LIKE John Aberdein (Letters, September 24), I want effective steps to combat climate change and I would welcome the adoption of 2025 as a target date for net zero emissions for Scotland. What I query is his emphasis on a national Citizens Assembly.
It is surely the task of government, supported by the civil service, to put together those policies which would enable such a target to be achieved. If Holyrood is convinced that climate change is indeed a national emergency, then working out what needs to be done should be a top priority.
Why should any government commit itself in advance to implementing whatever recommendations come out of a Citizens Assembly? It could be that the assembly recommendations are inadequate to avert irreversible climate change (as was the case I believe with the Irish Citizens Assembly on climate change). Citizens Assembly (CA) members are not democratically accountable. Another criticism of the Irish assembly was that people were given insufficient time to engage with complex issues. On the other hand, those who attended the assembly learned a great deal about climate change, many were enthused to take further action and the report of the CA has helped to move public opinion to be more receptive to the major changes that need to be made if climate chaos is to be averted.
An assessment by some academics at Dublin City University also points to the value of feeding in any recommendations from a CA to a parliamentary committee. I would not see the issue as being either a Citizens Assembly or Holyrood – rather both can work together but the final say should be with parliament.
And I would not want discussions about the appropriate procedures to overshadow the desperate need to act now on climate change.
David Mumford (The Rev), Dunbar.
TINA Wilson (Letters, September 24) seeks an expert who can tell her what the ideal global mean surface temperature ought to be. Perhaps The Prince of Wales could help, having warned Commonwealth leaders that they have only 18 months to "decide our ability to keep climate change to sustainable levels". HRH would appear to have the answer to the question of sustainability.
Margaret Forbes's prediction that we only have (if we are lucky) 10 years to stop our own destruction reminds me that 10 years ago, HRH announced that the world had 100 months left to save the planet from " irretrievable climate collapse". His deadline of 2017 has come and gone. What new deadlines await us?
David Miller, Milngavie.
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