- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government under which sector emissions from waste incineration are reported in its Climate Change Plan.
Answer
Under the Climate Change Plan, emissions from the disposal of waste via incineration without energy recovery are reported in the waste sector. This mainly comprises Commercial and Industrial Wastes, principally sewage sludges and clinical wastes.
Emissions from incineration with energy recovery are reported in the Energy Supply Sector, consistent with domestic and international reporting requirements determined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in each year for which records are available, what emissions have been reported for the incineration of (a) household waste, (b) commercial and industrial waste and (c) all waste included in its Climate Change Plan.
Answer
The data specified in the question is held in a range of different data sources as summarised below. As each element of the answer is taken from a different data source there will be variations in methodology which mean that they are not directly comparable.
The Carbon Footprint of Scotland’s Household Waste publication published by Zero Waste Scotland ( 2019 Carbon Metric HH Brief - V01.00.pdf (zerowastescotland.org.uk) ) provides estimates of emissions from household waste. The relevant information is provided in the following table.
Year | Household waste incineration (MtCO2e) |
2007 | - |
2008 | - |
2009 | - |
2010 | - |
2011 | 0.02 |
2012 | 0.01 |
2013 | 0.01 |
2014 | 0.03 |
2015 | 0.03 |
2016 | 0.03 |
2017 | 0.03 |
2018 | 0.05 |
2019 | 0.13 |
The Green House Gas Inventory includes information on emissions from the disposal of commercial and industrial waste via incineration without energy recovery. This mainly comprises sewage sludges and clinical wastes. However, separate information on the disposal of commercial and industry waste with energy recovery is not held, as only total emissions data that includes municipal wastes is available from these facilities
Information on emissions from the incineration of all waste can be calculated from the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) published by SEPA. The relevant information is summarised in the following table. This includes emissions from incineration of all waste types with and without energy recovery.
Year | All incineration facilities (MtCO2e) |
2007 | 0.24 |
2008 | 0.25 |
2009 | 0.26 |
2010 | 0.52 |
2011 | 0.27 |
2012 | 0.28 |
2013 | 0.31 |
2014 | 0.67 |
2015 | 0.65 |
2016 | 1.06 |
2017 | 1.14 |
2018 | 0.96 |
2019 | 1.57 |
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether the recommendations on aviation in the Climate Change Committee report, Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland – 2021 Report to Parliament, will be addressed in its aviation strategy.
Answer
We are carrying out a consultation to inform the development of our aviation strategy, so at this stage no decisions have been made about what will be addressed. The consultation includes questions on how the Scottish Government can help to reduce the environmental impact of aviation. The responses to the consultation, alongside other relevant evidence and wider Scottish Government policy, will inform decisions on the final content of the strategy.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the findings from the Decarbonising the Scottish transport sector report commissioned by Transport Scotland, which concluded that a significant reduction in aviation demand is required to meet Scotland’s 2030 emissions reduction target, will inform the final aviation strategy.
Answer
The report by Element Energy noted that a combination of increased up-take of Sustainable Aviation Fuel and behavioural change is the lowest risk pathway to achieving the 33% reduction in aviation emissions needed to meet Scotland’s emissions targets. Our consultation to inform the development the aviation strategy, which closes on the 21 January, includes questions on how the Scottish Government can help to reduce the environmental impact of aviation and meet our climate change targets. The responses to the consultation, alongside other relevant evidence and wider Scottish Government policy, will inform decisions on the final content of the strategy.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) (i) noise and (ii) air pollution and (b) environmental and health risks to communities near airports will be addressed in its aviation strategy.
Answer
We are carrying out a consultation to inform the development of an aviation strategy, so at this stage no decisions have been made about the final content. While the discussion document focuses on four key areas; the transition to low and zero emission aviation, Scotland’s international connectivity, Scotland’s domestic connectivity and airfreight, we are also asking people what else they think should be included.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 20 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04188 by Maree Todd on 16 November 2021, whether sportscotland allocated capital funding to support the development of a tennis centre at Park of Keir for financial year 2021-22.
Answer
sport scotland’s budget for 2022-23 is currently in development and is subject to financial arrangements for 2022-23 agreed between Scottish Government and sport scotland.
However, at this stage sport scotland does not expect to have any expenditure against a tennis facility at Park of Keir in 2021-22. Consequently, sport scotland intends to retain the same budget allocation for a tennis facility at Park of Keir in 2022-23 as in 2021-22 (as outlined in response to S6W-05651 on 20 January 2022).
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 20 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04188 by Maree Todd on 16 November 2021, whether sportscotland has allocated funding to support the development of a tennis centre at Park of Keir for financial year 2022-23.
Answer
sport scotland has made a provisional allocation of up to £5m in its forward budgeting for the development of a potential tennis facility at Park of Keir, consisting of a mix of Scottish Government and National Lottery funding.
However, at this stage, a full application for a tennis facility at Park of Keir has not been received. Any decision on whether to make a capital award and the appropriate level of any award will only be taken on completion of a full application by the applicant and following a sport scotland assessment process. This assessment process would consider among other issues the strategic need and demand for a facility, the impact it will have on sport and physical activity and whether the project is financially viable in capital and revenue terms.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with SEPA, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and Benchmark regarding the use and release of imidacloprid-based treatments in Scotland’s marine environment.
Answer
Further to the answer to question S6W-00511 on 21 June 2021, the Scottish Government has had no discussion regarding the use and release of imidacloprid-based treatments in Scotland’s marine environment with SEPA, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and Benchmark. No applications have been received for imidacloprid use or release.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure the safety of bus drivers in relation to COVID-19, in light of the ongoing impact of the Omicron variant in Scotland.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05153 on 5 January 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 6 January 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent RSPB publication, Birds of Conservation Concern 5, whether it plans to (a) review the list of game species and (b) remove species that have now been red-listed, including ptarmigan and woodcock, from the list of game species.
Answer
Birds of Conservation Concern, often referred to as the UK Red List for Birds, is published by the British Trust for Ornithology. The report, which reviews the status of all regularly occurring birds in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, is compiled by a coalition of bird conservation and monitoring organisations from across the UK, including RSPB.
All bird species in Scotland are protected through the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Schedule 2 of the 1981 Act sets out the quarry species, i.e. those species that may be killed or taken outside of the closed season.
There are a range of reasons that may be responsible for a decline in a species’ population or a contraction of the species’ range leading to them being listed as a species of conservation concern. Where there is evidence that quarry species status is causing or exacerbating conservation concerns we will take steps to remove the species from Schedule 2 in accordance with the procedure set out in section 26(3) of the 1981 Act.