Climate Change Bill

Although passing the bill has been a long process, all too often over the past few weeks it has also seemed like a hectic rush. That may be a typical experience-I do not know-as I said in the stage 1 debate, this is the first substantive bill that I have led on for our group since I was elected to the Parliament.

At this point, it is rightly traditional to pass on my thanks to those who helped me over the course of the bill. I thank whole-heartedly the committee clerks whose endless work and late nights made the complexity understandable and the process smooth. I must also thank the thousands of people who responded to the initial consultation last year and the many lobbyists who have contacted me since that time. Their thoughts, insights and arguments were an invaluable help.

Most important, I thank the hundreds of my constituents who wrote asking me to help make the bill a world beater. I say to them that I tried my hardest to strengthen the bill. Their letters, emails and telephone calls provided me with the encouragement of knowing that my position on the bill was the right one.

Another stage 3 tradition dictates that I welcome the constructive nature of the proceedings, the excellence of the bill that we are passing and the positive impact that it will have. I hope that members will forgive me for saying that I cannot be quite as fulsome in that regard as I may have wished to be. Two months ago, I told members that it was a privilege to have the opportunity to work on the bill-and it was. I also said that I wanted to be proud of the bill. I am proud of many parts of it. Parts of it will make good things happen and stand us in good stead for the future. We have agreed on the inclusion of a cumulative emissions budget, which is a huge step in ensuring that our emissions reduction targets are properly based on the science of what is needed; that will truly make a difference. After much campaigning, sectoral targets have been included. They will help to ensure that every part of Scotland's economy will play its role in reducing emissions. We have committed to including emissions from aviation and shipping in the emissions accounts from the outset. That truly sets an example for the world to follow. The Government has also adopted our proposal to introduce an iterative process for analysing, questioning and working to improve the proposals that it will put forward on policies that will, I hope, meet the targets that have been set. I will always be proud of having played a part in making those things law.

I am not, sadly, totally satisfied with everything that we will agree to today. We have all echoed the same words from the start. We have said that the bill is the most important bill that the Parliament will pass and that we must show real ambition. So far, we have heard quite a lot of self-congratulation; I fear that I am about to dampen down the celebrations a little. [Interruption.] I hear the groans.

Party lines should have been set aside in considering the bill. We should have united in pushing for far-reaching targets and worked for consensus right from the start. I have been genuinely disappointed that that has not happened. A little analysis of what we got on the journey is necessary. We got broken manifesto commitments from the Scottish National Party. We then got its ambition not to set the world an example, but to imitate what had already been done at Westminster. Finally, when the SNP was in danger of being left behind, there was a belated understanding that there was a true desire in Scotland for us to take action that will make a difference.

I am sorry that Labour prevaricated a lot. That was followed by what seemed to be a sudden rush to get in on the act. It seems that the ambition was to get headlines, not to get early action. There was a desperate late scramble to try to make up for missed opportunities at stage 2.

The word "disinterested" probably best describes the Tories' approach. There was not much sign of David Cameron's vote blue, go green delusions. I am sorry; I meant to say aspirations.

Despite the strengthening of annual targets that our agreement to introduce a cumulative budget will bring, I remain sceptical about the showpiece amendment that we agreed to earlier, which will put the interim target at 42 per cent with strings attached. I want it to stay at 42 per cent, but I fear that it might not do so much past the end of the year. Over the next six months, it is our responsibility to make the case that Scotland can achieve that target-that our emissions can be 42 per cent lower than the baseline by 2020. We must aim high.

As Sarah Boyack said, the bill is not the solution; rather, it is an opportunity for us to take the initiative and show that Scotland can lead the way. We can make it work and we can make a difference.