Can We Still Save the Planet?

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BBC Scotland - Can We Still Save the Planet?

On the eve of Cop27, Judith Ralston asks whether we can still save the planet.

Can Scotland keep its Cop26 commitments in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis? Judith Ralston finds out on the eve of Cop27.

The cost of living is spiralling for everyone, and making sustainable, planet-friendly choices is harder than ever. On the eve of Cop27, hosted by Egypt in Sharm El-Sheikh, weather presenter Judith Ralston finds out whether Scotland can keep its Cop26 commitments in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis, from the generation it affects the most.

Judith learns from a group of young environmentalists (from Young Scot, YouthLink Scotland and Scottish Youth Climate Project) just how difficult it is to prioritise climate-friendly choices in the face of the energy crisis. Price hikes on food, petrol, council tax and electricity make paying the rent tougher than ever, and property ownership an even more distant dream.

However, all is not lost, as Judith finds out when she meets successful Scots using ingenious, affordable ideas to help us deliver on our Cop26 promises. She meets Dave Scott and his team at Intelligent Growth Solutions, who are producing carbon dioxide-hungry tree saplings many times faster than nature, and the Aberdeenshire estate turning land use on its head to benefit the environment while still turning a profit. Judith also meets the Clydebank engineers who are using the energy from the River Clyde to heat a whole housing estate.

Twenty-seven-year-old plasterer Gemma was inspired by Cop26 to switch to using sustainable materials, and she now works with LocoHome, a not-for-profit social enterprise that retrofits Scotland’s draughty housing stock in as affordable a way as possible. Gemma uses an electric van for her work, but she is finding charging it increasingly difficult, with limited points available as EVs increase in number, and the cost of electricity rising as quickly as gas.

Armed with this knowledge, Judith attends the World Energy Council meeting in Aberdeen, where she questions CEO Angela Wilkinson and Scottish minister Michael Matheson, cabinet secretary for net zero, energy and transport.

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