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Hutton expertise contributes to parliamentary discussion on Scotland’s plans to address climate change

Professor Deb Roberts
Professor Deb Roberts
"We welcome the opportunity to respond to Committee’s questions regarding the update of Scotland’s Climate Change Plan. Scotland currently faces not only a climate emergency but biodiversity emergency and it is vital that the interdependencies between these are recognised. The targets set in the Climate Change Plan update for the Scottish land use sectors are challenging and will require urgent and transformative changes in the way we manage and utilise our land"

Scotland's Climate Change Plan update was published on 16 December 2020 and is currently undergoing scrutiny from parliamentary committees. The update includes new targets for Scotland’s agriculture and forestry sectors and suggestions on how best Scotland can support a green recovery from COVID-19. As part of the process, the James Hutton Institute's Deputy Chief Executive, Professor Deb Roberts, gave evidence on behalf of SEFARI to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee.

During the discussion, Professor Roberts was joined by fellow experts from NFU Scotland, Scottish Environment LINK, Confor, NatureScot, Woodland Trust Scotland, Farming for 1.5°C and the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Roberts said: “We welcome the opportunity to respond to Committee’s questions regarding the update of Scotland’s Climate Change Plan. Scotland currently faces not only a climate emergency but biodiversity emergency and it is vital that the interdependencies between these are recognised.  The targets set in the Climate Change Plan update for the Scottish land use sectors are challenging and will require urgent and transformative changes in the way we manage and utilise our land.   Science has a key role to play in enabling and supporting the changes required, not only by developing of new technologies that reduce emissions and improve climate resilience, but through supporting their uptake and by monitoring and evaluating their impact. 

"We also observe the key role that the land use sectors have in supporting a green recovery and helping to maintain a working population in Scotland’s remote rural and island communities.”

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Printed from /news/hutton-expertise-contributes-parliamentary-discussion-scotland%E2%80%99s-plans-address-climate-change on 29/03/24 01:25:50 PM

The James Hutton Research Institute is the result of the merger in April 2011 of MLURI and SCRI. This merger formed a new powerhouse for research into food, land use, and climate change.