Last year Scottish ministers' ditched annual climate targets on the grounds that they were no longer achievable - due to lack of action to meet them, according to Friends of the Earth Scotland. Ministers have Abandoned a target to cut car miles by 20% by 2030. Dropped...
Highlands and Islands news (May)
The Highland Council Climate Change committee At the last meeting on 21 May, members reviewed progress on a feasibility study exploring the development of city-wide heat networks in Inverness. This forms a key part of the legally required Local Heat and Energy...
Highland Local Development Plan : your input needed
The Highland Council is preparing a new Local Development Plan, with the first stage being evidence gathering. Development Plans guide the use and development of land within the Highland Council area, and set out how places will change and adapt in the future, with a...
The Highland Council new Local Transport Strategy: consultation closes 3rd December
The council is developing its transport policy for the next 10 years up to 2035. The vision is that "communities, businesses and visitors in Highland will be served by a low carbon transport system that is sustainable, inclusive, safe, resilient and accessible." The...
Rosebank oilfield was unlawfully approved
Photo: Greenpeace Last month, at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, the UK Government admitted that the country's Rosebank oilfield off Shetland, was approved unlawfully by the previous Conservative administration, because the environmental assessment only considered...
Highland Council will adopt Circular Economy principles in its operations
The Highland Council has committed to embed Circular Economy Principles into the Council’s Day to day operations, in order to align its operations with the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act. This will reduce waste, encourage efficient use of resources and...
The Highland Charter for Climate, Nature and Health
The charter is a pledge to put climate, nature, and the benefits of green and blue health at the centre of decision-making and action, so that the natural environment and people have improved health, wellbeing and resilience. When you sign the charter, you...
The Highland Council’s Ecology Strategy and Action Plan
The Scottish Government's instruction to local authorities to use money set aside for restoring nature for funding wage settlements shows just how important it is that Highland Council has a strong Ecology Strategy and Action Plan The plan addresses the urgent...
Landmark Supreme Court judgement on assessing fossil fuel projects
On 20th June, the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that the ‘inevitable’ future climate impact of burning coal, oil and gas must be taken into account when deciding whether to approve fossil fuel projects, not just the emissions at the extraction site. The case was brought by...
Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill approved
MSPs approved Scotland’s new circular economy bill at the end of June. It will become law after receiving Royal Assent. The earliest version of the bill had no mention of reuse, repair or even the waste hierarchy, and it sidelined the needs of people, from Scottish...