Sustainability on the Scottish parliamentary agenda

With the striking modernity of the Scottish Parliament on one side and the imposing sheer rockface of Salisbury Crags on the other, Dynamic Earth at Edinburgh’s Holyrood once more played host to our Science & the Parliament event, the 19th time we have gathered in the Scottish capital.

It has become a firm fixture in the Scottish parliamentary calendar, fostering closer relations between policymakers and the Scottish science and engineering community. Science and the Parliament comprises an exhibition – an excellent opportunity for our leading scientific societies, professional bodies, and universities to demonstrate their work – together with an impressive speaker programme of keynote addresses and panel discussions, including one with MSPs representing the main political parties.

Putting a panel of parliamentarians through their paces

BBC Scotland Science Correspondent, Ken MacDonald expertly chaired a panel discussion on a variety of environmental topics. He said: “I think the great thing about it is that it gets across to the politicians how science underpins everything we do. This has never been more true, given the debate around things like the scarcity of resources and climate change – for example we were hearing about the indium-tin oxide, which is my current worry now, because I like touch-screens.

"Since I started doing these sessions, you got the sense towards the beginning that quite a lot of the politicians were saying ‘Yay, science is great stuff’ and went back and 365 days later they came back and said ‘Yay science’ again. Now, it does seem to be feeding into everything that they think and everything that they do.

“I think the other great thing, considering how particle physics has perhaps elbowed its way to the front for many years, the way the RSC is helping chemistry reassert itself, pointing out that it’s behind all materials science, it underpins biology, it underpins everything.

“For science stories to succeed, you have to get across to people that this matters to them or it’s going to matter to them very soon. For example, as we heard Professor David Cole-Hamilton say, your grandchild may not be able to get an MRI scan because we’ll have run out of helium or you might not be able to get a touch-screen phone (you can see I’m worried about this!) because of the scarcity of indium.

“The other upside is that what the learned societies – if you like ‘booster organisations’ – do, is underline that there are actually quite a lot of smart people out there and increasing numbers of them, so I have hope that we may be able to think our way out of most tight spots and find workarounds for the rest of them.”

Sarah Boyack MSP, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Scottish Labour Party, member of the Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

“We’re now at a point of climate emergency, and that’s because the science is underpinning we have an emergency we need to deal with now. So, for me, it’s about what we focus on that are practical actions to adapt to the climate change that is already coming and what do we do now – not what do we do in 20 years – so that we can make the change our young people need us to make if the world is going to survive.

“I think part of the agenda has to be how we relate it to our daily lives, how do we impact on business, how do we use investment to make the big, global changes that we need and what do we do in our country.

“It isn’t just for the next generation it’s all of us now, with STEM thinking about how the climate emergency slots into our schools and universities, thinking about what lifestyle changes we make and, crucially, how our economy makes the change.”

Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Edinburgh Western and the Liberal Democrat Health Spokesman. He said discussing the scarcity of elements periodic table with his father (Professor David Cole-Hamilton), “Underscored to me that when you talk about the climate emergency, that’s just part of the indelible and irretrievable that human existence is having on our world.

“We need to change our behaviours across a range of things, both at a local and global level if we are to answer the challenge created by human existence and leave a world that is fit for my children and your children and theirs to come."

Maurice Golden MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Scottish Conservatives, said: “There’s a whole myriad of actions which businesses, government and consumers need to so to begin changing, and ultimately how we are going to tackle climate change – but I’ll highlight one.

“I think that if we can focus on ensuring that we have circular economy policies and actions, then that will cover off the bulk of the actions which we all require.

“It’s about making sure we reuse and ultimately reduce our overall consumption patterns, so we’re all part of the problem but also part of the solution.”

Gillian Martin MSP, Aberdeenshire East, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the SNP, Convener of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, which has been leading on the Climate Change Bill. She said: “I don’t think anyone disagrees that we have got these really challenging targets of net zero [carbon emissions] by 2045 and they arguably more challenging one of a 75% reduction in emissions by 2030.

“And what that’s going to mean is that everyone’s lifestyle going to have to change but also we’re going to have to be changing the levers of the economy that Scotland relies on at the moment – and we all agree we have to do that but it’s how we do that that’s really crucial.

“Declaring a climate emergency is one thing – it’s an important thing to do. But, in and of itself it actually doesn’t do much, it’s the plans that come afterwards. It’s not going to be just the Portfolio of Climate Change and Land Reform in the government that’s able to tackle this. It has to be embedded in absolutely everything that we do, absolutely every decision we make.”

Mark Ruskell MSP, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party, is member of the Scottish Parliament Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform committee. He said: “I think there’s a growing realisation that if we’re to tackle the climate emergency – and also the nature emergency as well – we’re going to need every single sector of the economy pulling in the right direction.

“Whether that’s the welders working in the fabrication yards in Fife or the foresters working up in the hills in the highlands – or whether that’s chemists working in laboratories on new, innovative technologies.

“We need to get everybody together – public sector, private sector – to really tackle this emergency.”

Cultivating chemistry’s network 

Robert Massey, Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society (one of our neighbours in the Burlington House courtyard in London), took part in the Science and the Parliament exhibition.

He said: “Events like this are very important because obviously it involves a degree of political engagement – for example the MSPs that come to see that there’s a plethora of scientific organisations and a robust and rich scientific across the whole of the UK, including in Scotland. So, from our perspective, it’s important that we’re represented here. It is also an opportunity to engage with the other organisations and guests – like the schoolteachers and children who have been taking our careers booklets and other resources.

“Given the theme of the day, the question in my mind is what are we doing around sustainability as an organisation? I’m always struck by the fact that the scientific community is very much on board with climate science – it overwhelmingly accepts the science of global warming – yet some of our organisations perhaps aren’t demonstrating best practice in that, if you look at the number of flights people take, for example.

“Next year is our 200^th anniversary and this is one of the interests of the president-elect. I think these are really good and big questions, so while we’re only a small organisation with 25 staff, we’re a scientific organisation and if we don’t take the lead then we can’t expect others to.”

Maria Townsend, representing the Open University, explained that her organisation is also celebrating an important milestone. She said: “It’s 50 years of the Open University this year and I think the really important thing for us is to remind people that we’re an influential institution in the country.

"I think sometimes there’s a risk we get lost in the noise, so it’s important we raise awareness of the work that the Open University has done – and is still really crucial in people’s careers – those careers don’t stay the same so we are an ideal institution to offer that flexibility that people need, to re-train later in life.

"Being here allows us to meet colleagues from other organisations and get contacts with them, but also making our presence felt with politicians as well, so it’s really important from that point of view.”