In mp3 format (and ogg vorbis format - see Indymedia Scotland).

Duration 3 minutes and 45 seconds.

Transcript:

Interview with Duncan McLaren, Friends of the Earth, Scotland

Q: What is Friends of the Earth going to do against the Dalkeith Park Bypass?

A: Friends of the Earth runs a project called CEDO, which is Citizen Environmental Defense Advocacy, which provides support on planning issues to local communities, and the Dalkeith Protesters have been one of the groups that have been relying on support from Friends of the Earth for the past years. We have helped them with networking and with fundraising and with their activism.

We understand now the campaign has got to a critical point, and that they are about to be evicted.

Q: There are some treesitters in the Park, and I am hoping you could give some nice words of support for them, too. Are you happy with people sitting in the trees?

A: It is always appropriate to defend fractions of the environment with direct action, as long as that direct action is peacefull. So that is why Friends of the Earth has been given support to the protesters at Dalkeith Park.

Q: Nice kind of context between Climate Change, individual transport and road building schemes would also be appreciated.

A: The Dalkeith Park Bypass is one of a series of road schemes, that the Scottish Executive seems determined to bulldoze through, regardless of the public opinion and regardless of the impact of growing carbon emissions on climate change.

The worst example by far is the M74 in the southside of Glasgow, which will add over a 100 000 tons of carbon dioxide a year to Scottish emissions, and at the same time will bulldoze through an area providing around 3000 jobs for relatively deprived communities in Glasgow.

Q: In the past, the cut-down in emissions was 4% for Scotland, how much is it now?

A: Well, Scotland's record over the last 15 years at best has been at about 0.6% a year of emissions.

That leaves them a long way short of the target to be met in 5 years time of a 20% reduction over 1990 levels.

There have been recalculations every year when we see what these figures are, but even the most optimistic analysis on what has been done so far, leaves a very big gap, and the Executive must set more ambituous targets, and put policies in place to deliver them right now.

Q: What are your further projects and plans? Are you, for example, going to court against the building of the Dalkeith Bypass or anything like that?

A: We are taking the Scottish Executive to Court over the decision to extend the M74 through southside Glasgow.

That's putting our organisation's financial security on the line for the sake of that community, because that is the biggest and most foolish decision.

A public enquiry was held, the planning enquirer reporter recommended against building the road, and the Executive decided to go ahead anyway, so in that respect, we have the authority and the opportunity to challenge that decision in the court which we have done, and that will be resolved in the spring.

Q: How good are the chances you win?

A: I can not comment on legal cases in progress, I am afraid.

Q: Ah, oaky, yeah, I kind of learnt about that at uni, but the legal people are always rambling on and I can't really keep up. Thank you.



More information about the demonstration:
[Feature Climate Change Demo | report 1 | report 2]