APRS has signed a letter to the party leaders in Scotland calling on them to work together with increased ambition in the face of growing crises of climate and nature. This letter has been coordinated by Scottish Environment LINK the coalition of environmental NGOs.

The call, directed at the leaders of all five political parties, was made in an open letter ahead of an
environmental roundtable with the First Minister (Tuesday).

The charities have warned the party leaders against rolling back on their existing commitments or
attempting to exploit the environmental crises for short-term electoral purposes.

The intervention comes following a summer extreme weather globally, heightening concerns over
the immediate impact of the environmental crises.

The open letter warns that “the impacts of climate change and nature loss are increasingly visible in
our lives” and says that “we are deeply concerned that our political leaders are not responding to the
intertwined nature and climate crises with the urgency required”.

The charities have highlighted the need for ambitious legal targets for nature restoration and a well-
resourced Biodiversity Strategy as crucial in reversing nature loss. Reforms to agriculture and
forestry funding, marine protection, and reducing resource use are also key areas where progress
must be made in this parliamentary term.

The letter states: “The status quo is not sustainable. Yet we have seen key environmental
commitments shelved or delayed, and increasing signals that differing views on environmental policy
will be exploited for electoral purposes or treated as disposable.

“All parties committed to strengthening environmental protection and restoration at the last Scottish
election. Scotland – as a wealthy country, as an early industrialiser and as one of the most nature-
depleted countries in the world – has a moral obligation to show leadership.

“There are opportunities in this parliament to deliver meaningful progress. We call on you all to
reaffirm your commitment to the health of our planet – our life support system – by working together
to rapidly support measures to reduce emissions in line with statutory targets agreed by this
parliament, and halt and reverse nature loss.”

The signatories to the letter have a combined supporter base of more than 500,000.