What on Earth 60

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s supporters’ magazineIssue 60 Spring 2 Summer 6015

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What on Earth 60

Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoES) is:• Scotland’s leading environmentalcampaigning organisation

• An independent Scottish charitywith a network of thousands ofsupporters and active local groupsacross Scotland

• Part of the largest grassrootsenvironmental network in the world,uniting over 2 million supporters,77 national member groups, andsome 5,000 local activist groups –covering every continent.

Our vision is of a world where everyonecan enjoy a healthy environment and afair share of the earth’s resources.

Friends of the Earth Scotland is anindependent Scottish charity SC003442.

What on Earth is published by andcopyrighted to:Friends of the Earth Scotland5 Rose Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PRT: 0131 243 2700E: [email protected]: www.foe-scotland.org.uk

Editor: Per FischerPicture Editor: Per FischerDesign: www.triggerpress.co.ukCover: Photograph by MAVERICK PHOTO AGENCY

The views expressed in What on Earth are notnecessarily those of Friends of the EarthScotland. FoES accepts no liability for errors,omissions or incorrect data in advertisements.

Printed on Revive pure white silk 100% recycledpaper

Contents

4 Back in GreenRichard Dixon returns to Friends of the Earth Scotland.

5 NewsScotland’s climate plan is not up to scratch.

6 Campaigns UpdateWe have a lot going on right now with unconventional gas, corporate accountability and access to environmental justice.

10 Looking BackRichard Dixon peeks into the last 59 issues of What on Earth magazine.

15 Local GroupsA lot has been happening in local groups lately, here’s a brief review.

16 The Tony Juniper interviewThe former chief executive of Friends of the Earth in London speaks to us about his new book.

RE-USE AND SPREAD THE WORDWhen you have finished with this magazine,save it or pass it on to friends, a doctor’ssurgery, school, student union, library or café.As a last resort recycle it.

EditorialWHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013

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Welcome to this the 60th anniversary issue ofWhat On Earth. To get an idea of what haschanged since issue 1 in 1992, DirectorRichard Dixon has written a big retrospectiveon pages 8-9. Perhaps you have been aFriends of the Earth Scotland member eversince, perhaps you’ve recently joined us as asupporter. Whatever the case, we are verygrateful for your support both now and then,and hope you will stay on and help us toachieve even greater successes in the future.

A lot of readers have come back to me withvery kind words about the new, smaller WhatOn Earth, which I want to thank all of you for.

We were hoping that the re-vamped, andcheaper, magazine would be receivedpositively, and so far we’ve only heard goodthings about it. Still, if you have ideas orrequests for content, or suggestions, do get intouch, we are always interested in hearingyour views.

Hope to see you at the next annual generalmeeting in Edinburgh in June 2013.

With best wishesPer Fischer, Editor [email protected]

WHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013Director’s View

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It’s great to be back. After a decade awayleading WWF Scotland I have returned toFriends of the Earth, this time as Director.

I was here as Head of Research in the 1990sand spent eight years campaigning on issuesfrom climate change and air pollution tobathing waters and toxic chemicals in yourkitchen.

Of course things have changed since then,with a different team in a different office.Some of the agenda is new, likeunconventional gas and corporates, somequite familiar, like access to justice andclimate change. Sadly some things havechanged little, with levels of urban airpollution not really much better than when Ileft a decade ago – something we plan to tryto change.

We have a great team in the office, completefor the first time in a long while and workingwell together. We are also getting plenty ofhelp from Board members and our team ofvolunteers.

Already we have a new draft strategy doingthe rounds. This maps out what we are aboutand how we will work over the next few years,

and confirms our twin guiding priorities asenvironmental justice and climate change.

I have been out to meet a number of our localgroups, discussing everything from frackingand climate change to community gardensand biomass. I look forward to workingclosely with them on our campaigns in thecoming year.

We have of course been balancing theinternal Friends of the Earth Scotland taskswith making sure we are getting ourmessages out in the media and aroundParliament. This is going well but we will haveto be clever, creative and tenacious if we areto win the big fights we are picking.

I look forward to meeting many of you at theAnnual General Meeting to share thoughts oncampaigns and to talk about the future.

By Dr Richard Dixon, Director Friends of the Earth Scotland

NewsWHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013

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The second Report on Proposals andPolices under the Climate Act is strong

on rhetoric but light on actual action to meetour climate targets. The plan does show howScotland could meet all its climate targetsbetween now and 2027 – if every policydelivers as planned, if every proposal is

turned into a policy and fully delivers, and ifthe European Union increases its own 2020target from 20% to 30%. But there is nowriggle room, if just one policy fails to deliveror one proposal is never put into action,multiple targets will be missed.http://foes.do/Minister-climate-plan

Our analysis of official figures for 2012reveals streets across Scotland’s cities

missing air pollution targets we weresupposed to meet in 2005. The most pollutedstreets included Glasgow’s Hope Street,Aberdeen’s Wellington Street, Dundee’sLochee Road, Edinburgh’s St. John Roadand Perth’s Atholl Street. Air pollution is thebiggest current environmental threat topeople's health, with fumes from cars, lorriesand buses, killing off at least 10 times thenumber who die in road crashes every year.We will be calling for action on traffic levelsand the types of vehicles allowed on our mostpolluted streets.

Get your Act together!From Climate Act to

Climate Actiondemonstration at

Scottish Parliament

COLIN HATTERSLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

Friends of the Earth Scotland has signedup to the “Enough Food For Everyone IF”

campaign, alongside more than 100 otherorganisations, to help ensure a life free fromhunger for people all over the world. Nearlyone billion people go to bed hungry everynight, and two million children die frommalnutrition every year. We've made progressin other areas, but hunger is still the greatscandal of our age. All around the world, evenin the UK, people are struggling to feed theirfamilies, and this must be tackled now.http://enoughfoodif.org/scotland

WHAT ON EARTH SPRINGN/SUMMER 2013Campaigns

In August Dart Energy submitted a planningapplication to Falkirk and Stirling Council’sto take their Airth coalbed methane (CBM)development to commercial scale. 16 wellshave already been drilled, this application isfor a further 22, and full field developmentcould see more than hundred wells in onlyaround 300 square km.

While Dart is busy assuring locals that theydon’t intend to frack, it’s hard to find thisreassuring since industry evidence fromAustralia suggests that around a third of allCBM wells there end up being fracked.

Local communities have been gearing up tofight the development with 250 peopleattending one public meeting at only a weeksnotice. Recent news that Australia’s NewSouth Wales Government have banned allCBM activity – not just fracking – within 2kmof residential areas did nothing to calm fearsabout what this industry might mean for thelocal environment.

It’s clearly not just the local environment thatwill suffer if the unconventional gas industryis allowed to roll out. Despite what certaindevelopers would have you believe, CBM is afossil fuel and burning it will contribute toclimate change! In addition, recent studiesfrom the USA and Australia show the amountof methane leaking from both shale and CBMsites to be significantly higher than previouslyexpected.

Unconventional gas extraction and frackingsit in a slightly awkward regulatory framework

By Mary Church, Campaigner

WHAT YOU CAN DOEmail your MSP & MP: foes.do/MSP-address-fracking / foes.do/MP-address-fracking

'Object to Dart’s development at Airth: foe-scotland.org.uk/stopAirthCBM'6

Top:Campaignersfrom Ireland,

NorthernIreland,

England andScotland at

frackingmeeting inBrussels

CampaignsWHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013

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in the devolved countries, with Whitehallissuing licenses and Holyrood responsible forplanning and environmental regulation.

At Holyrood, shadow environment ministerClaire Baker MSP has tabled a motion callingfor a full lifecycle analysis of the industrybefore it is allowed to roll out any further, andthe Scottish Government has commented:“Whilst we recognise the future potentialthere is for unconventional gas in Scotland,shale gases and coalbed methane are not

included in our energy plans or in our nationalenergy modelling.”

With Scottish Planning Policy under reviewand the new National Planning Frameworkunder development a key focus of ourcampaign is to ensure that unconventionalgas is given no encouragement at a nationallevel – or better still, ruled out altogether –and at the very least, local authorities aregiven adequate guidance for dealing withapplications.

As the Government prepares to introducenew laws to overhaul our antiquated

justice system, we continue to advocate forenvironmental justice as part of this reform,and are building a case for a new specialistenvironmental court or tribunal.

And, as the European Commission's legalaction against the UK for the excessiveexpense of going to court in the publicinterest gears up, we are working to ensurethey understand the distinct legal barriers thatcitizens face in standing up for theenvironment in Scotland.

Meanwhile some interesting and importantstrides have been made in case law followingour intervention in a case at the UK SupremeCourt in 2011 that led to the repeal of a 100-year old technicality that blocked access tothe courts.

In Autumn, William Walton appealed to theSupreme Court in his case against the

Government’s decision to allow theconstruction of the Aberdeen bypass. Whileunfortunately William lost on the substance ofhis appeal, the Court upheld his right to go tocourt, and made it clear that legal challengesto important decisions and acts by publicauthorities are a vital means of up upholdingthe rule of law. The Court also emphasisedthe importance of individuals and NGOstaking cases on behalf of the environment,since the environment cannot stand up foritself in a court of law.

This ruling means there’s a lot at stake inMarco McGinty’s return to court to challengethe government's decision to build a coalpower plant on a nationally important naturesite at Hunterston.

Marco’s appeal is a crucial test case inScotland because his legal team were able torely on the ruling of the Supreme Court inWalton – we await the outcome with batedbreath! Marco is also appealing the level of

'Good news! We successfully applied to the Isvara Foundation for funding to work withcommunities in areas under license for oil and gas exploration, to help them understand the

risks of unconventional gas and declare themselves ‘frack free zones’.

WHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013Campaigns

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costs he should pay if he loses again. Thiswill be a very important decision in thedevelopment of public law in Scotland, andour campaign for access to justice inenvironmental matters.

WHAT YOU CAN DOWatch the video & take action on our webpage: www.foe-scotland.org.uk/cairn

WHAT YOU CAN DOSupport our Access to EnvironmentalJustice campaign: foes.do/foesdonate

We met with Ian Watt, Director of Assets(Greenland), and David Nisbet, Group

Corporate Affairs, to hear more about theirArctic operation and took the opportunity toexpress our concerns over Arctic drilling.Cairn claim that its response plan is robustenough, although there is growing consensusfrom experts that this is not the case.Regardless of how strong the plan is, thepoint remains that the Arctic should be offlimits for oil and gas exploration. The fragileecosystems are already under great stressfrom the effects of climate change – having todeal with contamination could really be thetipping point for some species.

We were never going to convince them on thespot to pull out of the Arctic. But hopefully wewere able to get them to open their eyes tothe consequences of drilling in the Arctic andmost importantly the fact that people in

Scotland do not want this operation to beundertaken by a Scottish corporation.

We recently launched our ‘Cairn’s CalamitousCowboys’ video which highlights the fact thatCairn have been denounced to a UKParliamentary committee as a ‘cowboy’operation. Although slightly tongue in cheek,the video highlights the risky operations thatare being undertaken by a Scottish companywhich is not fully prepared for the dangerousand unprecedented work that they will bedoing in 2014.

It is important that we get a strong messagethrough to Cairn Energy that we do not wantour Scottish corporations to be undertakingsuch dangerous work. Add your voice to thegrowing number of people who are taking thisaction.

By Paul Daly, Campaigner

CampaignsWHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013

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It has been another difficult year for RBS.The bank finally received its massive£391m fine for fiddling the Libor rate.We continue to campaign for the taxpayer-owned bank to move towards a moresustainable approach to banking that deliverson what we need, rather than focusing ontheir fat cat bonuses.

Surprisingly RBS, alongside Shell, werenominated for a prestigious VIBES award inthe ‘Management’ category. RBS’ GogarburnHQ was nominated for its green credentials,in isolation from the bank’s climate changecausing investments. We wrote an open letterto the organisers of the awards, and asked forour supporters to do the same.

One notable change that we have seen withRBS crept up in a Q&A session for theGuardian by the Chairman Sir PhilipHampton. During this session, which focusedon Libor, Sir Philip was asked about theCanadian tar sands investment. His responseindicated that RBS now recognise that this

was not a wise investment and had resultedin some brand damage. The Chairmanindicated that the bank has not subsequentlyinvested in any other tar sands projects since2009, and Sir Philip revealed that RBS nowsee financing tar sands projects as off limitsas financing cluster bombs.

So perhaps RBS have turned a corner? Notquite.

RBS are one of several major banks that arenow known to be funding mountaintopremoval in order to gain access to limitedamounts of coal. The project is based in WestVirginia and is already responsible fordisplacing hundreds of locals and introducingcarcinogens and contamination of heavymetals to the environment. Of course this issimply for the extraction process – burningthe coal will obviously push us further towardsdisastrous climate change.

It seems RBS are still not as squeaky cleanas they would have us believe.

second Forth Road Bridge, sadly notrepeated in the late 2000s.

The front page in Spring 1995 loudlyproclaimed ‘Environment=Jobs,’ anothermessage that is only now part of mainstreamthinking.

In 1996 we were pointing out that nine of thehottest years on record had been in the last16 years. Now nine of the warmest yearshave been since 2000. In 1996 we talkedabout the UN climate agreement from theEarth Summit but no serious action onemissions in Scotland. Now, and in large partthanks to our efforts, we have Scotland’sexcellent climate change act and a set ofambitious targets. Of course our challengenow is to get those targets delivered.

An anonymous caller threatened to burndown the office after we highlighted peopledriving one to a car in the Edinburgh rushhour while dressed as Eco-Wardens.

Very noticeable through this period is thegrowing emphasis on working withcommunities, from opencast to landfill, fromsewage sludge dumping to incinerators, with

WHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013Looking Back

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What on Earth has reached its 60thedition, giving us a good excuse tolook back at the last two decades

of Friends of the Earth Scotland activity.

The first ever edition of What on Earthappeared in March 1992 and led with theresults of air pollution monitoring we hadcarried out as of part of a campaign withScotland on Sunday. We also looked forwardto the creation of the Scottish EnvironmentProtection Agency and the preparations forthe Rio Earth Summit that May. And wecelebrated our campaign victory on gettingthe Scottish Office to accept they had torestore grants for removing lead from drinkingwater.

The front page in Spring 1993 was of courseabout the Braer disaster and our calls forbetter tanker routing and safety rules.

The next few issues celebrated success ontropical timber imports, reduced speed limitsin communities and cleaner beaches, andlaunched the campaign against the HarrisSuperquarry, something which took us morethan a decade to win. In the nineties we alsocelebrated our part in defeating plans for a

By Dr Richard Dixon, Director

Looking BackWHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013

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Environmental Justice emerging as a fullyfledged driver of our work in 1999. By Spring2002 we were able to talk about holding FirstMinister Jack McConnell to his commitmentto Environmental Justice and launched ourproject creating Agents for EnvironmentalJustice across Scotland.

What on Earth issues in the 2000s coveredGM crops, lobbying on European chemicalslegislation, the Big Ask work around theclimate bills here and at Westminster, greenenergy and the tour of the Nuclear WhiteElephant, and followed a group of 5 MSPs asthey tried to save energy in their homes.

In the nineties, with European funding, we setout a vision for a low-carbon, resource-efficient Scotland, in the last few years wehave set out practical plans for a low-carbonenergy system in the three ‘Power ofScotland’ reports.

Over two decades What on Earth hasanalysed and highlighted party policies inScottish, UK and European elections andinterviewed politicians.

Campaigns over the years have included airpollution, packaging, bathing water quality,the M77 and the Aberdeen Bypass, tropicaltimber, toxic chemicals in your home,

biomass burners, GM crops, unconventionalgas and renewable energy, as well as ourwork on Cairn Energy and RBS. Our legalchallenge of the M74 led to our work oncommunity access to justice. We also helpedintroduce 20mph zones across Scotland anddefeat the Hunterston coal-fired power stationproposal, shaped Scotland’s Freedom ofInformation legislation and trialled energyefficiency information for house buyers – nowa legal requirement.

We took over the front steps of the FrenchConsulate to protest nuclear testing, tookbarrels of radioactive waste to the AustralianConsulate and highlighted polluting factoriesfrom Muir of Ord to Leith docks. The Chair ofour Board hung off a crane. Inflatablechainsaws, dinosaurs and white elephants allput in an appearance. People in suits sangsongs and drank oil. Our own version of Boratsupported trams and Bob the Builder said hecould fix the Forth Road Bridge (he was right).Penguins marched to a pipe band, and theAntarctic came to the Scottish Parliament.

The 60 issues of What on Earth show usmany of the great and creative things wehave done over the last two decades,including some big successes and somemajor frustrations. They certainly inspire useto keep on campaigning hard.

WHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013Staff and Board

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The last pieces of the Friends of theEarth Scotland restructure havefinally fallen into place, and we are

happy to say that we now have a refreshedand very enthusiastic staff team in placeat Thorn House.

You have probably already heard that thename of our new director is RichardDixon, who returns to Friends of the EarthScotland after leading WWF Scotland for anumber of years. Richard was head ofresearch for Friends of the Earth Scotlandfor no less than eight years from 1994.

Alice Hoeper has joined us as our newmembership and office administrator.Alice has been working in the public andcharitable sector in Scotland for the lastten years.

John Fitzgerald has started in the role ofdevelopment co-ordinator, and will beleading on grants and fundraising. Herecently completed a masters inPhilosophy at the University of Edinburgh,with a focus on environmental ethics. Inhis spare time, John is a keen cyclist, andis a part-owner of a tandem.

Finally, we have welcomed new campaignsintern Helle Hang, who is studying PRand Media at Queen Margaret University.She is also a keen cyclist and has helpedto organize several Reclaim the Streetsevents.

Sam Franklin, who despite his name isDutch, is our new communicationsvolunteer. Sam is also a freelance graphicdesigner, has a past as a Green Party citycouncillor in Amsterdam and is currentlystudying in Edinburgh.

In January we said sad goodbyes to themarvellous Vicki Bradley, membershipand events fundraising manager, who leftFriends of the Earth Scotland after being asteadfast member of staff for more thantwo decades.

We would like to thank chair of the boardMatthew Crighton for his help duringthe last six months. In the absence of adirector, Matthew has been supportingstaff in the office on a daily basis, and hispositive attitude has been a great helpduring this period of transition.

By Per Fischer, Communications Officer

Alice Hoeper &John Fitzgerald

Last year, a generous donor offered tomatch donations from our members and

supporters in a ‘double your donation’scheme. We are pleased to say that this

initiative raised over £21,000 for Friends ofthe Earth Scotland. Thanks to everyone whodonated.

We will shortly be launching an appealfor our campaign to halt fracking and

unconventional gas extraction in Scotland.

Evidence from the US and Australiahighlights inherent and unacceptably highenvironmental and health risks includingmethane gas escapes and watercontamination. But despite these risks, theUK Government has issued permits for

energy companies to prospect for coalbedmethane at a number of sites in Scotland.

With your support, we can campaigneffectively to ensure that this dangerousand environmentally damaging industry ishalted in Scotland.

See www.foe-scotland.org.uk/fracking formore details of this campaign.

Your supportWHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013

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Lucy van der Ham, 16, has set herself apersonal challenge to raise funds for

Friends of the Earth Scotland. On 3 August,Lucy and her family will be climbing a Munrocalled Beinn Heasgarnich, which translatesas Peaceful Hill. Their route is 20.27km longwith an ascent of 1635m and will take about 7 hours to complete.

Lucy says: “I have never before climbed aMunro or anything similar. I am veryinterested in conservation and fairness andwhen I found that FoES represented all of myviews I knew I was going to help in any way Icould and so made the decision to getinvolved and raise some money.”

Lucy has set up a donations page at VirginMoney Giving. This easy-to-use onlineservice allows you to set up an onlinesponsorship form for Friends of the EarthScotland. If you’re thinking of doing asponsored challenge this year, let us know.We’d be happy to help you. We wish Lucyand her family all the best with theirchallenge!

Lucy’s sponsorship page is atfoes.do/lucyvanderham

By John Fitzgerald, Development Co-ordinator

WHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013Strategy Update

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Anew strategy for Friends of the Earthhas been circulated to local groupsand interested members. Building on

our history and our strengths as part of aglobal network, it looks at how we can beScotland’s leading environmentalcampaigning organisation.

Acknowledging that we have had some greatsuccesses, but overall the threats to ourplanet are greater than ever, it takesEnvironmental Justice and climate change asour twin themes and looks at how we willdevelop future campaigns, where we willraise money and how we will work over thenext three years.

The plan sets new targets for the number ofmembers and other supporters we will havein Scotland and looks at how we can helpmore young people take action on theenvironment. This plan sets the frameworkunder which we will continue our currentcampaigns on community access to justice,unconventional gas, biomass and the globalimpact of Scottish companies, and our newwork on climate jobs and air pollution.

Key elements are the commitments to work

closely with our local groups so we can makethe biggest difference across Scotland, andwith our international colleagues so we canmake the biggest difference on a global scale.

Annual General MeetingCome to the Annual General Meeting thisyear to hear more about the new strategy,and then listen to Fintan Hurley, ScientificDirector, Institute of Occupational Medicine,talk about air pollution and health.

Fintan Hurley is one of Scotland's leadingexperts on the health impacts of air pollutionand is a member of the UK Government'sCommittee on the Medical Aspects of AirPollution.

Attending the AGM allows you to have yoursay in the way that Friends of the EarthScotland is run. In addition to finding outmore about our campaign successes andchallenges over the last year, you can alsosubmit a motion, vote on current issues andstand for election to our Board.

The AGM will be held on Saturday 1 June2013 in the Augustine Church, George IVBridge, Edinburgh. All members welcome.

By Dr Richard Dixon, Director

Local GroupsWHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013

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Big Biomass continues to be the maincampaigning issue, with Friends of the

Earth Tayside taking the lead on behalf ofFoE Scotland. Despite a limit on the size ofelectricity-only biomass power stations in theproposed changes to the RenewablesObligation order, there are loopholes for“good quality” CHP and co-firing or

conversion of fossil fuel power stations tobiomass. This still leaves the way open forForth Energy’s inefficient “CHP” powerstations proposed at Dundee, Rosyth andGrangemouth. The Government is stickingwith its position and the campaign continues.And check out the new FoE Tayside website!www.foe-tayside.org.uk

The Glasgow group has successfully beenfundraising from collecting cans in shops,

and a street collection. All the donations wereeligible for the “Double Your Donation” drivelast year.

They organised a very interesting talk fromProfessor Mitchell on the importance of greenspaces to health and wellbeing, and severalpeople have given short talks before thegroup’s meetings.

The local groups in Stirling and Falkirkcontinue their hugely important work

against unconventional gas developments intheir areas. There’s a Falkirk Council planninghearing regarding Dart Energy’s planning

application in the pipeline. There will be anopportunity to both object and presentobjections verbally at the hearing, and thepreparations for that are on-going.

Tayside: Big Biomass

The Dumfries group attended a localenvironment day in Dumfries, and

talked to lots of people around the theme“warmer homes”, to both raise awarenessand educate. The group is also hosting apublic meeting on fracking in April.

Dumfries:Environment Day

Glasgow: Fundraising

Stirling and Falkirk: Dart Energy battle

WHAT YOU CAN DOIf you live in an area with an active local group, please consider coming along to a meeting.If your local group is dormant or non-existent, why not get a group up and running where

you live. www.foe-scotland.org.uk/localgroups

WHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013The Interview

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TONY JUNIPER IS THE FORMER EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR OF FRIENDS OF THE EARTHENGLAND, WALES AND NORTHERN IRELAND.

Q. Can you give us an overview of thebook?

There is a massive gap in how economicslooks at nature and that’s really the reason forthe book and what’s in it is a series of storiesthat hopefully carry the research findings onthe immense value of nature to a muchbigger audience than is evidently happeningthrough publication in scientific journals. It’san attempt to reach out and to flip thenarrative around economics and ecology sothat we can have more rational debatearound the choices that we are making.

Q. Traditionally environmentalists havesaid that nature should be valued for itselfrather in economic terms.

I agree with environmentalists who say natureis valuable for its own reasons and should beprotected for its own sake. What I’m saying isthat this is not an alternative argument as towhy we should invest more in protectingnatural systems it is an additional argumentand I think that to that extent it is a questionof playing these two things alongside eachother.

When entering that discussion aroundeconomics I think it is really important tomake a distinction between valuation andpricing because once you have establishedthe value of a wetland or a woodland or acoastland system or a particular aspect of

biodiversity you don’t necessarily have tocreate some price mechanism for it, you canlegislate and say that it is so valuable that weare going to ban particular activities. So, forexample, the value of bees in Britain rightnow is immense in terms of the pollinationservices that they discharge and we arebeginning to understand the impact of certainpesticides. One response would be to banthese pesticides and that’s a rational decisionbased upon the economic value of nature thatdoesn’t require a price being put on thatparticular pollination service.

There are occasions actually when pricesmight be sensible. One of the examples in thebook I talk about is the services beingprovided by wetlands and pastures andforests near New York city in purifying thewater supply and in that case payments foreco-system services are being allocated tolandowners in order to keep the serviceintact. So even when you get into pricing itcan be very positive not only from the point ofview of protecting nature but also from thepoint of view of managing the costs thatpeople need to pay in that case the watersupply.

Q. If putting a value on nature really startsworking, how do we ensure indigenouspeople and local communities do not loseout?

This is about civil society participation in thekinds of policies which finish up being craftedand implemented. One positive example hasbeen the case of Guyana where there hasbeen negotiations between the government of

The InterviewWHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013

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that country and the government of Norway ina very significant payment for ecosystemservice deal, mainly because of the carbonservices they are providing to the whole world.

Obviously there are dangers there forindigenous and other forest-dwellingcommunities but they have been involved innegotiations that have led to a national lowcarbon development plan and they will begetting very significant benefits from this interms of, for example, renewable energy,access to the internet and demarcation ofindigenous land, being paid for through theNorwegian money.

There are questions of technical expertiseand capacity building to be able to negotiateeffectively in these kinds of discussions, but

there is a role there for civil society that isclued into some of the dangers and sointernational groups working on these kindsof issues can be helping these communitiesto get the best possible deal.

Q. What’s next for this work?

My great ambition for the book is that in a fewyears’ time it will be impossible for politiciansand policy makers, and indeed seniorsfigures in major companies, to be saying thatnature is something that can be sacrificed todeliver economic growth, that there is thischoice between development on the onehand and ecology on the other.

An fuller version of this interview is on ourwebsite at foes.do/tony_juniper_interview

WHAT ON EARTH SPRING/SUMMER 2013Reviews

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WH ALLEN, 2013, 558PP HARDBACK, £25

By John Fitzgerald

Al Gore’s latest book is a self-consciously ‘bigpicture’ response to the question: "what arethe drivers of global change?” In his earlychapters, Gore strays into slightlyoverwrought futurism as he breathlesslyanalyses thousands of years of market forcesand technology as drivers of change.

Gore’s policyproposals on climatesolutions are sensibleand familiar: aneffective carbon tax,removing subsidies forfossil fuels andsupporting the growthof renewable energy.On the other handGore dismisses geo-engineering proposals(such as modifying theatmosphere) as “wack-a-doodle”.

Gore’s wider conclusion is morecontroversial. He believes that the internet(which he labels ‘the Global Mind’) couldfunction as a global conscience and anelevated public sphere where we can conductreasoned debates on how to save the planet.One wonders whether Gore has spent muchtime browsing internet forums.

It was heartening to read a high-profileAmerican politician making the right calls onclimate change and fossil fuels. We can onlyhope that the harder-edged, more urgentparts of Gore’s message can make it throughthe fog of futurism.

POSITIVE MONEY, 2013, £14.99

By Paul Daly

Modernising Money has a ‘no priorknowledge’ foundation, which eases thereader into the complexities of our bankingsystem. The harsh realities within the coversdo make for a shocking read. Learning howand why our monetary system is structuredand the way it has evolved highlights why weare in such a financial pickle. The book goes

on to reflect on howchanging this systemcan have an impacton different areas,specifically includingthe social andenvironmentalimplications.

Noting that we are inboth financial andenvironmental crisis atthe same time will

come as no surprise to most. ModernisingMoney highlights ways out of our spiral thatwill ensure safeguards and even benefits forthe environment whilst moving away from thedestructive boom and bust cycles.

We have been campaigning for reform inRBS – Modernising Money highlights that it isalso a restructure of the overall bankingsystem that is required. We need banks thatwork for us, not for shareholders. We needbanks that work for the long-term global view,not just at the financial year.

19

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Find out more at www.triodos.co.uk/foescotland

*See www.triodos.co.uk/foescotland for the full terms and conditions. The donation can only be paid if applicants complete anapplication form in accordance with these terms and conditions. Triodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands withlimited liability, registered in England and Wales BR3012). Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) and regulated by the FinancialServices Authority (FSA) for the conduct of UK business. Registered office: Triodos Bank, Deanery Road, Bristol BS1 5AS.

Open an account with us,deposit £100 or moreand we’ll donate£40to

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