Getting to the CopenÂhagen climate change summit on time, while retaining your green credentials, is proving a more onerous task than many MSPs had anticipated.
The Scottish Parliament’s environment committee is divided over travel options to the Danish capital, with advocates of environmentally friendly rail journeys lining up against those arguing that the two-day journey and £500
extra cost is too much to bear.
Patrick Harvie, the Green Party leader and convener of the committee, is said to have pushed for the three members who will attend Copenhagen to travel by train – a journey that takes at least 24 hours from Edinburgh and costs more than £600.
But he has faced opposition, not so much on ideological grounds but on the logistical implications of adding two days to the trip.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Lothians MSP who has a 16-month-old daughter, is said to be incensed at extending the time she would be away from her family.
There are also concerns the delegation would not be back in Scotland in time to vote on any decisions made in Copenhagen, should they need to be discussed later in the week.
A spokesman for the Scottish Parliament said: “The committee’s proposal to send a small delegation to this important climate change conference in Copenhagen is still being considered by the parliamentary authorities.
“The committee has tried to take into account the costs and demands on members’ time, but also the need to reduce the impact of travel by using alternatives to aviation where possible.”
