Introduction to Climate Change Mitigation | Dave Reay | Scotland's Climate Assembly

On Sunday 8th November 2020, Scotland's Climate Assembly heard from Dave Reay, Professor of Carbon Management and Education at the University of Edinburgh, who explained how we can mitigate climate change by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

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Scotland’s Climate Assembly brought together people from all walks of life, from across Scotland, to learn about and discuss how we can tackle climate change. A mini-Scotland with 81 innovative, ambitious and realistic recommendations to tackle the climate emergency.

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Introduction to Climate Change Mitigation | Dave Reay | Scotland's Climate Assembly

[derekpanton]

Couldn't agree more with comments above - very disappointing! Little sense of the scale and depth of the transformations needed. Highlighting micro-solutions, whilst ignoring the deep underlying root causes and real system changes required, cannot result in identification of solutions for Scotland that will be effective and fair. Gave the impression that tinkering around the edges and small scale tech would get us to Zero Carbon, when clearly we need scale, depth and urgency. We know the pursuit of continual growth on a planet with finite resources cannot be justified in a Climate Emergency, but GDP, economic systems, equity, just transition, etc need to be on the agenda. Optimistic, though, that this was only a Meeting 1 overview and that switched on Citizens Assembly participants will see beyond the simplistic agenda and start raising deeper system causes and solutions! Huge belief in the assembly process, though, and people's ability to see beyond the controlled agenda.

[victorl]

Most of global emissions comes from burning fossil fuels, but Oil & Gas industry is a huge empire, using their economic power to influence government and academic institutions. Participants on this Assembly should be given a presentation first of all on how coorporative lobbies influence policymakers and other institutions. It seems this presentation aims to shift the focus from the real source of the problem and confuse rather than help to understand the truth.

[andrewpaulmather]

I'm very concerned about your introduction of climate heroes. Highlighting individual responses misses out the systemic problems we face. It shifts the focus away from the fossil fuel industry who has been complicit in perpetuating our use of fossil fuels, and shifts focus away from the systemic causes of the crisis such as our current economic system. In addition using examples of white saviours is very colonial. I'm not sure how the delegates are going to get a balanced evidence base if this is representative of the information they are going to get.

[lesliemartin]

It is not clear where on your pie chart you have included the pollution and ecological destruction caused by extracting the fossil fuels, before it is even used. Worst extraction processes are tar sands and fracking. Have you included all the emissions released during these processes?
Also, you mentioned Carbon Capture., which remains a pilot scheme at present as I understand it. It is disingenuous to imply this will help us tackle the climate emergency.
You talk about the items we consume, and imply we need to buy less..Of course we need to buy less, but global corporations raision d’etre is to ensure we keep consuming. Since most of the consumer products we are encouraged to buy contain elements that need to be extracted from the earth - mainly fossil fuels - these global corporations have no intention of stopping production. Instead of focussing on consumers, the producers need to be subject to strict regulation. This means we need an end to infinite growth, and we need to stop using GDP as a measure of success.

[shirleycusack]

This presentation highlights carbon capture first, then says that solar panels as if mainly for sunny places and brief mention of other renewables - vastly undermining the importance of these things and then back again to capturing methane. Allof these things are not equal. A very disappointing presentation. Could you find someone with a more positive approach to action and less focus on heroes who are close to his heart! It's not about individuals but being part of a systemic local, national and international action for transformational change.