A diverse range of community groups, trade unions, churches, charities and businesses representing over a million members are calling on the Scottish Government to introduce a world-leading tax on greenhouse gas emissions on landholdings over one thousand hectares.
The STUC, the Scottish Community Alliance, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, and the Quakers are among the groups calling for the Scottish Government to agree the principle of a new Carbon Emissions Land Tax.
Initiated by the John Muir Trust, which owns and manages some of Scotland’s most famous mountain landscapes, the tax proposal is designed as a lever to drive urgent changes in land use to support climate targets. To comply with devolved powers, the proposed new tax would be collected by local authorities, generating tens of millions of pounds of additional funding for local services in rural areas.
Mike Daniels, Head of Policy for the John Muir Trust, said: “Scotland has an abundance of low productivity land that is failing to pull its weight in the drive to Net Zero. Millions of hectares consist of degraded peatlands and bare, overgrazed uplands that are emitting greenhouse gases when they should be sequestering CO2 on a colossal scale. The Carbon Emissions Land Tax we are proposing is based on the polluters pay principle. Incentives are available to landowners for woodland creation and peatland restoration, but the slow pace of change shows that we need sticks as well as carrots. The John Muir Trust has conducted serious research – including discussions with scientists, economists, tax and experts – to show how this could work in practice. We are flexible, however, about the detail, and are seeking support at this stage around the general principle.”
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Posted On: 27/07/2023