Achi news desk-
Mr Harvie said the new Labor government must restore its commitment to spending £28 billion on the green economy – a spending promise made and then dropped by Sir Keir Starmer’s party.
He pointed to the recent report of the Climate Change Committee, which showed that a number of industries are failing to reduce carbon emissions, saying that its findings were “very worrying”.
Mr Harvie said: “We have seen decades of propaganda, of denial, of conspiracies produced by the fossil fuel industry that have held the world back.
“If we had made this change back in the 70s or 80s, if we had started that transition, then it could have been done slowly and easily.
“We have a lot of catching up to do, and clearly we are not where we should be in terms of the 2030 target.”
The Scottish Government set a target of reaching net zero emissions by 2045 with interim targets of a 75% reduction in emissions by 2030 and 90% by 2040.
He added: “We need to continue to put pressure on the UK government to exercise the powers that are unfortunately still in their hands.
“The Tory UK government is not going to do it.
“And the new Labor government needs to be under immediate pressure to drop the status quo politics they seem to be proposing at the moment and embrace the change that is needed.”
Ms Slater said the Bute House deal – an agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens – would help ensure progress on climate action.
He said: “Having the Scottish Greens in the room helps because suddenly what was impossible a minute ago becomes possible and I think that’s the big difference we’re going to see is a significant change from being in government.
“It is time to have a little less patience for the type of politicians who say there is a climate crisis but then block action on the climate, whether they demand more road building, oppose the buildings programme, want perpetual flying growth or indeed, cheering from the rafters. with new oil and gas extraction.”
Last year former SNP ministers, including Kate Forbes and Fergus Ewing, called for party members to have a vote on its future while the opposition claimed the deal was “completely dysfunctional” in relation to the removal of Marine Very Protected Areas ( HPMAs). and the failed deposit return scheme.
Mr Harvie insisted the prime minister was open to input from his colleagues in the Scottish Greens while Ms Slater said the Bute House Agreement was “constructive and getting things done”.
He said: “I think Humza Yousaf takes a collegial approach to government, and I think that’s probably an inevitable part of the generational change that’s been with Nicola Sturgeon.
“She was someone I had – and still have – a great deal of time and respect for. She was at the top of her party and at the top of Scottish politics for such a long time, she had huge personal authority in the role ..
“With Humza Yousaf there is a more collegial approach to government which, I think, is very consistent with the idea of ​​sharing power between political parties and trying to work constructively where there is real common ground and sometimes push each other out of comfort zones.”
Ms Slater added: “People want to see politicians roll up their sleeves, sit down and go, ‘We may not agree on everything, but let’s agree on something.
“That is always a challenge when we have two political parties with different priorities, different focuses.
“Some people don’t like having Greens in the room.
“Some people would much prefer the kind of politics where we all shout at each other and call each other names.
“But I don’t think regular voters want that.”
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have accused the Scottish Greens of being “the only green party anywhere in the world to abandon its traditions and swap environmentalism for nationalism”.
A spokesman for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, said: “The Scottish Greens appear to be experiencing something of an existential crisis.
“They’ve changed color to something much dirtier and a little more desperate.
“We should not forget that source emissions rose during the first year they were in Government.
“Since then, Patrick Harvie and co have actively supported cruel climate cuts and whitewashed a series of SNP failures.”
But Mr Harvie said: “I would never accuse the Liberal Democrats of abandoning their principles, because I don’t think they’ve ever had anything.”
