31 May 2012 

In a few weeks’ time the Rio earth summit on sustainable development takes place with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups coming together to tackle poverty, inequality and environmental protection.

During a debate on the issue in the Scottish Parliament last night (30 May) Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian, made the following remarks:

The first Rio earth summit was a milestone in global environmental talks. In comparison with recent climate talks, the agreements made at Rio were extensive. Rio established the term “sustainable development” in the political vocabulary. The Rio declaration defined the polluter-pays principle and the precautionary principle, and recognised that women and indigenous peoples have vital roles to play in creating solutions to environmental crises.

Rio also produced agreements on the agenda 21 action plan and the forest principles, and gave us the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international environmental treaty that led to the Kyoto protocol’s mandatory emission limits and the framework for all future global climate negotiations.

However, all has not been rosy since Rio. Global carbon emissions have continued to rise and the efforts to replace Kyoto have become increasingly fraught. Millennium development goals on poverty will be missed and the economic model, then and now, is based on debt-fuelled overconsumption and is hard-wired for vast levels of poverty and inequality.

Twenty years on from Rio number 1, I welcome the seven issues that are mentioned in the motion—there are accords, action plans and agreements that we can have for decent jobs, low-carbon energy, food security, water scarcity and all the others—but the point that I want to make is that they all have their root causes in our choice of economic system and our approach to economic governance.

The green economy is one of the key themes at Rio+20. For years, Greens and many others have called for a transition to a low-carbon economy within ecological boundaries. However, the definition of a green economy is the debate that is raging in the lead-up to Rio. The UK’s position is effectively that our economic activities trash the planet because we do not ascribe a financial value to the beneficial functions of nature, such as clean air, fresh water and healthy soils. That argument proposes the commodification of services that a healthy ecosystem provides for free.

The argument goes that by costing ecological services or monetising the right to pollute, and bringing those into a market, we can continue with something very similar to business as usual but live within ecological limits. There are many who oppose that false green economy. The corporate green economy would lead to the privatisation of land and nature by multinational companies and take control of the resources further away from the communities that depend on them, instead of contributing to sustainable development and economic justice.

The World Development Movement has called for a “real green economy, not a Trojan horse for bankers”.

A true green economy would embrace economic justice—the right of poor communities to determine their path out of poverty, and an end to harmful policies that put profit before people and the environment. A true green economy would replace our focus on economic growth and unsustainable consumption with a focus on meeting everyone’s needs in a truly sustainable manner. In Scotland, there are similar debates over what is meant by “sustainable economic development”.

I wish the minister and all those who are attending the Rio+20 conference every success in working for the positive outcome that is essential. I ask the minister—following his attendance at the summit—to seek to find Government time for a full debate on the summit and its outcome.

29 May 2012

Scottish Greens say they are disappointed but not surprised their proposed contribution to tomorrow’s Scottish Parliament debate on the Queen’s jubilee has been rejected by the Presiding Officer.

An amendment to the government motion was put forward this afternoon by Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow, expressing gratitude to Mrs Windsor for her sixty years of service but also affirming respect for all other public sector workers.

The amendment called for a debate about the head of state in an independent Scotland.

The government motion lodged by Alex Salmond is supported by the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat party leaders.

Green MSP Patrick Harvie said:

“Our intention wasn’t to rain on her majesty’s parade but rather to spark debate about the sort of head of state Scotland should have in the future. Sticking to the hereditary principle in the twenty-first century is bound to seem bizarre to many Scots and it’s a shame that won’t be reflected.

“The other parties can doff their caps to royalty if they want. Greens are much more likely to break out bunting and cake for the low paid public sector workers and local activists who bring our communities together.”

29 May 2012 

The Scottish and UK Governments are under fire from the Scottish Greens for backing big businesses that guzzle oil and gas.

SNP First Minister Alex Salmond and Liberal Democrat Scots Secretary Michael Moore are accused of being “beholden” to firms whose love of fossil fuels threatens future energy security and damages the environment.

Today Mr Salmond is helping the oil and gas industry launch its latest strategy while Mr Moore is helping publicise Aggreko which specialises in temporary diesel and gas power units.

Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow, said:

“At a critical time for Scotland, as we begin to debate the progressive future we could have, we see both the Scottish Government and Westminster Coalition stuck in the past. Ministers are beholden to the fossil fuels we need to move away from and are failing to challenge the big businesses involved.

“Ministers should be pursuing Scotland’s renewable energy potential with vigour, delivering new jobs and public benefits into the bargain. Instead they are patting on the back corporations that are cashing in on our addiction to oil and gas.

“How can we take seriously either of these governments’ claims about tackling climate change or energy security when they continue to pursue business as usual?

“We know the damage fossil fuels do to our environment so we should be leaving them under the seabed until we know we can safely capture and store the greenhouse gases they generate. And we know fossil fuels are running out so we should be transforming our energy system to harness our natural resources, giving public and community bodies a leading role.”

Increasing interest in drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea comes as the number of pollution incidents rises. There were 69 oil and chemical spillages in the first three months of this year, with the number of reported chemical leaks more than doubling since 2005.

The chief executive of Aggreko, Rupert Soames, recently enjoyed a £7million bonus and a pay rise that takes his annual salary to £1.39m. Mr Soames believes Scotland’s renewable energy targets are unrealistic despite studies to the contrary.

24 May 2012

The Scottish Greens have welcomed the passing of the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) Bill but have repeated their call for bolder reform of the drinks industry to tip the balance away from big brands that rely on volume sales.

In the last session of Parliament, the Greens were the only opposition party to support the Government’s minimum pricing proposals.

Green MSP Alison Johnstone said:

“Minimum pricing won’t be a game-changer like the smoking ban, but it is an important tool. I’m glad to see that some of the parties that previously formed an unholy alliance to defeat these plans have seen sense and now recognise the need to crack down on excessively cheap alcohol. The public will not want to see supermarkets raking in extra profits from minimum pricing and we continue back Labour’s call for action to address this.

“Now we must capitalise on the high profile of this issue among parties and beef up the rest of our approach to Scotland’s drink industry, with bold action on advertising and on support for the growing number of small, independent brewers. If we did more to back those whose focus is quality over quantity then we will see benefits for both our health and local economies.”

22 May 2012 

The UK Government’s decision to go ahead with a replacement of Trident nuclear-armed submarines has been described as ‘morally bankrupt’ by Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow.

The Ministry of Defence has placed £350 million of contracts for the design work.

The UK’s fleet of four nuclear-armed submarines is based at Faslane on the Clyde. Each has sixteen missiles with a range of up to 7,500 miles and a destructive power said to be the equivalent of eight Hiroshimas.

Patrick Harvie said:

“Spending hundreds of millions of pounds on a new generation of nuclear weaponry while slashing welfare for some of the most vulnerable people in the country is a morally bankrupt act.

“To do so when Scots are on the verge of making a decision on independence simply defies any sense. If Scotland votes Yes, the MOD may be forced to recognise that Trident has no other home than Faslane, and once that is no longer available it will finally be time to set aside this cold war era mentality.

“We should focus on the real threats to human security, like the impact of climate change on food, water and energy, or the instability which comes with global poverty and injustice.”

21 May 2012 

Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow, is concerned at the proposal by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) to ban photography and the making of audio or visual recordings on any part of the Glasgow subway, on penalty of a fine of up to £1,000.

Here he is capturing a quick snap of the famous Clockwork Orange while he still can.

Patrick has submitted this motion to the Scottish Parliament that other MSPs are invited to endorse.

And you can find more about the issue by visiting this site.