Glasgow’s Greenwash!

When? Thursday, March 10. 6pm – 7.30pm GMT

Where? Online

On the morning of the 100th day since the end of the COP26 conference on the Clyde, key Glasgow City officials were emailed a copy of a new report, ‘Glasgow’s Greenwash’. The report, produced for the SANE Collective by Ben Wray, highlights our significant concerns that the current position of Glasgow City Council with regard to its response to climate emergency, is woefully inadequate and highly misinformed. 

While the city is in line with other UK cities and in some areas ahead in certain aspects of its climate emergency strategy, the underpinning ‘logic’ on which current plans are based is utterly flawed. Despite the urgency to act, the Council has instead favoured attracting private companies to Glasgow and hoping that they will bring the zero-carbon investments that the city needs. The focus on private investment is so pronounced that key aspects of the city’s renewables infrastructure, such as its district heating networks, is up for grabs in the city’s £30 billion “Green Investment project portfolio”. This ‘strategy’ is far too reliant on incentives and subsidies to encourage people and businesses to regulate their behaviours, when what is needed is direct government intervention and support to deliver these changes.

Professor David Whyte, head of the new ‘Centre for Climate Crime and Justice’ at Queen Mary University of London has offered his support for the report:

“This excellent report from the SANE Collective must be read by everyone who wants to see a more fair and equal Glasgow, capable of responding to the climate emergency. ‘Glasgow’s Greenwash’ explains in uncompromising detail, why ‘net zero’ is not zero at all, but a convenient sleight of hand that allows Glasgow City Council leaders to say one thing and do another. There is not a shortcut to a sustainable planet. In Glasgow, like everywhere else, decarbonisation needs huge public investment, a massive investment in skilled jobs, and an industrial plan capable of transforming our economy and our lives.” 

On March 10th, we invite you to join us as we take a closer look at the report’s implications for the city, and how we can use it as a catalyst for a significant rethinking of the current approach. An opportunity to hear from voices throughout Glasgow connected to these issues, and a chance to raise your own! 

Speakers including:

Zarina Ahmad, Climate Change Communicator and PhD Researcher at University of Manchester

One of the mighty women on Woman’s Hour’s 2020 Our Planet Power List, Zarina previously worked at the Council for Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations leading the charge for increasing participation in environmentalism in Scotland. Zarina has dedicated herself to creating pathways for under-represented groups to work in environmental organisations – increasing not only a diversity of people, but a diversity of ideas. She is now researching sustainable behaviours within BAME communities in the UK for a PhD.