EDINBURGH — As Glasgow prepares for the U.N.’s landmark climate summit to come to town, the troubled relationship between the Scottish and U.K. governments is set to take some of the spotlight on the world stage.
Though COP26 is officially being hosted by Boris Johnson’s U.K. government, its base in Scotland’s largest city means the pro-independence SNP and their leader Nicola Sturgeon are bound to feature prominently.
Sturgeon’s SNP-led Scottish government has tried to present itself as more ambitious on climate change compared to the Westminster government — setting a target of reaching net-zero emissions by 2045, rather than the U.K.’s target of 2050. The SNP also recently agreed a power-sharing deal with the Scottish Green Party that marked the first time a Green party has entered government in the U.K.
According to polling conducted for POLITICO in Scotland by Redfield and Wilton Strategies, the SNP strategy has had some success getting across their green message.
Of the 68 percent of respondents who understand the net-zero target, just 28 percent are confident the U.K. will reach net-zero by 2050. However, this rises to 42 percent who believe Scotland will reach that same target, showing that many think their environment would be better served if the Scottish government were fully in charge of their own goals.
Overall, Scots have little confidence that Scotland (43 percent not confident), the U.K. (58 percent) or the world (73 percent) will reach this target.
The figure gets worse when Scots are prompted on the extraction of oil and gas from North Sea oil and gas fields.
Environmental campaigners have raised concerns about U.K. ministers’ support for new oil and gas developments and licenses granted for further extraction under the North Sea, including plans to allow new exploration at the Cambo oilfield near Shetland.
Asked if they believe the U.K. could meet its net-zero target if the extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea continued, just one-in-five Scots answered ‘Yes’. Forty-eight percent said they believe the U.K. would miss the target, with a further 32 percent who don’t know.
The Cambo oilfield in particular has threatened to drive a wedge between the governing SNP and Scottish Greens. Though the decision to award a license for exploration is down to the U.K. government, climate activists had urged Sturgeon to join the Scottish Greens in calling for Westminster to revoke the license granted for the Cambo oilfield. Sturgeon eventually called on Johnson to “reassess” the permit.
Scots are broadly in favor of the position taken by Sturgeon’s governing junior partners. Forty percent of poll respondents support the U.K. government banning the issuance of further oil and gas extraction licenses, compared to just 21 percent who oppose.
Excluding those who don’t take a position either way, this leaves a clear majority (66 percent to 34 percent) of Scots in favor of Westminster U-turning and not issuing licenses like the one granted to the Cambo development.
There is more unity to be found on the COP26 summit itself, which Scots have mostly heard of (77 percent to 23 percent) and think should go ahead (53 percent to 32 percent).
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Source: Politico
