The leader of Highland Council has issued a rallying call to fight climate change, citing the Australian wildfires as proof of the urgency for change.
Margaret Davidson is currently in Tasmania with family and says the fires raging to the north, on the Australian mainland, show it is “crystal clear” that the world is “living through climate change”.
She said: “Sure, there have always been wild fires, but not like this. The increased severity, the simultaneous extremes of temperature and the acute water shortages all add up to change that we must as a generation confront.
“Many farmers and householder living in the bush are now reappraising their lifestyle and how they make their living. Big decision ahead for these folks, the government and the people of Australia is are these farms sustainable and if not, what is to be done about this. They can’t delay this any longer.”
Earlier this year, Highland Council declared a climate and ecological emergency.
This month, councillors agreed to allocate £145,000 to help develop a framework to position Highland as a low CO2 region.
The funds are earmarked to support hiring a climate change manager to lead the work, supported by a minimum of two officers.
Mrs Davidson said: “2020 stands as an extraordinary year for Highland. We have faced up to the fact that we have an emergency, and the council has decided on the resources we need to get us moving as fast as we can.
“We have to change and protect ourselves and I am crystal clear we will be doing that with people and not telling them what to do. Our young people have shown us ambition and they need to be leading on many fronts.
“And we need to use our unique advantages for the good of Scotland as well as Highland. We have land, scale and potential that others do not. We can plant many, many thousands of trees. We can protect and grow our wet lands. We can decarbonise our lifestyle, our businesses and our tourism industry.”