Wildfires will worsen without action on climate change, says Lorna Slater

Wildfires across Scotland will worsen without action by governments to tackle climate change, Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater has warned.

With firefighters having tackled blazes across Scotland in recent days, Ms Slater said she had been “really shocked by the wildfires”.

But she said without increased action to tackle climate change, the situation could worsen in coming years.

What we are seeing now in Scotland will only get worse if governments continue to prevaricate, unsure of how to politically manage the cost of moving to an economy that isn’t dependent on fossil fuels

Ms Slater’s comments came as an “extreme” warning for wildfires across all of Scotland was in place for Saturday, with a wildfire on the Isle of Arran still burning.

Meanwhile a wildfire in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, that had started on Thursday was extinguished on Saturday morning.

Speaking at the Scottish Green Party conference in Stirling, Ms Slater said: “This is the climate catastrophe accelerating.

“Governments around the world have let us down.

“They didn’t listen to science, they didn’t cut carbon emissions, they didn’t stop their destruction of our ecosystems.

“What we are seeing now in Scotland will only get worse if governments continue to prevaricate, unsure of how to politically manage the cost of moving to an economy that isn’t dependent on fossil fuels.”

Her comments came as she used her speech to accuse the Scottish Government – which she was part of until former first minister Humza Yousaf dramatically ended the powersharing agreement between the SNP and the Greens last year – of having “failed to deliver” on issues such as public transport.

She highlighted the role her party had played in introducing free bus travel for young people across Scotland, adding that this is “soon” to be extended to asylum seekers in Scotland.

But Ms Slater added: “The SNP has failed to deliver the scale of investment needed to make public transport a reliable, affordable and accessible option for all.”

The Scottish Greens co-leader argued that rather than “pouring funds into dualling the A9” – the main road linking Perth and Inverness – the government should be investing in public transport.

Making the plea, she said: “It should not be cheaper to travel between Scotland’s two biggest cities by car than by rail.

“The Scottish Government should not be pouring funds into dualling the A9, increasing traffic, pollution and noise, instead of investing in buses and trains.”

Ms Slater said it is “far too late in the climate emergency to be building new roads”, adding: “What we need is cheaper rail for all – that means ending peak-time rail fares for good.”

The Scottish Government abolished peak-time rail fares for a trial period, but this was not made permanent, with Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop saying last year that the “level of subsidy cannot continue in the current financial climate”.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Through the budget for 2025-26, we’re providing record investment of over £4 billion to support our transport network.

“This investment allows us to take forward a £2 bus fare cap pilot to take place within a regional transport area for 12 months from January 2026.

“Over two million older people, disabled people, children and young people in Scotland are benefiting from free bus travel, making over three million journeys every week, and rail fare increases in Scotland are lower than elsewhere in the UK.”