THE SCOTTISH Government will hand over a dossier of evidence supporting on loss and damage climate reparations for developing nations at COP27, the SNP Environment Minister has confirmed.
A loss and damage summit has been hosted by the Scottish Government over the last two days in Edinburgh amid global attempts to get the issue on the agenda at COP27 in Egypt next month.
The Scottish Government became the first country to pledge funding for loss and damage with £2m of funding committed at COP26 in Glasgow.
Last month, Denmark became the first national state to commit funding to the strategy with £12m of cash being put forward.
But many Western countries including the United States are unsure about the funding, despite pleas from developing nations dating back decades.
Speaking to The Herald at the conference in Edinburgh, SNP Environment Minister Mairi McAllan, said it was “concerning” that a lack of progress has been made on loss and damage.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon calls on West to 'move faster' and follow lead on climate loss and damage
She added: “The global south community have been pushing for this for 30 years.
“So in the great scheme of that, the progress in the last year has actually been good as compared with the 30 years before that. But we would always want to see more.
“I was really pleased to see at New York climate week when we were there, Denmark, pledge funds.
“Whilst we were the first country to do so in the global north, we’re not party to the UNFCCC, and therefore to have a state party come forward and say as we did, and make that pledge, I think that will encourage others to follow suit.”
Ms McAllan confirmed that following discussions over the two-day conference, reports will be drawn up and handed to world leaders in a bid to push for action on loss and damage.
She said: “We’re not going to rely on hope.
“One of the things we’re doing from this couple of days is we will synthesise the discussions into one document, which we will then present at COP27.
“We will ask everyone and anyone who will pay attention to it to do so and to basically listen to the voices that have spoken and be prepared to act on loss and damage.”
Asked if the Scottish Government had plans to allocate any more funding towards loss and damage, Ms McAllan said: “The focus just now is on the spending of our own commitment and getting others to follow our lead, but we consider our budgets on an annual basis.”
Ms McAllan has also spoken out of the need to work with the UK Government on environment policy despite the two governments being dramatically opposed on ideology.
The minister and her Greens government counterpart, Lorna Slater, have penned a letter to the UK Government, accusing the Conservatives of a "reckless attitude" to the environment, Ms McAllan said the Scottish Government is yet to receive a response from Tory ministers, but a meeting on the environment is due to take place on Monday.
READ MORE: Scottish Government accuses UK ministers of 'reckless attitude' to environmental policies
She added: “The issues in the letter, it was a combination of the terms of the mini-budget, which obviously turned out a bit of a maxi-budget, on investment zones, coupled with the plans on revocation of EU law – neither of which we have a great deal of information on but we know that both of them will have an impact on devolved competency and on the environment.
"The revocation, the scale of that is unthinkable, actually – it's 40 years’ worth of environmental law that is looking like being revoked. It's very worrying."
Asked if the two governments can work together on the environment, Ms McAllan said “the bottom line is we have to”.
But she warned that it has become "increasingly difficult" to work effectively with the UK Government over the years.
She added: “You have to go into this in good faith and we always do.
“I've only been in government for a couple of years, but I think my colleagues would reflect that ability to work with UK Government has probably become increasingly difficult over the years."
Ms McAllan said: “The First Minister spoke about how quickly she met with David Cameron and even Theresa May and even Boris Johnson.
"There's been a delay here for whatever reason, so it can be difficult.
"But we all have to have good faith and work together because people of Scotland require it of us."
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