The climate is changing and we’re already seeing the impacts of rising temperatures on the natural world. Scientists say we have only got a few years to turn this global climate crisis around. We need to ACT NOW.

We want Shetland Islands Council (SIC) to Declare a Climate Emergency. By Declaring a Climate Emergency, SIC can give us the effective leadership that we need to play our part in stabilising our climate. To date, 228 UK councils have declared a climate emergency and it’s time for SIC to step up to the mark leaving no doubt of their focus on and commitment to rising to this challenge.

In February 2016, global temperatures spiked to well over 1.35°C above pre-industrial times, just weeks after the Paris Climate Agreement set an aim of not exceeding 1.5°C. Climate scientists say that we are facing a climate emergency, and that the future of ecosystems and human civilisation hangs in the balance.

We all need to take responsibility for the climate crisis and our individual choices do matter. However, part of our individual carbon footprint is influenced by higher decisions.  Councils, corporations and governments must Declare a Climate Emergency and start to take responsibility and action. The changes are too vast for individuals to make alone - we must all work together. Declaring a Climate Emergency is a vital step in building support for the very large changes required to restore a safe climate.

We recognise the carbon reductions that the Council has made in recent years through its Carbon Management Plan. However, much more needs to be done, very quickly, and we cannot expect a sufficiently ambitious plan to be adopted by all levels of the council until this is acknowledged as an emergency. 

We’re calling on our elected representatives at SIC to Declare a Climate Emergency with the following outcomes

• To recognise that we are in a state of climate emergency, and that we need to restore a safe climate to avoid further climate degradation.
• To develop a Climate Emergency Action Plan.
• To set up a working group to report within a short timescale on immediate and longer term actions as part of a Climate Emergency Action Plan.
• To set local emission reduction targets to achieve zero net emissions / carbon neutral by 2030. Projects should increasingly prioritise the greatest emission reduction rather than relying on offsetting.
• To integrate climate mitigation across all departments and into local plans, including a mandatory section in reports on how activities may affect carbon targets.
• To engage with the public about the state of the emergency and inspire collaborative community action projects, such as community waste and food projects.

Please, sign and share this petition and send a strong message to the council.

Save us from a climate crisis, before it’s too late. Declare a climate emergency, today.