Scotland has once again been chosen to chair the global climate action network, the Under2 Coalition, which is the largest collection of subnational governments committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 or earlier.
First Minister for Scotland, John Swinney, will take up the mantle of European co-chair for the third time, joining his three fellow chairs representing the regions of Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.
Speaking ahead of Scotland’s Climate Week, which will run from September 23-29, the first minister said: “Scotland may be a small country, but we have big ambitions when it comes to climate change.
“I am proud that we have been re-elected as European co-chair of the Under2 Coalition for a third term – reflecting the important role of states and regions, like Scotland, in driving global climate action.
“The Scottish Government is already taking forward a range of policy actions to help us reach our target date for net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045.
“These include accelerating our renewable energy generation ambitions, and reducing emissions from our homes and buildings through clean heat and improved energy efficiency.
“But we know Scotland will not reach net zero without public support. That’s why this Climate Week, the campaign will be focused on ‘Stories for Change’ – demonstrating how taking climate action is not only good for our planet, but for us too.
“This is a decisive decade for climate change. All of us have a once in a lifetime opportunity to make changes – however big or small – that will be good for our people, our communities, our economy and our planet.”
Under2
Under2 connects state, regional, provincial and subnational governments from 178 states all across the world who have collectively pledged their allegiance to the climate action cause.
Chief among the actions is the signatories public commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions as early as possible.
The governments and organisations contribute to the Under2Ambition Tracker, as set out in the 2021 Memorandum of Understanding commitments, which requires members to report on their emissions and subsequent climate targets which is then subject for analysis.
Under2 also serve to highlight the governments with net zero targets ahead of COP26 to demonstrate how ambitious targets can be set and achieved.
The role of the chair is to guide the strategic and executive direction of the Under2 Coalition through the promotion of collective visions and goals of their representative states and regional governments in their region.
Co-chairs are nominated and elected by the members of their region for a minimum of two years.
The General Assembly of the Under2 Coalition will be held on an annual basis, often alongside the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties.
