The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland joined faith leaders from across Scotland in April to call for the passing of a “strong and ambitious” new Climate Change Bill.

The then Moderator, the Rt Rev Dr Derek Browning, said: “We share the earth, our common home gifted to us, with seven billion others whose descendants depend on getting our response to climate change right,” he said. “We have faith that this is possible.”

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 originally set a world-leading target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

The Scottish Government now intends to introduce a new Bill which increases the target to a 90% emissions reduction.

However, faith leaders are calling for ‘a net target of 100%’ to be introduced, saying that it “might appear very difficult to achieve but with rapid decarbonisation of the economy envisaged in the draft Scottish Energy Strategy there is no reason to dismiss it.”

Dr Browning was among the faith leaders speaking at a special event held at the Dynamic Earth centre in Edinburgh, hosted by Claire Baker MSP and co-ordinated by Christian Aid, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Tearfund and Islamic Relief.

Dr Browning said: “I welcome this opportunity to join faith leaders to call for Scotland to assert its leading role in responding to climate change.

“While it is important to get the facts and figures about tonnes of carbon and percentages and targets right it is human stories that change hearts and minds and faith groups understand this.

“Last November the Church of Scotland helped bring together representatives from churches in the Pacific, from Tuvalu and Fiji to meet the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, when she visited the UN climate conference in Bonn. Their stories about the catastrophic impact of climate change on Pacific islands, and the stories that partners here today bring from around the world to Scottish audience make clear the message we need to understand here and elsewhere: climate change is changing lives.

“We are proud that the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government have shown leadership in promoting climate action in the past and now have the opportunity to assert once again that Scotland has a leading role to play.”