Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, has issued a rallying call to politicians across the political spectrum to renew their commitment to fighting climate change, warning that the global climate crisis remains “one of the greatest challenges of our time”.
Delivering a keynote speech in Glasgow on Friday to a gathering of business leaders, social enterprise figures, and young climate activists, Mr Swinney sharply criticised what he described as “anti-science climate denial” and cautioned against the growing influence of populist rhetoric in British politics.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) leader condemned Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, for fuelling scepticism and delay. “As populist leaders like Nigel Farage trade the hope and health of future generations for short-term gains,” Mr Swinney said, “they push back against the very idea of a climate crisis.”
His comments come in the wake of controversial remarks made by Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice during a visit to Scotland earlier this year. Echoing the language of former US President Donald Trump, Mr Tice urged Scotland to abandon its environmental commitments, declaring: “Drill, Scotland, drill” and labelling net zero targets “net stupid zero”.
Mr Swinney described such rhetoric as “dangerous” and urged the public and politicians alike not to be distracted by denialism masquerading as economic pragmatism. “We cannot allow ourselves to be side-tracked,” he warned. “In the face of anti-science climate denial, it is for all parties to recommit ourselves to tackling one of the great global issues of our time – and ignore the dangerous rhetoric growing on the right.”
The First Minister reaffirmed Scotland’s leading role in climate action, highlighting the country’s statutory commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2045 – five years ahead of the UK Government’s 2050 target. He emphasised that the goal of becoming a “net zero, nature positive nation” was both necessary and achievable, even as global pressures mount.
“Our goal is that Scotland’s contribution to climate change will end, definitively, within one generation,” Mr Swinney said. “But this is taking place amidst an increasingly challenging global context.”
He noted the rising frequency of extreme weather events as clear evidence of the worsening climate crisis, pointing to an increase in named storms across Scotland and citing recent data from the United Nations World Meteorological Organisation, which recorded over 800,000 people displaced worldwide due to weather-related disasters last year alone.
Mr Swinney also took aim at Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who recently claimed that meeting Britain’s 2050 net zero goal was “impossible”. Such statements, the First Minister argued, directly undermine the scientific consensus and political urgency required to address the crisis.
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In a message of international solidarity, Mr Swinney pledged that Scotland would continue to support nations in the global south disproportionately affected by climate change. “There is a growing risk that momentum on climate finance for vulnerable nations could be sidelined – just when it is most needed,” he said. “Scotland may not have a formal negotiating role in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, but we have never been a nation content to stay on the sidelines.”
He added: “We stand in solidarity with those in the global south, and we are championing climate justice on the world stage. We will continue to play our part.”
Mr Swinney concluded with a challenge to all parties and sectors of society: “Now is not the time for backtracking or blame. Now is the time for bold, united action in the face of a crisis that threatens every community on this planet.”
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