indeed Washington, many citizens around the world will be looking to Scotland to show there’s still reasons to hope on climate change. And from engaging the insurance industry and the financial sector, to offering platforms for the voices of young people, there are many ways Scotland’s government can show the world we’ve not lost yet.