 Felly, we will keep that dialogue going and with the support of our local authority colleagues, we will support and continue to support our local libraries. Many thanks. We will now move to the next item of business, which is a debate on motion number 11030, in the name of Shona Robison, on the Rider cut 2014. I invite members who wish to speak in the debate to press the request to speak butons now, or as soon as possible, and I would invite you all to note that we are quite tight for time this afternoon. I now call on Shona Robison to speak to you and move the motion cabinet secretary 10 minutes please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. It's good to be able to have this short debate to mark the spectacular success of the Rider Cup. I think that it was summed up in yesterday's Scotsman quotes that provided drama, a plenty over three days during which there was not a squeak of complaint from any of the 24 players. In terms of spectator viewing, it was quite possibly one of the best we have seen, not just for an event that had 45,000 spectators attending each day, but for any tournament ever staged in this country. On Sunday evening, Sky Sports broadcaster Butch Harman commented that this was the best organised Rider Cup ever. It has been phenomenal. It was also a success because of the stunning victory of the European team, led by Captain Paul McGinley, which means that Europe retains the title for the third time in a row. For the 250,000 fans who came from 96 different countries to watch the best players from Europe and the USA, it was an amazing experience, as well as the TV audience of around 500 million people around the world. Many of them enjoyed events like the fantastic Gala concert that was held last Wednesday at the Hydro alongside the Falkirk Kelpys and Edinburgh's air traffic control tower, which were lit up in gold in celebration of Scotland hosting the Rider Cup. What a week of weather, too, with the sun rising at Gleneagles for the opening tee-off to welcome the fans and the packed grandstands. Importantly, the Rider Cup was a success because of the legacy benefits that we will debate in a moment, as well as the huge amount of work that is undertaken by the many partners listed in the motion of this debate. I would like, at this point, to pay particular tribute to Visit Scotland and its events director at Events Scotland for the work that it has done. Of course, the Rider Cup will provide great economic benefits to Scotland both locally and nationally. We have already seen examples of that impact with one golf club in Angus reporting an estimated income of £15,000 a day during the Rider Cup and another in Ayrshire, whose visitor numbers shot up by 74 per cent compared to the same period last year. In addition, a number of airlines, including US Airways and United Airlines, reported increases in demand for international seats, while KLM and Iceland Air added extra capacity on flights throughout September in response to strong demand from the North American market. With the tournament being to a global television audience in excess of half a billion each day of the competition, the Rider Cup truly has set Scotland as the perfect stage for major events to ensure that we capture the full nature of those benefits. A full independent evaluation is under way. The evaluation will be far reaching and, among other things, will capture the impacts in terms of increased employment in Perthick and Ross in the rest of Scotland. The value of supplier contracts, which is one by Scottish businesses involved with the event, and tourism in the increased visitor numbers duration of stay occupancy levels and the additional revenue generated in relation to travel and transport and, of course, in terms of golf and the positive impact that the event has had on visitors playing Scotland's fabulous golf courses. A report will be published in the spring of next year and I will update colleagues in the chamber at that time. It has been a long time since the bid to host this Rider Cup was awarded to Scotland 13 years ago and the legacy benefits have been part of the planning from the outset. Scotland is not only the home of golf but it is also the future of golf and this Government is committed to increasing golf participation and membership levels through our successful club golf programme. To underline the commitment, the First Minister last week announced additional funding of up to £1 million over a four-year period to help to introduce yet more young people and families to the game. The club golf programme has already encouraged more than 350,000 young people to pick up a club and this new funding will not only build on that success but also look to expand the appeal to families as well. Through the new get into golf initiative as part of club golf, parents are being encouraged to participate with their children and play the game as a family. The junior rider cut, which also took place in Blair Gowrie last week, was the perfect illustration of club golf at its best, with 3,200 children taking part in club golf activity and with approximately 6,000 spectators over the course of the tournament. The profile of junior golf in Scotland is stronger than it has ever been. Another area that we invested in from the beginning as part of our Rider Cup bid commitments is the development of domestic golf tournaments with over £10 million spent to date. This investment supports golf tourism, which is a key tourism market for Scotland as well as providing a boost for businesses, not just in Persia but throughout Scotland. We also helped to deliver the best connected Rider Cup ever through investing in telecoms. This was the first Rider Cup where mobile phones were allowed to be taken on the course where we facilitated 4G connectivity. We also invested in enhancing the spectator experience from wi-fi hotspots at park and ride sites to wi-fi enroute, as well as connectivity on the course. At any major event, transport planning is always a particular challenge. The Rider Cup was no different with spectators travelling to Gleneagles from across the country. Over the course of the event, the park and ride system together with ScotRail ensured that spectators arrived safely and on time. Around 30,000 people directly experienced the upgraded Gleneagles railway station. I would like to record my thanks to those who work tirelessly to keep Persia and the rest of Scotland on the move. The scale and size of the Rider Cup dictated that it had to be a non-car event. Officials at Transport Scotland worked with Rider Cup Europe and key partners, including Perth and Conross Council and Police Scotland, to develop a robust transport plan. The plan was designed to maximise the use of the available road network and the public transport network and to minimise the negative impact of the event on local communities, businesses and the wider travelling public. The plan also sought to deliver transport legacy benefits from the 2014 Rider Cup. As I mentioned, Gleneagles station has undergone significant refurbishment, providing a lasting legacy for Ochtarader and the wider Strathairn area. Works included structural refurbishment and wi-fi installation. In addition, Network Rail installed two new lifts within the station, providing step-free access to both platforms from the access for all fund. Scotland Rail also fitted wi-fi equipment on to the class 170 and class 158 rolling stock, which served Gleneagles last week, which will continue to provide a legacy for routes across Scotland. Finally, the new link road is connecting the station safely to the nearby A9 and an expanded car park. The event was not only about the teams and the fans, but it would not have been possible without the hard-working and dedicated 7,000 staff and 1,800 volunteers, and they would like to pay particular tribute to them. As part of the wider volunteering programme, we supported 50 young people to volunteer through Scotland's best, increasing their skills and experience, as well as helping them to gain a SCQF level 4 employability qualification to increase their future employment prospects. The young people whom I met from the Scotland's best programme had certainly got a lot out of their experience. In the coming weeks and months, we will be able to report on further outcomes and legacy benefits from the Ryder Cup, not least when the economic benefits study reports next spring. I look forward to hearing members' views during this debate, but it is without doubt that Scotland has put the icing on the cake of what has been a fantastic summer of sport. We should not underestimate the reach that Scotland has had on the world stage, firstly with the Commonwealth Games and, of course, politically through the referendum as well, but then finally through the Ryder Cup. It is without doubt the case that Scotland is known more now to millions of people throughout the world, and that can only be good in the future for our country, for our economy and for our tourism industry. I hope that that is something that members across the whole of this chamber will welcome. It gives me a great pleasure, Deputy Presiding Officer, to move the motion in my name. Many thanks and thank you for your brevity. Thank you, Presiding Officer. As the minister said, like the Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Glynegals has been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. With good weather throughout and a fantastic setting, all was set fair for an excellent competition and we were not disappointed. It has to be said that Paul McGinlay, as captain, made all the right calls in pairing his team and was extremely effective in this role. The Europeans all played well, and if it is not too invidious to single out individual players, I would want to pay a special mention from my own household at least to the good contributions, the excellent contributions from Justin Rose and Rory McElroy. As newcomers to the competition, the American Patrick Reed and the Frenchman Victor Dubison gave memorable performances. Of course, for Europe to win again and in such a conclusive way was just a joy to watch, but they did not have it all their own way, and praise must go to both sides for making it such an enthralling competition. Since his team's Ryder Cup victory, Paul McGinlay has of course announced his retirement, and having played in the Ryder Cup, being vice-captain and now captain, and having won in all three occasions, he can, in his own words, retire like a heavyweight champion undefeated. I am sure that we all wish him well and thank him for his efforts, but, of course, it was not just the players who excelled. The staff and the 2,000 volunteers did a great job and were exceptionally professional throughout, and the 45,000-plus spectators added to the feel of the event as their passion, commitment and knowledge of their sport shone through in their enthusiastic reaction and good-hearted support for the players. Glen Eagles itself was a stunning venue for a great competition, and I can imagine just how hard the greenkeepers and the staff have worked to ensure that the course not just looked its very best but played well too. Of course, as the minister said, we owe special debts of thanks to Mike Cantley, Malcolm Ruffhead and Paul Bush of VisitScotland and EventScotland for bringing the project through over so many years. It is likely, as we have heard, that once the figures are analysed and the numbers are in, we will find that Scotland has benefited financially and in terms of return visits from our hosting of the Rider Cup, and those statistics will make interesting reading. However, our country began to reap the benefits, as we have heard, as far back as 2003, when Jack McConnell's First Minister launched club golf as a legacy of the Rider Cup. Since 2003, more than 140,000 children have had the opportunity to experience golf, and many have continued with the sport after that initial experience. I very much hope that some will go on to be the players and professionals of the future. In that regard, our congratulations of course must also go to those who competed and were part of the junior rider cup at Blair Gowrie. We know too that many of those parents and siblings of young people who have been involved in club golf have also been motivated to take up the game. I was very pleased to read that the interest will now be harnessed in a more formal way, and I think that that is a very good thing to do. However, in spite of the great event and the fact that Scotland is undoubtedly the home of golf and has such a preeminent reputation in golf, there are many of our local golf clubs that are struggling to survive and need all the help that they can get. My colleague Neil Findlay will address this issue in more detail in his closing speech, but I wonder if the cabinet secretary can tell us in the course of the debate if sport Scotland keeps track of clubs in difficulty and what measures it can bring to bear to assist them in those situations. Colleagues will perhaps recall that I have not always been a particular fan of Diageaux, particularly when they were closing the distillery in my constituency with subsequent job losses, and I still regret the decision very much, and we still in my constituency miss the impact of those jobs in our local economy. However, I have to give them credit for their initiative launched earlier this year as part of their contribution and as a partner to the legacy of the Rider Cup, by establishing a five-year training programme for young, unemployed people who might like to work in the catering and hospitality industry. The programme, I understand, is being led by Peter Ledderer, OBE, who is chairman of Gleneagles and a director of Diageaux. Peter Ledderer has a lifetime of experience in the industry, and I remember well how, as chair of Visit Scotland, he championed on-going training and development for staff in the industry, and how committed he was to making staff training and development the normal way of things in that industry—something that I know his successors have pursued with vigor following his departure. I am sure that, with Mr Leddererer at the helm of this project, it will go from strength to strength and make a real difference to the lives of young people in Scotland and, as importantly, an important contribution to tourism in this country. I read with interest that Scotland is about to host the 10th World Hickory Open Golf Championship, which will shortly get under way in Forfer for those who perhaps espouse a more traditional field to their game of golf. Of course, I wish the participants good luck in their endeavours. However, we have not demonstrated that, as a country, we can successfully host large-scale sporting events that people in Scotland will get involved and take pride in delivering the best possible event that there can be. We know, too, that we can also secure a meaningful legacy when we put our minds to it. I wonder, therefore, if the cabinet secretary might like to say a little about any future sporting events that her Government intends to bid for. I watched with some curiosity and great interest an interview with Mike Cantley of Visit Scotland at the weekend, where I felt as though he was teasing us a little with the prospect of something that perhaps was only a glimmer still in his eye. If there is anything on that front, the cabinet secretary would be willing to share with us, as I am sure we would all be very interested to hear about it. We have a reputation for being able to host such events professionally and safely, and we must capitalise on that legacy. In closing, I want to add my congratulations to everyone involved in making the 2014 Ryder Cup such a success, and I wish Minnesota good luck. They have a high standard to follow. Many thanks. I now call on Liz Smith. Up to five minutes please, Ms Smith. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. If you go into the famous A.K. Bell library in Perth just now, you can access copies of the Perthshire advertiser and the Statharn Herald from June 1921, both of which report on international challenge golf matches between American and British players. That was, in effect, the forerunner for what has become the modern Ryder Cup. It was set against a backdrop of the skeleton building structures, which we now know as the famous Glen Eagle's hotel. The match clearly attracted widespread publicity and a thousand-ginny prize money, which was quite considerable, and apparently some very sociable celebrations in Octor Arder. Rather bizarrely, it is reported in a railway carriage somewhere in Octor Muhty, although the journalist did not seem quite sure of the details perhaps just as well. The newspapers also report on the presentations made by the Duchess of Athyl, who said that the match had proved that first-class golf courses were no longer dependent upon a seaside location and that Perthshire people should be very proud of what had been achieved. I think that she would be even more proud today. Times, of course, have changed, but I think that we can all agree that it was very fitting that it was Glen Eagle's which played host to the 40th Ryder Cup and kept up the reputation of what is undoubtedly one of the world's greatest sporting events, even better, of course, because Europe won. From day one, when it was announced that Glen Eagle's was the chosen venue, the Ryder Cup administration team, along with everyone involved in Glen Eagle's itself, Perth and Cynrhods Council, Police Scotland, Visit Scotland and many more, there was an exceptionally high standard quality of briefing material about the event, and for that reason alone, I think that there was a very high level of public trust in the event. It is true that there were some minor problems—we have heard about some in local newspapers—about some of the wi-fi connection about pedestrian and campsite access and local information leaflet, which I think was a little confused. However, otherwise, there was an exceptionally smooth running tournament, and as you might expect, given the glorious setting of Glen Eagle's, it was an event that attracted very favourable comment from around the world. I think that it speaks volumes that the competitors were also delighted. Personally, I have never seen a championship golf in the world, including ones such as Augusta, Crommontana and Malmo, looking as good as Glen Eagle's was. We should be in absolutely no doubt about the extraordinary efforts that go into making a tournament like this actually work, whether that is Andrew Jowitt as the head professional, Scott Fennick as the senior greenkeeper, Charles Durnay as the Ryder Cup referee, Peter Lidder and his team at Glen Eagle's, because it is no ordinary sporting event. Neither is it any ordinary task to ensure that the estimated 250,000 spectators all have the best visitor experience possible. The cabinet secretary has spoken about the media and sales promotion partnerships, which I think was somewhere in the region of 500,000, reaching in excess of 10 million people in the UK and Ireland, and a record-breaking number of golf fans somewhere in the region of 130,000 entering one-in-a-lifetime competitions to win trips to the 2014 Ryder Clubs. There was clearly absolutely no lack of enthusiasm. At the same time in the international sphere, over 250,000 pounds have been spent on golf marketing and key markets of North America, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, etc., with the biggest spend in the last few months coinciding very much with the screening of the Ryder Cup. Something that I think we all have to recognise is just such good news for Scotland. Of course, the main part of the legacy will be judged by the development of the game for future generations. It is very good to hear about the initiatives that the Scottish Government has undertaken in terms of club golf and the inspiration that will undoubtedly come from the junior Ryder Cup at Blair Gowrie. I particularly welcome the initiative to involve families in that. However, given that Scotland is very much the home of golf and that we have some of the best golf courses in the world—whether they are at Gleneagles or St Andrews, Muirfield, Royal Trun, etc.—I think that it is striking that the vast majority of our young golfers who want to make it big in the game feel the need to go abroad to get some of their training. I think that there is something that we can do in the future is to try to help them to stay home-based, because that would be very much to the benefit not only of the game of golf but for the inspiration of our young people. Likewise, I think that we need to do more to support existing golf and clubs to improve their environmental surroundings in the business case, which I think that Neil Findlay will speak about. On behalf of the 3,000 Elkhdor Ardor residents who have this past week signed a petition asking for the hugely successful footbridge over the A9 at Gleneagles station to be made permanent. For those people who have had to cope with the aftermath of two recent fatal accidents on this stretch of the road, there could be no better lasting legacy than knowing that the footbridge, which all of us are very concerned about being dismantled this weekend, will actually be replaced with a permanent one. I will say a little bit more about some of the issues that I think have to go into that legacy, but for this time I am very happy to support the Government's motion. Many thanks. I will now move to open debate. Four minutes speeches please, Mr Brody, to be followed by John Pentland. Four minutes, Mr Brody. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Firstly, let me congratulate the cabinet secretary on her summer of 2014. Firstly, the Commonwealth Games and then the Ryder Cup have provided not just a legacy for Scotland and Scottish Sport but a huge opportunity for business and tourism. I add a worthy congratulations to Visit Scotland also. Last week, the Ryder Cup tournament came home. As Liz Smith highlighted, a little over 90 years ago, 20 men assembled at Gleneagles for an international challenge match between Great Britain and the USA on the king's course. Among them were golfing giants like Varden, Hagen and J.H. Taylor. The 1921 match had no name, no crowd, no trophy—yes, prize money—yet it gave rise to the phenomenon, the experience that is now the Ryder Cup. It was then first played officially in Massachusetts at the Worcester Country Club in 1927. Of course, it was designed by Donald Ross, a golf course architect from Donach. Throughout its history, Scots have played their part in Ryder Cup course design on both sides of the Atlantic—Ross, Braid, Mackenzie, Campbell—and also its players—Fallon, Eric Brown, John Panton, Bannerman, Torrance, Dana Gallagher, the youngest player ever at the age of 20, Montgomery, Laurie and so on. It came home. As I drove toward Perth early Friday morning in discounting a chest infection, as one just had to on that day, the closer I got to Gleneagles, the atmosphere became more and more palpable. Entering the course, a theatre set at the foot of the locals, a modern-day coliseum by this time with golfing gladiators. One could only marvel at the ocean of people, properly disciplined by the love of golf, but also by outstanding organisation, location management and communication. 45,000 spectators, marshalled by volunteers, as was mentioned, 1,800 selected from 17 and a half applications. Volunteers who secured account safety, sold programmes, provided hospitality to the many adroitly placed guest pavilions. They managed to transport the park and ride facilities, marshalled the buses and provided outstanding customer service at the hospitality village, a village where you could buy a Scotty hot dog covered in onions and haggis and yours for only £7.50. They in no little part played their role in the success of this tournament and I applaud all the partnership organisations mentioned in the motion in creating such an event that reached a half a billion people in 180 countries. Europe won the event and commiserations of course go to the USA team. I would say to Phil Mickelson however that he should look in before he looks out because don't attack an adopted golfing son of Scotland as he did with Tom Watson. Presiding Officer, the real winners were the game of golf and the Scotland experience, both offering significant opportunities and income in the years ahead for golf and for tourism. The lasting legacy for golf is manyfold. The cabinet secretary has talked about the club golf initiative to put golf club in every child's hand by the age of nine and that is critical. Golf tourism is a win-win for the Scottish economy. In the last year, I have had several discussions with European golfing authorities, the University of West of Scotland and an internationally renowned golf course to try to replicate and partner the golf degree course at the University of Birmingham, which is associated with the practical course at the Belfrey. Distance learning, which I am afraid some young Scots golfers can't afford to attend. Let's try to create that partnership with Birmingham—a comprehensive high-level degree course embracing finance, marketing and retail, as well as course design and maintenance, club design and coaching. A Scottish Golf Academy, for example, which could address the impending construction of golf city in China, real opportunities that exist to kindle inbound and outbound golf tourism. Congratulations to everybody associated with the event over the last three days. Colin John Pentland, to be followed by Annabelle Ewing, up to four minutes please. Pars, birdies and bogies is how golf is often described. I believe me as an ex-club member I've experienced them all. I can well remember the endless series of tragedies, bogey, after bogey, after bogey, all obscured by the occasional miracle, that high five moment, a birdie. Looking back at the Ryder Cup, I had, like many others, those jaw-dropping moments when the professionals made the miraculous shots and just seemed par for the course. Who can forget those game-changing moments when Ian Poethers chippin at the 15th Rory's Tramline put and Jamie Donaldson's put that earned the point that attained the 40th Ryder Cup for Europe magic moments indeed. And it's great that Europe has now won six of the last seven events with this year's team captain by Paul McGinley, seven UK players, a swede, a dain, a German, a Spaniard and a Frenchman, putting a tremendous team effort to secure the cup, but best of all it was in Scotland only the second time here, the first being at Muirfield in 1973. Of course, the Ryder Cup is now a huge event much, much bigger than when it was rescued by Raymond McWale with Bell sponsorship in 1983 and 1985. This year's competition, Presiding Officer, attracted thousands of enthusiastic and sometimes strangely clad visitors from all over the world who were given a very warm welcome, Scottish welcome and even the golf wear of some prominent Scots also grabbed media attention. There were a few moments however when the US challenge gave Europe cause for concern, but we were eventually rewarded you know with not the knife edge finish as we've come to expect, but a convincing one. Nevertheless, the competition had a great atmosphere to the very end and I'm sure that most people who were there would agree. There is no doubt that there are many economic benefits for Scotland as a result of the competition being staged at Glen Egos with many millions spent at the actual event and on international media coverage, but the real value of the Ryder Cup will be what happens down the line. Just as the efforts that were put into securing the planning and promoting the Ryder Cup took years to bring to fruition, saw so the legacy needs to be secured and nurtured over the coming years. 2010 host Wales have seen a 40% growth in golf tourism with around 200,000 visitors last year, so we must build on the romantic appeal of the location and the spectacle of the occasion and ensure that the impact on visitors and the media coverage have a long lasting effect. The coverage should pay dividends for tourism and food and drinks exports as we look to expand our markets. You like the Commonwealth Games, there were hundreds of volunteers hard at work and I would just like to reiterate what I said about the games and the importance of harnessing the spirit of volunteering that we have seen this summer. Finally, there is no doubt that the Ryder Cup will encourage more people to play golf and I urge them to be patient and not to put off if progress is slow. For such times, I found the words of John Feth Kennedy comforting, show me a man with a great golf game and I'll show you a man who has been neglecting something. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I'm very pleased to be able to participate in the debate this afternoon on the fantastic success that was the Ryder Cup 2014 at Glenigos, and, of course, to add my congratulations to the European team captain Paul McGinley and his victorious players. I was keen to speak today, Presiding Officer, both in my capacity as SNP MSP from Scotland in Fife, as well as being a resident of Strathairn with my home in Cymru, some 16 miles from Glenigos. From all the conversations that I've had over the last few days with local people, the feedback about the local hosting of the Ryder Cup at Glenigos has been very positive indeed. Of course, the massive free advertising for our tourism industry that the Ryder Cup afforded with, as we've heard, some half a billion TV viewers per day across the globe is well understood by local people and the redoubtable, if I may call them that, Mike Cantlay, chairman of Visit Scotland has said that hosting the Ryder Cup was the equivalent of a £40 million free advert, so well done to all concerned at Visit Scotland. I believe that that can only bode very well indeed for our tourism industry in Persia and indeed across Scotland and at a more local level. I am pleased to report that, as far as I have heard, hotels large and small did great business, as did local beanbees and shalys and lodges and anywhere that people could actually come and stay. The beds were used up. Local restaurants, I understand, were also busy, and although not all retailers had increased takings, nonetheless there is a confidence that the visiting Americans and others from around the globe will indeed come back again to explore this most beautiful part of Scotland at a perhaps more leisurely pace. As we've heard, fears of transport chaos did not in fact materialise, and I would pay special thanks here in particular to Transport Scotland, which, with, I would say, their meticulous planning paved the way for a very smooth running operation involving, I believe, some 50,000 people on site each day at Glenegos, including, of course, the thousands of visitors. With respect to transport infrastructure, I would add my support to the local petition calling on the A9 Rydercock Food Bridge to become a permanent feature. I know that the temporary one is to come down in the next few days, but I am aware, because it said in the personal advertiser of the 30th of September of this year that the Transport Minister Keith Brown has indicated that he is willing, at least to look into the matter of establishment of a permanent structure. I see that the cabinet secretary might be wanting to give me some news, I do not know. I think that, just to confirm that, I have spoken again to Keith Brown and he absolutely reiterates his commitment to do that. As I understand Transport Scotlander reviewing the petition access in the area to assess which further measures could potentially be put in place, they will be engaging with the local community and the council on that matter. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I welcome the statements from the cabinet secretary. I am sure that the gentlemen in Ocdorda, who started the petition and the community concerned, will be very pleased indeed to hear that some progress is going to be made. I will, of course, be in touch with the transport minister to ensure that that progresses in a reasonable time frame. We talked about legacy also this afternoon, Presiding Officer, and when I spoke in the debate in September last year, there were two local charities to benefit a Friends of St Margaret's Hospital in Ocdorda, and Perth and Cynrhods Disability Sport. We look forward to hearing in due course the benefits that the Ryder Cup has had for these excellent local organisations. We have also heard about the Scottish hospitality apprenticeship scheme and I too praise Diagio and all the other players involved in that. We have heard about the fantastic club golf initiative and I welcome the expansion to encourage families to play with their children. In conclusion, Presiding Officer, I am very proud of the success that was the Ryder Cup 2014. Scotland has now shown to the world that it is indeed the home of golf and that a very warm welcome awaits the world of golf to our shores. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Four Shuttland friends are tomorrow playing the 17-week course, and I wish them well. I hope that none of them end up in the 16th or in the Loch at the side of the 16th or in the Bunker at the side of the 1st or in any other horrible hazard that will cause them to lose their favourite title as pro for. It has by any standard been one heck of a week for golf in Scotland, and I very much agreed with the general tone of the cabinet secretary's remarks. Patricia Ferguson might both reflect that, in the Government that we were part of, when the Ryder Cup was first awarded and when Jack McCall rightly got club golf going, some of us might have hoped at some stage for an access all the areas pass on the back of all that. Ah, but life moves on, and so it does. And just to Liz Smith's interesting point about the comparison between Augusta and Gleneagles, I suppose the one difference is that it's usually 80 degrees of feet at Augusta and having walked around that course at the Masters, that does make a substantial difference. But the point that really struck me watching the golf on television was how powerful the images were, and the fact that that was being beamed round the world does nothing but good for Scottish golf. I'm glad that the minister also mentioned the junior Ryder Cup at Bligari. I personally think that the Bligari courses are the best in London golf courses in Scotland, and the fact that the junior Ryder Cup was such a success, there has to be a world for the development of junior golf. As to the event itself, Chima's chip-in at the 16th has to be my best moment. That for level of difficulty, having walked round the back of that green, that for level of difficulty had to be about the tougher shot given the pressure, imaginable. And the fact that, on the other side of it was Rory, the look in Rory McElroy's eyes, as he, well, you could find any number of adjectives to describe what he did to Rory Fowler, but he beat him, to Ricky Fowler rather, but he beat him. But the look in his eyes, the intensity of his eyes, that's a sportsman on his game. And I personally thought at 10, 6 overnight on the Saturdays, no way we were going to lose when you saw the line-up that we put out with G-Mac leading them out. Can I just make two or three other points? I'll first agree with Chick Brody's point about dissing Tom Watts and not the cleverest thing I thought to do. The Americans just didn't play very well. A two times masters champion got zero points through the course of the weekend. And I think instead of dissing the captain, they might have also all looked at themselves, and I suspect half their team did look at themselves. They can go on about Zinger and his pods back from some years past, but I think the Americans need to do that. McGinley was clearly an inspirational and incredibly intelligent leader of his team and deserves all the plaudits that will come to him. But I think there's some bigger issues for Golf that do need to be addressed. And it's not about Governments in some ways, it's about the game and what the game needs to do for the future. I mean, Golf on money making enterprise, let's be very clear about that. I think the minister mentioned it, but the European Tour, I understand, will make 70 million out of Glen Eagles. Now, how much of that is then going back into junior golf? Not just of course in Scotland, but right across Europe. How much of the... I mean, they're all multimillionaires. Let's be very clear. These are men who are very well paid to do what they do. And I'm a golfer, I'm a passionate golfer, but I think it's fair to look very hard at the game itself and where the money is and why in our country we have what 230,000 people playing golf. France already has 430,000. And when the French next host the Ryder Cup, they hope to increase that to 700,000 by 2018. Well, Victor Dubuson may not be the only Frenchman in the team by that time if they get that kind of number playing golf. So hence why club golf is so important, hence why Shona Robeson's governor absolutely right to keep that going and the other initiatives she announced today are very much support. But I think that some hard questions we need to ask how many girls and women are in golf. The RNA seem to drag themselves into the 21st century about time two. So there is much to do, because I certainly hope, Presiding Officer, that Stephen Gallacher isn't the last scot to play. I hope he plays next time too. But I rather hope there's a few more scots in that team with him. Thank you. Any thanks. And now Colin Bob Doris to be followed by Hans Alamalloch. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It's been an interesting debate this afternoon. Three words sprung in my head where I was listening to this after this debate. I was down your golf course. That's been sprung into my head. I was 13 years old. I was given a half set of clubs and I was marched around down your golf course. It was a great bit of exercise, but there was no hint in how to play golf. Other than hit it as hard as you can, son. And it was a well-intentioned adult that had taken me and a friend around down your golf course. It was a terrible experience to look at. A king-size mars bar halfway through, that was quite good. But the reason I'm talking about that is young people's first experiences at a sport are really, really important. And that's why the club golf initiative is also so important for me. It was gaelic football that I eventually got involved with and I got a really quality first experience there. So I went to commend the legacy. It started actually in 2003, as others have said, of the club golf initiative. And my 14-year-old niece took part in that and got a far better experience. I don't know if she's the king-size mars bar, but she got a far better experience than I did in terms of club golf. So can I commend club golf to the Parliament and maybe give a suggestion? I've been interested to know the social profiling of young people that get involved in that, to make sure that young people from the most deprived communities are just as likely to take part in that as elsewhere. I suspect they are, but we should never be complacent about that kind of thing. I know that they're going to get into golf initiative. £1 million has been announced, which links club golf with schools and education and the motivation of the junior rider club. So that was my first three words for this debate. Down your golf club, it stands me in good stead. It makes a relevant contribution here this afternoon. My second is two words. It's Margo McDonald. And the reason it's Margo McDonald is because I remember having a debate in here in the last session, and Margo was arguing and she always did when there was a minority SNP government mere money for Edinburgh. She talked about the Edinburgh festival and having to support it. And I said to her, you know, Edinburgh may be the city, the Edinburgh festival, but Glasgow is the city of festival, something she took exception to, quite rightly so. But the reason I mentioned Margo McDonald is because I think her ambition for Edinburgh, all the elected representatives' ambitions for Glasgow with Commonwealth Games and everything else that's flowed from that, and this Scottish Government's ambition for Team Scotland beating sport or beating festivals or beating whatever it is says that it's not Glasgow versus Edinburgh, versus Perthshire or whatever, but Scotland in the world stage should be expecting a whole series of massive, hugely successful, sporting, cultural, entertainment events all year round every single year. And there has to be a national strategy to achieve that. We can't get the Ryder Cup every time, we can't get the Commonwealth Games every time, but it's about forward thinking and forward planning. For example, I tried to bring the world masters games for oldies to the party and to try to persuade Glasgow City Council to bid for that. To be fair to the local authority, they had their hands full with the Commonwealth Games and the bid for the Youth Olympics. But every four years, there's the opportunity to do that. The last ones were in Torino. I've still to read the report for that. They've still produced the outcome report for Torino last year, but they were estimating 50,000 participants and visitors to Turin at that point. Tick that off in the list of perhaps being good for a sporting calendar. So those are two things that I was left with. A couple of figures. I suppose KPMG estimates that one billion pounds could be the annual benefit to the Scottish economy of golf tourism. By goodness, we're a rich, resourceful country. We don't always maximise where natural assets is best we can, but I have to tell you, Margot McDonnell knew something about maximising natural assets and I suspect so does this Scottish Government and so does Team Scotland in a commendous motion to Parliament this afternoon. Any thanks. I now call on Hanzala Malik to be followed by Christian Alar. And thank you and once again good afternoon, Presiding Officer. The 2014 Ryder Club has happened after a two-year wait. Team Europe completed its hat-trick of successful succeeding wins, successive wins in the greatest tournament in match play golf with over 45,000 spectators attending each day and the tournament was broadly to broadcast it to over 180 countries worldwide, reaching more than half a billion houses each day of the competition. Earlier this summer, Scotland hosted a very successful, in fact a very, very successful event which was the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow that delivered a legacy lasting legacy for the whole country. Obviously the aim was to continue on that success with the Ryder Club and I believe that this has been accomplished. Every score should be proud about this. It means that a lot of the whole world sees Scotland in the light that we are a professional, hard-working, honest nation which delivers on its commitments and also benefits from the benefits not only to our nation but to the event itself. It is clear that these great events are creating a large and interesting aspect to not only sports and schools and workplaces and homes across the country. The 2010 Ryder Club in Newport boosted the Welsh economy by 82.4 million. So we will hope for the similar figure. It is expected that the economic impact of staging the Ryder Club in Glasgow would be approximately 100 million and I am confident that not only will we reach that figure but I hope indeed we will surpass it. Benefits from the Ryder Club are that Glasgow Airport enjoyed a 5% rise in its passenger numbers compared to the similar period last year. Additionally, the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau estimates that nearly 700 hotel room nights were booked during the event which tells us that over a million pounds has been put into the Glasgow City economy. Glasgow City must be really proud of the fact that they are reaching success after success. It was great to see a boisterous and respectful, peaceful set of spectators in Glasgow which I believe played a significant role in Europe in capturing the Ryder Cup win over the United States. The Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup have shown exactly what Scotland can do when asked to put together a stage on the international stage and stand above all others to show that they have the expertise to have crowd controls, to have security and more importantly to ensure that all the spectators actually have an enjoyable event. Therefore, I would like not only to congratulate everybody involved in the Ryder Cup, in the Commonwealth Games and other such activities in Scotland but I now look forward to the possibility of the European Football Tournament Committee Scotland considering our background. Therefore, I would like to just finish by saying, Presiding Officer, that I, for one, am very proud of what we achieved in the last year and I hope we continue to do so in the future. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. No call on Christian Allard after which we will move to closing speeches. Four minutes please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. The Ryder Cup has been a fantastic event. One that I did not attend, Chick did attend, my colleague Chick Brody did and I missed that fantastic atmosphere that Chick Brody was talking about. But like many of us, I watched it on TV and talked about it a lot before, during and after the events. Members won't be surprised but I will choose to talk about its legacy and its impact overseas. First of all, I need to come clean. I never play golf in my life. Despite the number of golf courses that are in the North East of Scotland, I have never, never find the time. This is my excuse. I'm not playing golf yet, I shall say, because I hope to be able to do it in the future. There are many, many golf courses in North East, in Aberdeen City, in Aberdeen Shire. There are more than 50 courses. We are very, very rich in the North East. In Freserborough, we've got one of the oldest, the seven oldest clubs in the world, founded back in 1777. In Bremer, Bremer Golf course is one of the highest, 18-all courses in the UK. I never got round to it yet. Close to home, we've got Stonyven, of course, with a fantastic view under the castle. And of course, in my hometown in Westill, just a few hundred yards away from my own home, there is Westill Golf course with wonderful setting. And I've supported it a lot over the years but I've never managed to experience playing on it yet. Sport Aberdeen has got several courses for city to city. And what is important about them is that many of them have, of course, municipal courses. And one of them is Barnagask. He's got the best view coming from the harbour and on the city. And I was in this place just next to the golf courses. Many, many times the last few months because of the spotlight, which was on Scotland because of the referendum. And a lot of TV channels came and showed us that location to interview me. And I believe you, Mr Cabinet Secretary, I use that moment in various interviews to promote the event and to ask the people to come to Glenigolds. And it's very, very important that idea of promotion because we need to see Scotland, the whole of Scotland, at a place for tourism. And I think the 2014 Radicap at Glenigolds have been a fantastic event for us. But we need as well to promote golf as a sport, not for a few, but for many. And I know that a lot of journalists coming from abroad were surprised to see the extent of municipal golf courses that we have. And I'm very proud to know. And I know Bob Doris talked about it about the importance of having the experience of golf for everybody and not a few. This is the legacy of the Radicap at Glenigolds. We would all want to support showing the world the very best cut and the store for why promoting golf as a sport for all. The Rives of the World have been on Scotland this year. They will be on France in 2018. Tavish cuts talked about it. And yes, of course, for the first time, France will host the Radicap and won the bids to host it. And it's been as well the first time in 21 years that it will be in continental Europe. Everybody remember what the Mara was 17 years ago. Before last man tournament, most of us could only name one Frenchman playing golf at the highest level. John Vendewel, the man who flew it all the way as the open championship at Cannustee, giving the North East and my neighbour, Paul Laurie, the biggest win to date in his career. Please draw to her, Claude. In Gremdorwell, it's to be believed Victor de Brisson will be household name in the near future. Devon has been a fantastic showcase of Scotland's ability in so many sectors from food and drinks to sport tourism. And, including in my message today, President and Officer, it's to the Cabinet story, let's take this know-how, this legacy, and let's export it to France. We are four years to see what we can do here at Parliament and with first pass support to help supporting the 2018 Radicap in France, a great opportunity for Scottish interests. Let's renew the old irons between our two nations. Thank you. We turn to closing speeches. I'm afraid we have gone over time, so if closing speeches could take slightly less, if possible. I call Liz Smith, Max from Four Minutes. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I remember at the time when we debated the Commonwealth Games legacy that I think we agreed that it's not always terribly easy to define the word legacy, particularly when it comes to its qualitative value, and therefore it's not something that's particularly easy to measure. The cabinet secretary has quite rightly mentioned some statistical measures which will be used to determine the longer term success, and I'm sure that those will be hugely significant. That local people, however, will want to know that that legacy was just as beneficial to them as it is to Persia and Scotland generally, Annabelle Ewing mentioned in her contribution that the general feeling from hotels and bed and breakfast is that there's a good feeling out there, but I think that local shops will want to know the same. I think that they have seen that there has been a marked improvement in many of the amenities around the local community, whether that's road surfaces being improved or cycle paths or the excellent improvements to Glen Eagle's station. They definitely want that permanent fruit bridge, and I'm very pleased to hear what the cabinet secretary had to say. I don't think terribly much negotiation will have to take place with local people because I think it is very clear indeed just how quickly that petition has been drawn up exactly what they think, and I think that hopefully that can be an immediate permanent feature. I hope Transport Scotland will move on that extremely quickly. Tavis Scott, I thought, made a very important point when he said that when it comes to legacy, it's not really about legislating but about creating the right circumstances to develop the sport. What I think Stuart Harris of Sport Scotland said after the Commonwealth Games legacy, it's about building the capacity and I think that that is absolutely correct. And I think that we have got work to do when it comes to participation. It's all very well getting more and more youngsters into a taste of golf, but I think that we really do have to develop a strategy which means that they will stay with the game and I particularly come back to the point that I raised earlier about those who want to take up the game on a very elite basis. We have to avoid a situation where they feel it's better to train and study abroad than it is in Scotland. We have some of the best facilities anywhere in the world and I hope that we can make better use of that. I think that there is an issue about the business side of golf. Far too many of our local golf clubs are finding it very difficult to survive these days. That's partly a decline in some of the membership issues, but I think that it's also to do with some of the aspect of business help that some of them are actually too small to take up the benefits of the small business benefits that have been part of Scottish Government legislation and we have to do more to encourage that. I think that some people find that the subscription level is so expensive and we have to be careful that we encourage families to come in so that we can also think about some of the difficulties on confronting the expense of taking up full-time golf club membership. I entirely agree with the points that Tavie Scott made about more women in golf. The RNA sent out exactly the right message after perhaps too long a time that women have as much role to play in golf as do their male counterparts. I was delighted to see that they have changed the membership rules. There's been a very good debate. It was an excellent competition that's certainly done Scotland proud, and I hope that, Presiding Officer, I've allowed you to catch up by perhaps 20 seconds. Thank you very much. I now call in Neil Findlay, maximum six minutes. Thanks, Presiding Officer. As a spectator, I've witnessed some great and not-so-great sporting occasions from the depths of despair in general. I watch in Scotland lose to Costa Rica at the 1990 World Cup to jubilation only a few days later, when we beat Sweden, raising the cyclical hopes that we would qualify again, and I don't need to tell you that the inevitable happened a few days later as we got beat off Brazil. A great sporting occasion nonetheless, I've been to the ashes of lords, I've experienced gubbings and victories at Murrayfield, and this summer I saw the fantastic Josh Taylor and the force of nature that is Charlie Flynn in the get-their-box-and-golds at the finals at the Hydro. Sporting experiences that I will never forget, even though some of them I've tried desperately to. But standing next to the first tee at Glonegos on Friday on the first day of the Ryder Cup was up there with the best of it for me. It was quite difficult to come up with superlatives to describe the experiences of the spectators. Never mind the players, it had everything. It had the noisy and old firm game. It had humour, song, sportsmanship, dreadful clothing, and even a deer running up the first fairway in front of 20,000 spectators, wondering what the hell they were all doing in its front room. We had golf and legends, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, Montgomery, Elasbal, Torns and others looking on to the players as they had somehow to bring themselves to swing the club, and of course swing the club they did in a display of golf that I think was the finest ever seen in Scotland. And that's saying something because we have experienced some magic over the years. As a spectator, the going to the event from the first point of contact with the transport arrangements, everything went smoothly. All through the day everything went smoothly. Even to the final shall we say colourful crowd participation at the presentation, everything was indeed first class. The course was immaculately presented and, as Liz Smith said, the setting in and around Glen Eagle was truly spectacular. As the minister referred to, four days of dry, sunny weather in Scotland in September, who'd have thought it? The golfing god or Seve is, he's known, must surely have been looking down on us. Undoubtedly there will be a tourism legacy from this event. We heard comments there from people of all nationalities who are thrilled to be in such spectacular surroundings. And as for the play itself, we had three days that had enough drama to sweep the board at the Oscars. The first two days were very close competition, setting up for the final days drama. We saw Michael Roy prove to be the best player in the world. McDowell proved to be the street fighter that people knew who was. We saw Patrick Reid pumped up both himself and the crowd. Bubba Watson reveling in the atmosphere, polter being polter, and Justin Rose coming back from four down to secure a fantastic half at the last. And I'm glad Tavish Scott mentioned Stephen Gallacher, who played exceptionally well four under yet unable to beat the class act that was Mickelson. And of course we had new stars. New stars were born and Speth and De Buissong and Jamie Doralson, whose winning shot must already be classified as a shot of his life. Sport played at the highest standard to the highest level and with the highest level of sporting integrity. And I think people have been right, Annabelle Ewing, and the minister and others have been right to list the contribution of the volunteers and all of the people who made that happen. John Pentland mentioned a jaw-dropping moment. I, too, had a jaw-dropping moment when John Pentland bought me a pint in the pavilion, but we might be not dwelling on that. My main hope for the Ryder Cup is that it encourages more people to play the game. And I think especially women and I'm making an appeal from the parliamentary golf team that we have more women in our team. We don't have any at the moment, so if anybody wants to come forward, you'd be most welcome. But golf in Scotland is in a bit of a difficult situation at the moment. Many of the 500 or so clubs are struggling to retain, never mind increase their membership, and it certainly is true of the clubs in my area. The legacy of the financial crash, changes in working and family lives, cultural change and access to new forms of entertainment and relaxation are putting immense pressure on clubs, and committees are doing everything they can to keep their clubs alive. They're making cuts while trying to increase revenue without compromising on quality. And I hope that the Government, Sports Scotland and other agencies can do all the will to assist in that. Clubs get support from the Scottish Golf Union, but they need assistance to ensure that they're on a firm, sustainable business footing. And they need to avoid competing each other out of business on fees. We need to look at fees. Fees are a difficulty, but it's not just as simple as lowering your fees because what will end up happening is that clubs compete each other out of business, and that is a difficulty they all face. Can you draw to a close, please? Yes. They need to look at working cooperatively to use their purchasing power collectively to cut energy bills, insurance costs, cost of food equipment, plant and all of that stuff. I think there are lessons that we can learn from sports like cricket, where 2020 has brought a new dimension to the sport. However, I would say that the Rhyded Cup is one of the greatest sporting events ever to have taken place in Scotland. It was a pleasure to be there and a pleasure to watch on the final day on TV. I hope that the final... You really must finish. I hope that the Rhyded Cup goes back on the BBC very soon because more people should be able to see it. Thank you. Thank you. Now, Colin Shawner-Obeson to wind up. Eight minutes maximum, minister. Okay. Thank you very much. And thanks to everyone who has taken part in this debate this afternoon. It's been short but full of excellent contributions. I'm going to try to respond to as many of them as possible. Patricia Ferguson asked about future sporting events. And just to run through a couple of those, we have a number coming up. We have already secured three world championships in gymnastics, orienteering and IPC swimming, and two European championships in judo and eventing taking place next year to keep everybody's interest in sport on the boil. Plus, of course, as Hanzala Malik mentioned, we have the Euro 2020s with Glasgow being one of the host city. And I'm sure the city will want to make the most of that. There are other irons in the fire, which we will hope to bring to fruition in due course. A number of people have mentioned not least Neil Findlay in his closing remarks about some of the pressures that golf clubs are under. We do recognise that. The Scottish Golf Union does have an important role alongside Sport Scotland in helping for clubs to identify business plans, look at ways of raising income, be innovative in what they do. I think that Neil Findlay touched on some of those innovations that other sporting clubs have looked at. Of course, we'll continue to see what else we can do to support them. Let's not underestimate the importance of club golf in that, because if clubs are smart about that, they can attract some of the 15 per cent of club golf participants who then go on to join a club. If they look after those junior members, they could have them for life. However, clubs need to be welcoming to those junior members and make sure that they structure their club accordingly. We did, through the Rider Cup, allocate 2,000 tickets to the Scottish Golf Union to use for golf development purposes, for golf clubs to use to engage new golfers and re-engage old golfers in the game and all the benefits that it offers. Bob Doris asked about the review, the national strategy for sporting events going forward. Of course, there is a review of that strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage, because we always need to look at what more we can do. I think, though, it's fair to say that event Scotland has a really strong track record on what it's done to date, but, of course, they always want to keep a freshness around that, so the review will conclude later this year and it will reflect upon the lessons learned through the delivery of our recent major events, and Visit Scotland is leading the work on the review and has been consulting widely on it. Liz Smith mentioned a bit of history back to 1921 and the 1,000 guineys prize money. Of course, the interesting thing about the modern Rider Cup is that there is no prize money. That's not to say that there are not benefits in being part of the teams of the Rider Cup, but nonetheless, the focus has very much been about doing it for the team and for the continent that people represent. I think that it was good to hear Liz Smith say that there is a high level of public trust in the event, and I think that that again is a really good lesson for future events, because that lays on with the local community. It's so important because when it doesn't happen well, it can go so badly wrong, and I think that there were some really good lessons learned about that extensive engagement. Liz Smith and Tavish Scott both mentioned the RNA position on the admission of women, I think, in 21st century Scotland. As I have said on a number of occasions, it is the right thing to do it. Perhaps some of us would have argued that it should have been done a long time ago, but progress is progress is progress, so we'll take that and move on. Liz Smith also asked about players being supported to train here. Now, of course, elite athletes in whatever sport, whether it's golfer or any other sport, will go where the coaches that they want to particularly have to support them. Sometimes whether can be a factor. However, it's fair to say that we are doing, we do want where possible to keep our elite sportsmen and women training here in Scotland where we can, and I think that we always should look to what more we can do. Chick Brody, on a similar note, although I was very impressed by his knowledge of golfing history, did mention that Scottish Golf Academy. We will always look to see what more can be done to keep the best training here in Scotland. John Pentland talked about harnessing the spirit of volunteers, and again that's been a theme throughout the summer. We have gone that extra mile to make sure that volunteers don't just get a good experience and enjoy the event that they're volunteering at, but that they get something back, so that's why the SQA, in terms of the recognition and qualification around their skills, Scotland's best opportunity for young people who are furthest from the labour market. I've never had that opportunity, and, as I said in my opening remarks, the growth of confidence in those young people that ametic lent eagles was quite something, and they were all planning, one way or another, to take that learning experience and move forward with it. Annabelle Ewing mentioned, of course, some of the wider benefits, but it's not least the local charities that have benefited. Again, it's about making sure that when we host events like this, that we get every possible legacy opportunity to take forward. One thing I should have mentioned when I mentioned the RNA and Tavish Scots comments, I think it's heartening when you look at club golf that there is not only 50-50 boys and girls going through club golf, but in terms of those who are taking up the sport and joining a club, girls are well represented there, but we mustn't be complacent and there are opportunities, for example, if we get the Solheim cup here again to showcase and have those role models for girls to look to the top of their sport and, of course, we'll be doing all we can to secure that event here again in the future. Yes, of course. Very briefly, because the minister's closing. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Really, just on the point of girls and young women participating, I fully take the minister's point that young women will come through in the same numbers as young men through club golf, but if their experience in the club is that they can only be perhaps an associate member or can only play at particular times, would the minister agree that that's not necessarily a way to encourage them to continue? Minister, I really do need you to close. Yes, indeed. And that's why I said about the way clubs welcome new members. We are in different times. You've finally talked about differences in family life, working life, the way people, what our expectations are, and that goes for making sure that when young members, junior members, turn up, they get a welcome, and particularly girls get a welcome because it's in the best interests of the club to keep those members for a lifetime. And if they play it right, that's exactly what will happen. So thank you very much for all your contributions and I'm happy to close the debate. Many thanks. That concludes the debate on the Ryder Cup 2014. And we now need to move swiftly on, please, to the next item of business. So I could ask members to change positions as quickly as possible. The next item of business is a debate on motion number 11029 in the name of Paul Wheelhouse on the UN climate summit 2014. Could I invite members to wish to speak in the debate to press a request to speak buttons now, please? But I do have to advise the chamber that this debate is oversubscribed and it's unlikely that I'll be able to call all members. I call on Paul Wheelhouse to speak to you and to move the motion. Minister, maximum 10 minutes, but less may allow me to call more members. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The Scottish Government welcomes this opportunity for the Parliament to reflect on the climate summit hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Tuesday last week. The summit signalled that we are now in a crucial period leading to the UN climate conferences in Lima in December this year and in Paris in December 2015. In Lima, a first draft of the text of a new international climate agreement will be considered. Parties will then submit their intended national contributions to the new agreement in the first quarter of 2015. In Paris, the international community has committed to finalising a new treaty to limit global temperature rise to no more than 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Scotland strongly supports the goal of an ambitious global climate change agreement. I therefore thank members for attending this important debate. Scotland's commitment to strong action on climate change has been built on the cross-party support that has been demonstrated in Parliament over many years. We also have strong support from businesses, trade unions, NGOs, civic society and academia. Climate marches throughout Scotland two weekends ago demonstrate how seriously the people of Scotland take climate change. As a nation, we should all be very proud of that cross-party support and support from all sectors of society in Scotland is one of the key features of our distinctive approach to climate change. Since 2009, when we first passed our ambitious climate change legislation, Scotland has been working to a plan that delivers what the science tells us that we will have to do as our contribution to an international climate treaty to avoid dangerous levels of global warming. Scotland is in a very unique position internationally. We have unilaterally and unconditionally set high ambition pre and post 2020. Our emissions reduction targets of at least 42 per cent by 2020, 58 per cent by 2027 and at least 80 per cent by 2050 means that Scotland already has the commitment and readiness to deliver our part in the Paris agreement next year. There are many positive features of our comprehensive approach to climate change here in Scotland that are valuable examples to other countries in helping them commit to and build their own ambitious climate action programmes. So I have written to key international figures to make sure that they were fully informed of Scotland's commitments in advance of the summit. Those included Cristiana Fogueres, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, who was in Scotland in recent months, Peruvian environment minister Manuel Pulgar Vidal, president of this year's COP20 in Lima, and the outgoing European Climate Commissioner, Connie Hedegard, who complemented Scottish ambition on climate change in Holyrood magazine also in recent months and who issued a warm reply to my own letter. Following on from Bankie Moon's invitation to Scotland to participate in the UN Sustainable Energy for All initiative, we were very privileged to host the European launch of the UN decade of sustainable energy for all by Candy Yumkella, UN special representative in Glasgow during the Commonwealth Games. Of course, it has also been praised by Mary Robinson and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. We were also very pleased to welcome Mary Robinson's recent appointment as UN special representative on climate change by Bankie Moon. Of course, Mary Robinson is very closely in touch with Scotland's high ambition on tackling climate change and our championing of climate justice, having given the keynote address at our international climate justice conference last autumn. However, we have been able to raise awareness of Scotland's ambition and commitment on climate change and the most senior levels in the UN. It is infinitely preferable that Scotland should have its own voice in international fora so that we can better promote Scotland's example to the wider world. During the UN summit itself on the 23rd, the climate group, the international network of governments and businesses, hosted on their website a video address by myself on Scotland's ambitious climate change programme. They also hosted a link to an excellent video by Stop Climate Care Scotland, including messages of cross-party support and from business for an international audience on Scotland's climate action. I'll just say something about proposed amendments to the motion. I know that Alison Johnstone had raised the issue of the decarbonisation of public sector pension fund investments. Given that there is a growing trend by some investors to reconsider their investment in fossil fuels, it was a point made at our international climate justice conference last year as well, of course. We're happy to talk to public sector pension funds about this and to encourage low-carbon investment. I note the proposed amendments by Jamie Mcgregor and Claudia Beamish which I am rejecting, unfortunately, today. Of course, we do face challenges in delivering our climate change ambitions and I recognise that. But internationally, figures like Mary Robinson, Candi Amkella, Connie Hedegard and expert bodies like the climate group are very clear about the value of the Scottish commitment to act on climate change and climate justice. I think that we can be confident that international figures know the challenges and know that Scotland is on the right track. Scotland made the commitments needed to Paris many years ago and we followed up with strong delivery and I'll set some of that out later briefly if I may. Jamie Mcgregor Mr Thank you for taking that intervention but you've avoided the fact that you have missed the targets three years running. Surely that should be something that you shouldn't be very triumphal about. Can members remember to speak through the chair please, minister? I beg your pardon. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I will come to the targets briefly but I would just make the point to Mr Mcgregor that if serious figures globally are looking at what we're doing, they recognise the challenges, they understand the technical nature of what we're trying to do and yet they welcome it and they praise Scotland for doing the right thing. I would hope that we can be magnanimous in today when we're talking about Scotland's role in the international stage to recognise that point but I do recognise we have a challenge to do. I will come back to the technical point about the targets briefly. Our aim through a world leading target setting legislation has been to provide certainty for business and the public about Scotland's low-carbon future. Our high-level political commitment is creating low-carbon jobs, investment, trading growth and delivering strong counter-cyclical investment flow during the recent global downturn. Since 1990, we've cut or adjusted emissions by 26.4 per cent. We achieved a 15 per cent cut between 2007 and 2012. That's compared to 12 per cent across the UK and we are on track to deliver a world leading 42 per cent target for 2020 despite the EU not having raised its 2020 targets. In 2013, we generated the equivalent of 46.6 per cent of our electricity demand for renewables with record levels of investment in the sector, a massive scaling up. We have taken forward a cross-government approach with a new cabinet sub-committee on climate change to drive progress across portfolios supplementing the climate change delivery board which is held for senior managers. Importantly, public bodies in Scotland have a legal duty to support action on climate change and we've made climate adaptation an integral part of our climate response. The landscape of the low-carbon economy in Scotland provides ready examples of successful approaches. The Green Investment Bank, the 2020 group of progressive leaders, onshore and offshore wind, marine energy and the saltire prize, carbon capture and storage, the climate challenge fund which we increased funding to this year and junior climate challenge fund. We are on track towards our targets on reducing energy consumption. We have increased our forestry planting rate. We are acting to ban biodegradable municipal waste being sent to landfill. As well as domestic achievement, Scotland is also championing climate justice and this is a powerful set of humanitarian messages of international importance. Climate change is already impacting on the vulnerable communities around the world. The poor and vulnerable at home and overseas are often the first to be affected by climate change and are suffering the worst. Yet they have done comparatively little, if anything, to cause the problem. Climate justice can bring developed and developing countries together around a people-centred human rights approach to deliver equitable global development. It demonstrates that we care. Our innovative £6 million climate justice fund demonstrates Scotland's commitment to promoting climate justice and is providing assistance to projects in Malawi and Zambia and we will announce in the near future the second round of awards. The IPCC fifth progress report on climate change shows that evidence is unequivocal. Climate change is real and it is caused by human activity. Extreme weather events are increasing in scale and frequency. The increasing body of evidence shows that we cannot afford to delay action to tackle climate change. It will only get more expensive and more difficult and we are running out of time to limit global temperature increases to two degrees. Climate change is a threat to all countries and all countries have a responsibility to help tackle it. All countries have challenges in reducing emissions and emissions and Scotland is no different but the Scottish Government is committed to meeting the targets that we have set ourselves and leading by example. We can be encouraged by the many pledges and commitments made at the summit but there remains much to do and we need to hear more detail from many countries and we need to see what further pledges need to be made to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius. Countries that have agreed a new globally binding agreement will be reached at the conference of the parties and past the end of 2015. That new agreement must be ambitious enough to limit global temperature increases and avoid catastrophic climate change that will affect all countries but which will hit the poorest hardest. Scotland has made our strong commitment. Our targets are in line with scientific evidence and what an ambitious treaty will demand of us and of that we can all be proud. All countries must work towards the agreed timetable and those that have not done so must bring forward their pledges as soon as possible. We will continue to work to influence our partners around the world, specifically we will support the EU in continuing to play a leading role. We want to see the EU prepare to commit an emissions reduction target of 50 per cent by 2030 in the context of a global agreement. At the UN summit last week world leaders were left in no doubt about the scale of the challenge posed by climate change. The Parliament has a proud record of supporting action on climate change and I look forward to hearing the contributions of members throughout today's debate. Thank you very much. I move the motion. Thank you very much. I now call on Claudia Beamish to speak to and move amendment 11029.4 maximum seven minutes, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Presiding Officer, I open this debate for Scottish Labour with mixed feelings. A clear sense at this debate is timely and very significant as it comes out of the New York climate summit, which drew together world leaders to address the most urgent issue facing the future of our planet, climate change, and the collective response to the challenges posed. Pleas to hear that the minister wrote some key players before the summit, but also with a sense of deep disappointment that the Scottish Government should use this precious time about such world threatening issue as climate change to try to continue a constitutional debate as stated in the motion, which was decided through the democratic... I'd just like to finish this point. I'd like to actually get through this point and then I'll take an intervention. Through the democratic process of the referendum two weeks ago, nowhere in the pre-referendum promises was there any commitment to devolution of international powers and this could be interpreted by many as an SNP drip-drip strategy for more powers towards independence, which is not what the people voted for. This also preempts the work in my view of the Smith commission, which Scottish Government is a part of. It is for this reason that we cannot accept the Scottish Government motion today and I had hoped that the Scottish Government would accept the decision made by the people of Scotland on this referendum issue, thus enabling a more consensual tone to this debate, as has happened in recent global climate change debates in this chamber. That would have built upon the consensus which drove forward the Climate Change Act itself and which, of course, had cross-party support in our Scottish Parliament as a Minister of Knowledge today. Stuart Stevenson I wonder if the member is aware that the premiers of states in Canada and Australia, as of right, can be part of their country's delegation and that, on one occasion, might run the Premier of South Australia and invite Scotland to be part of our body. We could not accept that because we had no constitutional right to be guaranteed to be present and that is all that is being deleted from the Government motion. I very much regret the Labour Party's denial of the situation of Scotland similar to other countries and other states in a similar position. Claudia Beamish In response to the member's remarks, this is an issue about further powers, as I understand it, in the motion and not about who is represented in delegations, which is a different issue, which is about personnel, as I understand it. As has been proved in previous such debates, there is not a need for additional powers to be devolved in order for the Scottish Government and wider civic society to tell the global community our very good story, playing a leading role in matching Scotland's example in making a transition to a lower carbon economy. If anything is getting in the way, it would be the very complex issue of the challenging targets that have not yet been met in the first three years and the high ambition that needs to be turned into action with more proposals and policies. I acknowledge that this is difficult and would be difficult for all parties but that is an area that we all need to focus on in the future. There is concern being a voice that the cumulative effect of the Scottish Government having missed the first three annual targets is a significant problem because, specifically, it is eating into the small room for error in the overall goal of hitting the two milestone targets in 2020 and 2050. While the Scottish Government insists that we are on track, there is a concern in this area. The CO2 already in the atmosphere is, as I understand it, a major environmental concern and this needs to be compensated for. It should be recognised that all political parties supported the five-stop climate chaos ars which the Scottish Government has implemented in response to the third misannual target. Though those are small steps, they are certainly in the right direction. However, the annual targets become much larger year on year, making them more difficult to achieve, especially taking into account the shortfall from the three previous years. There is no doubt that the step change needed to make the shift fast enough to a low-carbon economy is challenging for the Scottish Government, the UK Government, and it should be acknowledged would be for any political party in power. Today, the Rural Affairs Climate Change Environment Committee took evidence on the second report on policies and proposals. An example of where ambition needs to become action, where proposals need to become policies, is the case of our peatlands, which we discussed this morning. This shows the complexities of how hard it is to change from proposals to policies. In the RPP2, Scottish Government has committed to restoring peatlands, and this is significant. But no tangible plan has yet materialised, and the difficulties of the moving science that the minister has pointed to today shows that these difficulties pose real problems in moving forward. But it is important that the plan that has been given a significant amount in £15 million for the next three budgets can actually be put into action. I am grateful to Claudia Beamish for taking intervention. I would just simply suggest that we have been developing the SRDP in light of the cat package. As Claudia Beamish knows, the trolling of money will be going through the SRDP as a route, and we have developed peatland plans. So we are doing work on this and hopefully the detail will provide what is necessary for land managers to take up the opportunity. Thank you, Claudia Beamish. You are now in your last minute. Right. Thank you. I would like finally to turn to marine issues. I was hugely disappointed that the impact of the climate change on marine ecosystems was not on the agenda at the UN summit last week. I believe that this is an area where Scotland can take forward through the consideration of the marine protected areas that have started and also through the marine plan itself the possibility of sharing this at a global level. I hope that it will be possible in view of the fact that the oceans have an incredible 90 per cent of additional heat created since the industrial revolution has been absorbed by our waters and it is very important that it is possible for this to continue. I hope that we can all work together for the Scottish Government and others in civic society to highlight the issue of how we are taking forward marine issues and even at the 11th hour that there can be some attempt to get this put into the future summit in Lima in December. I am afraid that you must close. Right. Thank you very much. Thank you. I now call on Jamie McGregor to speak to the move amendment 1 1 0 2 9.15 minutes. Maximum, please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am pleased to open today's short debate for the Scottish Conservatives. As a farmer myself, I am sure that climate change is one of the most important issues that we face. It is a serious threat to our environment, to the economy, to global security and also to the eradication of poverty. While the UN summit made some progress and this is welcome, international leaders need to turn rhetoric into action and there are significant challenges ahead before the Paris summit late next year. China's vice-premier, Zhang Jouli, surprised many when he said the country's emissions would peak as soon as possible and we must all hope that is the case, not least as China has just surpassed the EU in annual greenhouse gas emissions per capita. The agreement reached on deforestation with a pledge to harlot by 2020 and stamping out by 2030 is welcome although Brazil's refusal to sign up is a disappointment and many will want to see this agreement made legally binding. I welcome David Cameron's positive role at the summit and the speech he gave. He was able to speak with real authority at the summit because our UK government's record in this area is strong. We have honoured our commitment to spend 0.7 of gross national income on international development and we're investing four billion in climate finance and over 200 million in tackling deforestation in poor countries. The Prime Minister's pledge that he would push his fellow EU leaders to come to Paris with ambitious emission reduction targets is also to be welcomed. The UK government is also making significant progress at home with multi-billion investments into the development of new nuclear power and advanced carbon storage and the Prime Minister was absolutely right to say that if the international community gets things right, there need not be a trade-off. Between economic growth and reducing carbon emissions. We can also be very proud of the cutting-edge research that is taking place in the UK. Last year I hosted a parliamentary reception on nuclear fusion research and the excellent job that is taking place in Cullum. Fusion holds the capacity to solve the energy problems of the future. We just must make sure we are prepared to take the necessary long-term decisions as one inherent problem over the past decades has been short-term solutions to the long-term problem. We recognise the Scottish Government's efforts to tackle the causes of climate change here and the good work of so many Scottish organisations, businesses and individuals like the Minister himself. That the Scottish Government would of course have more credibility on this issue if it had met its greenhouse gas emissions targets in 2010, 2011 and 2012 rather than missing them. So we look forward to progress being made in that sector. Practical user-friendly measures that individuals and businesses can adopt must be a priority. On that point, this very morning, I met with individuals from the Haughty Cultural Trades Association. This sector is a very significant employer in Scotland. They highlighted examples of green walls of climbing plants being used in other countries as a form of air conditioning and as a heat preserver. And we also know the benefit of green spaces to our urban communities and the general contribution that plants make to a cleaner future. So why don't we do more to help our Haughty Cultural Industry in Scotland which is disadvantaged in some ways by regulatory bodies which in some cases are no longer fit for purpose in order that it can employ more people and give greater environmental benefit at the same time. Have I got a moment? Then your final minute now. To conclude, most of us will probably not have to deal with the worst consequences that will be the effect of climate change. It will be our children, their children and the generations to come. So it's a question of what legacy do we really want to pass on to them? We will be the generation that could do something. Will we be the generation that could do something but sat idly and watched? Or will we be remembered for our decisive action that made sure that we evaded the worst of the side effects? I move the amendment in my name. Many thanks. A ton to the open debate, speeches of a maximum of four minutes please. We've already lost a member from the debate and we are still tight for time. Rob Gibson to be followed by Cara Helton. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I'm very much welcome in this debate because Scotland, seen on the international stage, is a country that is in the lead. As one witness at our committee this morning said, the leader of the posse of those who are in the lead. And the video addressed by Paul Wheelhouse, our minister, on Scotland's climate change actions and the world-leading greenhouse gas emission reduction targets that was hosted by the climate group's website during the summit is not a vanity production and I hope that we'd see support across the parties here today to make sure that Scotland can play a full part in that climate group and that we have no more carping about it or misinformation. Now there are very specific things that I want to speak about in short term some of which are covered by Scotland's actions. Our targets for aviation and shipping unlike most other countries including the UK for a start. The use of cleaner diesel has been agreed by the international maritime organisation. Some cruise line ports that receive a lot like invergordon are concerned that it will be more expensive for cruise liners but I have a great concern that cruise liners may use dirty diesel in other parts of the world where they still can and where people are not carrying out the IMO agreement which the EU has agreed to as well and that I want to see our voice on the international stage making sure that ships use cleaner diesel wherever they are not just in our own waters. With regard to the peak plan that we are talking about there is a situation now I believe where the IPCC has default values which allow us to measure this indeed to give it a retrospective value in terms of our climate output. In that case I hope that we can use the money to the fool in the budget for this year before it is used up and to get some clarity from the minister before we finish today on that. A second point that is at all pan European is one that I raised at our committee this morning. Charging points for electric cars have different nozzles in each country. Unbelievable that manufacturers cannot get this together and I will be looking for our government and indeed the European Parliament's environment committee to get together and ensure that that does not happen. It means that people travelling from one country to another cannot easily use the electricity charging points. There are some things about the amendments that I have to say. When we talk about the Scottish Government position being a leading one that is made more difficult by the House of Lords amendment to the energy bill that removed the Scottish Parliament's powers in respect of renewable obligations. That was an amendment not debated in the floor of the House of Commons. There was no consultation with the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliament prior to the introduction of the amendment. No, when challenged in the Commons did the minister or the Labour front bench have any reasonable explanation as to why that happened in such an underhand manner. That is undermining Scotland's ability to deliver on our climate targets. Finally, I would suggest, as our committee has, that we need to have all the committees of this Parliament taking the responsibilities and all the ministers. I realise that when we share that we also have to look from the budgets of other departments such as health, such as transport to help us deliver. I hope that in the budget coming up that we will be seeing that happening. Meanwhile, I very much welcome this debate. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Many thanks. I now call Cara Hilton to be followed by Stuart Stevenson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am pleased to speak in the debate in support of the amendment moved by Claudia Beamish. Obviously, there is no more important challenge facing us than climate change and I know that right across the chamber we all strongly welcome the UN climate change summit and we welcome climate change being at the top of the political agenda where it belongs. Two days before the UN summit people across the world marched in the hundreds of thousands in over 150 cities across the world including here in Edinburgh. Men, women and children marched into demand that Governments, businesses and citizens get serious in the fight of climate change. Demand an urgent and decisive action to save our planet, to safeguard our future and to protect the things that we love and value. During the summit in New York we certainly heard many bold and positive statements from world leaders about the actions that they would be taking to reduce emissions and to build up the resilience of the most vulnerable populations to climate change. We even heard from Leonardo DiCaprio who told the UN summit that our economy itself will die if our ecosystems collapse. As significantly China put sent out positive signals for the first time that they too would make greater efforts to effectively address climate change. We have seen a welcome move away too from the idea that there is a conflict between reducing emissions and delivering economic results with the recognition that a more sustainable economy results in a higher quality of life for the world's populations. So those are positive developments. The challenge now is to maintain the political momentum and to ensure that the bold statements are backed up with real action. In the briefing for today's debate stop climate chaos state that global greenhouse gas emissions are now 61 per cent higher than there were in 1990. At the same time, global temperatures are on the rise and the often devastating impact of climate change is affecting more and more people across the world. So the need for action has never been greater and it's therefore disappointing that in a debate that should be consensual we're seeing the constitutional angle being brought into the government's motion when we've already got the powers to deliver the change we need. And while I know that the Scottish Government are keen to showcase Scotland's climate change ambitions we all share those ambitions and the fact is that the Scottish Government has failed to achieve its emissions targets in each of the past three years. I was at the Rural Affairs, Environment and Climate Change Committee this morning and the consensus among the stakeholders there is that it's very difficult to see how we can now meet the 2020 target and that's a big concern to all of us in the chamber. Climate change is one of the most important and it's the most challenging issues that we face and I think we've got a duty to our children, to their children, to their children's children to get this right. So the bottom line is that we not only promise radical action we also commit the time, the money and the resources needed to achieve change and deliver the results. And I recognise too this isn't just about the Scottish Government or about Westminster and it's not just about the policies that we debate here in Parliament or that we agree in international summits. Each and every one of us has got the power to change the future of our planet and to make the day-to-day decisions that will secure a better future for generations to come. Final minute. We know that taking ambitious action on climate change will deliver real rewards. A stronger economy, more jobs, healthier lives, cleaner air, a better future, a better quality of life both now and in the future. So let's work now together to ensure that we can't achieve our climate change targets. We need to lead by example and use the powers that we already have and take bold action. So I'd like to hear more about how the SNP Government will compensate for missing the climate change targets. But more importantly, I hope that we can move forward and build a consensus about how we tackle climate change and take every single opportunity to achieve a cleaner, greener, more sustainable Scotland and to achieve climate justice across the world. Many thanks. I now call on Stuart Stevenson to be followed by Tavish Scott. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I don't want to dwell on that at too great length, but it would be helpful if the Labour Party perhaps read the Government amendment which merely says devolved powers to give Scotland a voice on the international stage. We're almost unique. The Catalan's have a constitutional right to be part of the Spanish delegation, the Fleming's have a constitutional right to be the Belgian delegation, the Italian provinces have a constitutional right to be part of the Italian delegation and I can keep on going. Where as when the Labour Government was in power at Westminster, Gordon Brown expressly forbad the Scottish ministers and their delegation from being inside the conference hall. Thanks to the Maldives, we were able to get a temporary seat in the hall and network with appropriate people. That's all we ask. Parity with other sub-states around the world and that's all that the motion says. However, let's talk about the substantive issue before us because there is I hope and believe a continuing consensus on the need to tackle climate change. I want to just rely on a definition of the environment which is not limited to the natural world but includes surroundings and conditions in which a person lives or operates. And I think the ethics of the effect on individuals around the world is a very important part of the debate on climate change and developing countries in particular pay the price for our climate profligacy. When I say our climate profligacy, I encompass all of the developed world including Scotland but by no means limited to Scotland. We've heard reference to Mary Robinson, a good friend to action on climate change and a good friend to Scotland. She has said there's substantial agreement about governments that climate change is undermining human rights and in particular I look at what happens in Africa and in particular the gender effect of climate change where 70 to 80% of the farmers in Africa are females. And Mary Robinson has said women on the whole don't get agricultural training. They're having to learn now to diversify their crops, to have seeds that can survive in drought or survive in waterlogged conditions. And so there's a disconnect between even the donor community for this agricultural training mainly focusing on men as it does and who's actually doing the farming. So that is the price that's being paid by people in poverty in many countries in Africa. So I do hope that in our international engagement whatever its character and whatever opportunities exist for it that we are able to pursue that in particular because the gap between men and women and the effects on it is very substantial indeed. Now I wish the minister extremely well in Lima. I haven't been there since 1980 when conditions in Lima were far from ideal from an international conference. There were burning barricades round the outside of the city and the taxi we were travelling in at one point actually picked up a bullet. I survived by two feet. So I hope that the minister has a more satisfactory visit to there. I hope that we can continue to tell the message of building on the 29.9% reduction in our emissions over the last 14 years that we continue to lead by example and articulate the reality of the economic opportunities from tackling what is a moral problem. Presiding Officer. Many thanks. I now call Tavish Scott to be followed by Graeme Dey. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I was very concerned here that the assassination attempt on Mr Stevenson there and that he survived it. But in more serious vent, can I just remind him that in a more recent time when he was environment minister the then environment secretary down in the House of Commons in the UK government took him as very much part of the delegation to international conferences and Chris Hoon was very mindful of taking the Scottish minister who at that time happened to Mr Stevenson. That's the right way to do it and that's the way it should be done. Can I just say I think it's disappointing that the Government introduced a motion today which was always going to divide the House. I think that a number of members have made the point that on this issue surely most of us can reach broad agreement and I think to table a motion although I'm a fairness to Mr Healhouse his remarks didn't follow his motion, his remarks were entirely reasonable and as one would expect but sadly not the case with the motion. The only point I would if I may gently pick him up on is I think he said if I got him his quote correctly that the Scottish Parliament has a prior record of supporting actions that I think we've got a prior record of supporting targets and I think what we surely know from the environmental organisations not least of which the stop climate chaos Scotland briefing is that we're some ways away from dealing in concrete actions and that's the point that I think members of all sides have been making about the targets which have yet to be achieved and I hope we can achieve that and when we can then perhaps that's the point that Scotland can be a little more assertive about its position as opposed to the rhetoric. Now I have to say the real point I had difficulty within the Government's motion wasn't actually all the other political stuff it's more the point about New York being such a success. My reading of New York was that we got as usual a huge amount of rhetoric a huge amount of rhetoric from Obama and everyone else but not much action and the point that worried me most about the Chinese is that they made it abundantly clear that they've got no plans whatsoever to comply with international emissions standards reductions because they consider themselves to be a developing country and not a developed country their arguments about poverty and about the number of their people who are in the UN definition of poverty in their view completely outweigh their emissions through their coal industry and other challenges such as that. So I think New York may have done some things but it seemed to me very long on rhetoric and very short on action and we have to say we have a long way to go globally before we see real differences. The French after all did in New York make a £1 billion guarantee to poor countries that was definitely progress as was the pension funds bank and insurance industry commitment to low-carbon ventures meant to be something around the £200 billion mark. Those were certainly concrete aspects on concrete reform but the US which is still the world's biggest economy its main commitment after all was to take climate change into account in overseas aid spending that could hardly be construed to be an enormous step forward. So what chance Paris 2015 the minister rightly highlighted the importance of that I think we are some considerable way to extolling the virtues of an absolute guaranteed agreement in Paris next December. I think that is a long way away from happening but what I do hope the minister might do is to support the work that Ed Davies doing in the European Union where he has created under his initiative the green growth group as the UK Environment Secretary he has created a grouping of 15 EU nations all driving that forward on the green growth group. I hope the minister would find time to support that and indeed the measures that are being taken forward to put in place at the October European Council meeting that happens obviously very shortly and agreed European climate change policy towards 2030. It's currently opposed by Poland again for reasons to do with their coal industry so it's not yet a done deal even in terms of Europe. And until that happens then we again are some considerable way to having the kind of solution that we want both in Europe and across the globe. Many thanks. I now call Graham Day to be followed by Mary Fee. Thank you, Presiding Officer. There was encouragement to be drawn from the climate summit held in New York. You do get the sense that the world or most of it at least has finally woken up to the impact of climate change and the need to transition to a low-carbon economy. A little wonder, given the evidence of how climate change is affecting our daily lives, is all around us. Even in parts of the planet previously in denial they are fueling the impact. California is presently in the grip of a drought which the state has declared an emergency over and the federal government designated all 58 counties of California as natural disaster areas. They are having to contend with wildfires and increased air pollution. Direct and indirect agricultural losses of at least $22 billion are forecast with 17,000 seasonal and part-time jobs gone. Just yesterday, Stanford scientists published a research paper into the drought which asserts that unusually warm temperatures, stagnant air conditions and lack of precipitation is very likely down to human-caused climate change, which was created by a blocking wedge over the north-eastern Pacific, preventing storms reaching the state during the rainy season. Earlier this week, Greenhouse gas emissions were named in a report drawn from the work of five groups of researchers as the direct cause of the heat wave that baked Australia for much of 2013 and the early part of 2014. What led to the Australia open tennis having to be suspended is temperatures going to 111 degrees Fahrenheit. How ironic, of course, therefore that the Australians have repealed the law intended to reduce emissions and appointed a climate change sceptic to review that country's renewable energy targets. But what have nearer home? Well, David Cameron's comments at the summit were to some degree welcome. Having ridd himself of Owen Paterson, an environment secretary, he seemed not to do science. It was good to hear the PM state that climate change is one of the most serious threats facing our world and that a global deal on Paris next year must be agreed. And his commitment to push the EU for a 40 per cent cut in emissions by 2030 was a step in the right direction, even if we would go further. What was, of course, much less welcome was his warm embrace of nuclear power and shale gas extraction. It would surely be far better to see the UK Government showing commitment to genuinely green forms of energy, not those which carry such environmental risk. There are clear differences in approach to this subject between Scotland and the rest of the UK. Here in Scotland, last week's figures for renewable electricity generation provided welcome encouragement as we journeyed towards meeting 100 per cent of our needs from clean green energy sources. According to figures released by DEC, Scotland's renewable energy electricity generation was, during the first half of 2014, 30 per cent higher compared to the same period last year due to a 50 per cent rise in hydro generation and 20 per cent rise in wind output. The figures also showed increases in Scotland's meeting of non-electrical heat demand from renewable sources. And they estimated that renewables contributed 46.5 per cent of gross electricity consumption in 2013, up from 39.9 per cent in 2012. That suggests that Scotland is on track to meet its interim 2015 target. So, while we cannot ignore missing the climate change targets, what is recognised is that the resetting of the baseline figures has largely been responsible for that. Acknowledge that the direction of travel is positive and celebrate progress on the renewable front. The final minute. But, Presiding Officer, we globally and here in Scotland will only make the necessary progress if we pull together. It is exactly the same in the wider environmental responsibility context that we must, for example, continue to increase recycling rates and drive down the tonnage going to landfill. I think that we will continue to do that. I think that it is important that we improve on the figures that came out last week in terms of recycling. I mentioned that in passing, Presiding Officer, because I genuinely believe that, amongst the general populace, when it comes to acting in an environment in a responsible manner, there is an appetite for this. It is improving. The public do get that they on an individual level must do their bit. While they might have reservations about onshore wind, they recognise that it forms part of a balanced green energy generation programme and that it would certainly rather be queen and green than dice with the risks that come with fracking and the toxic legacy of nuclear power. Many thanks. I now call Mary Fee to be followed by Alison Johnstone. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Last week's UN climate change summit was a momentous event that started with hundreds of thousands of people taking part in marches across the world, calling for greater action to tackle climate change. And with much of the media focus on celebrity attendance, I do remain hopeful that great steps were taken in the challenges that the global community face. And I am positive that the admissions by the Chinese vice-premier Zhang Gaoli will start a new era in global dialogue over action required. However, as colleagues across the chamber have said in the debate, the Scottish Government has missed its own ambitious targets for the third year in a row. Despite having full control over the three main contributors to carbon emissions in Scotland, housing, transport and agriculture, and it is housing and transport that I particularly wish to focus on in my contribution. Very, very brief. Minister. Thank you for taking intervention. I just want to make the point that, well, the point is made by Mary Fee that there are three areas where the primary impact on climate change is being found. Some of the tools by which we can influence energy efficiency homes are still reserved to Westminster and, obviously, the Green Deal being the most prominent of them. Mary Fee. Okay. Can I thank the minister for that clarification? The World Wildlife Foundation has warned that missing our targets only makes the overall target harder to achieve, with room for only the smallest margin of error. So, further action is required, both over policy and implementation. And tackling energy efficiency in housing can play a key part in reducing our carbon footprint. As can further investment in technologies that make homes more eco-friendly and cost-effective to reduce fuel poverty. And a perfect example of that was yesterday when I was speaking in the housing supply debate and I mentioned the passive houses, which are extremely fuel-efficient, very low cost. And they are expensive to build and manufacture, but the benefits of them are far reaching. And the connection between poverty, fuel poverty and poor housing is unavoidable. And I'm sure all members across the chamber today will agree with me that tackling fuel poverty must be a priority of this whole chamber. And in its written submission to the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee, Sustrans emphasised the role in getting more people on to public transport. And the announcements made by Transport Minister Keith Brown earlier this year were ambitious even if the timescales were long-term. And the planned move to electric vehicles is also an ambitious target and requires substantial investment from government as well as business. More use of our canals and ports would help to reduce our carbon footprint but again this would require substantial substantial infrastructure investment. Final minute. And finally, Presiding Officer, I'd like to briefly mention cycling. And with a number of cycling incidents increasing over recent years, Sustrans warned that this is in part down to the inadequate provision of safe cycling routes. And I know of cycling routes in my own area that only run for 10 metres before they disappear. And it is imperative if we are to encourage people to get out of cars, to reduce carbon emissions, as well as to encourage healthy lifestyles, we must work together to make cycling more appealing and safe. Thank you. Many thanks, Alison Johnstone. Thank you Presiding Officer. Our week past Sunday more than 300,000 people marched in New York. This was as many as the great march in 1963 when March and Luther King delivered is I have a dream speech to galvanise the civil rights movement. As many as the largest Vietnam war protests in the city. Last weekend's march was as large as the most iconic social movement gatherings the US has seen. In London 40,000 people marched in Edinburgh 3,000 miles away from the UN summit. I had the privilege of marching with and speaking to thousands of people people who demand to be taken seriously. And I shared a platform not with celebrities but with ordinary people from all ages and backgrounds. And we were all particularly struck by the eloquence of an 11-year-old girl who took to the platform and spoke passionately of the need for change. So this was a really participative event. It wasn't about politicians talking to people but people demanding change from their governments asking for leadership and committing to playing their part as individuals. Because people know we're on the cusp of an opportunity the stated aim of the Paris meeting next year is to agree a binding universal deal. This needs practical action at Lima in December and strong commitments for post 2020 targets from all nations at the start of 2015. But it also needs action and politicians who are willing to take action before a deal is struck. And we must retain the agreement in Scotland on strong action. The government has made part of its motion today about more powers and I agree that more powers are vital to Scotland's ability to deliver its climate targets. But it's also a question of commitment, of political will and funding. The Labour amendment has lots that I like. The government does need to turn more proposals on transport demand, energy efficiency and agriculture into on-the-ground action if future domestic targets can be met. But it does cut out some important text. New powers should not shape this debate but they do undeniably have a bearing on the government's ability to run a sustainable economy. Scotland for example does not need or want fracking. And climate is an ethical issue too and the Labour and Conservative amendments both remove references to climate justice. I welcome the minister's comments regarding our proposals on pension funds. The green amendment was not selected for debate today but I would be grateful for any opportunity to discuss this issue with the minister. The Swedish national pension fund announced plans to decarbonise its entire equity portfolio last week when its CEO launched the UN's portfolio decarbonisation coalition. Pensions have long-term investment horizons and they are exactly the funds that should be most keenly aware of the real risk that climate change will leave fossil fuel companies with billions of pounds of stranded assets. And we also heard that the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and others are to divest 50 billion pounds from fossil fuels as part of the divest invest coalition. Final minute. And I'm sure it hasn't passed people's ken that the Rockefellers built their fortune on oil. Only their philanthropic fund is divesting small compared with the actual business but the announcement is still significant. Greens are keen to work with the Government to add Scottish pensions to the list of those decarbonising their portfolios. Climate action means making choices about where we invest but also where we don't. Presiding Officer, we must meet the next target and all parties who supported those targets should have policies which aren't contradictory. I believe going forward that we have extremely significant opportunities to ensure that we deliver Scotland's commitment to climate justice and I will work with all those who have that commitment at heart. Thank you. Many thanks. We now turn to the closing speeches and I call on Alex Ferguson. Four minutes please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'm a bit of a loss to know where to start in summing up this debate because had the motion before us been mirrored in the minister's opening speech I would have had no difficulty at all in supporting it. But Tavish Scott was right because this motion could only divide this chamber. Claudia Beamish was also right because in past debates we've always managed to come to a broadly consensual decision cross-party agreement on the way forward and a pride in the role that Scotland plays in addressing this internationally vital issue. And I am truly sorry that the government motion before us today does not allow us to maintain that broad consensus. Indeed, following the weeks of division and impassioned debate on both sides of the referendum campaign into which all of us put our hearts and souls, this debate offered a fantastic opportunity for us to come together again at least on this one subject and show to the world that while we can have huge differences on our constitutional future we can still speak as one when it comes to our environmental future. And that surely would have been the right message. I have four minutes, I'm sorry Mr Gibson. That surely would have been the right message to have sent out from the Parliament this evening as our reaction and response to the UN's climate summit. But instead, the government has chosen to have its habitual dig at the UK Government while falling into the very trap that Johann Lamont pleaded with it not to do in her speech to Parliament last Tuesday. And it does so by asking us to agree that the newly devolved powers to give Scotland a stronger and more clearly articulated voice on the international stage would allow Scotland to play a leading role in encouraging countries to match Scotland's high ambitions on climate change. Now I'm not against further powers for this Parliament Presiding Officer. But if the government had needed further powers to play a leading role in encouraging others to match Scotland's high ambition, then why has it been shouting from every available rooftop since the legislation was first introduced that we have world-leading climate change legislation in place already and that we are leading the world in setting challenging targets as an example to the rest of the world? It didn't need extra powers to make these lofty claims and indeed the minister repeated them in his opening speech today. Could it be perhaps, Presiding Officer, that the government seeks to deflect attention away from the fact that it has failed to reach any of the first three annual targets it has set as many members have mentioned? I've said before in this chamber and I'll say it again that I back the government in setting challenging targets even if it doesn't achieve them because that has to be preferable to setting easy targets that can be easily achieved. But I couldn't help notice an emerging trend in our rural affairs and climate change environment committee meeting this morning that seems to be beginning to highlight bureaucratic issues such as baseline changes and changing identifiers and other measures which apparently now begin to call the validity of our targets into question. So I make this plea. Don't let us dilute this debate, Presiding Officer. Let the government stick to the targets. Take the flack if it doesn't achieve them and then seek the agreement of a chamber that is essentially and broadly sympathetic to the government's cause on this issue when it then tries to identify the best way forward. Presiding Officer, I will be a little more optimistic than Tavish Scott on the subject of the UN summit because I hope that it was the success it was claimed to be. Although I despair frankly that some notable world leaders chose to be elsewhere. I applaud the fact that our Prime Minister was there and committed himself to driving forward an EU agreement to a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030 and I will not criticise the UK government for not making any new pledges as the motion asks us to do. This summit was called to pave the way for Paris 2015. That's where the big pledges and commitments are to be made and if there is criticism of any country after that then so be it. In closing, Presiding Officer, let me repeat request of the government that in the next debate on this vitally important subject it returns to the atmosphere and language of consensus that normally typifies climate change debates so that we can speak with a unified voice. That's the right way to generate the physical and behavioural changes that are needed to deliver the targets. Sadly, the pre referendum rhetoric and tone of this motion can only achieve the opposite. Thank you. Many thanks. I call on Claudia Beamish. Six minutes please. Thank you Presiding Officer. As we've heard this afternoon the global climate challenges are indeed great. I also would like to sound a note of optimism at this stage. Global action is already having effect and this should inspire us all that having legally binding agreements which we are all determined will come out of the summit process leading to Paris can have a profound effect. In last week's economist there is a bar chart which showed that the annual emissions savings of certain policies and practices are already working globally. And I was struck by the impact of the Montreal protocol which we will probably remember was agreed in 1987 has resulted in the phasing out of substances such as hydrofluorocarbons. According to the economist this policy is responsible for an annual 5.6 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent savings which shows that there are measures that can dramatically reduce global emissions as long as the international will is there. Barack Obama and Yang Oh Lee China's vice-president, vice-premier actually suggested that economic transformation as is highlighted in our amendment could take place that would not only avoid crippling economic consequences of inaction but would also result in a higher quality of life for the world's population. The video accompanying the report could not state it any more simply and I quote the investments needed to shift to a low carbon economy are almost the same as those investments we'll be making anyway. Business in Scotland has a good story to tell on this which we can share globally. From the climate 2020 group mentioned by the minister to the whisky industries initiatives and the climate monitor farms there are many win-wins to recount. The public sector also has much to share with other countries in terms of the development process whereby change is happening through the climate leaders forum and engagement to affect change throughout this sector. As a member for the cross-party group for China I've been interested that many members have mentioned China this afternoon and I've been following developments to some degree there. While recognising Tavish Scot's remarks China is now the biggest investor in renewables technology in the world and it is possible I believe to avoid some of the dirty industry phase for countries such as China. And it is also giving support to other countries. China has committed 6 million dollars equivalent to the south-south development. Here the Scottish Climate Justice Fund has targeted support to Malawi where we have strong historical ties and this complements the more global strategic support by the UK government. How we measure progress is crucial at a country and global level in mapping the way forward. Let's measure what matters. The national performance framework includes a carbon indicator and one of the purpose targets is sustainability reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Scotland is leading on this. Encouragingly there is a paralleled interest in other countries as well. In China 70 small cities and counties will no longer use GDP as an equivalent performance indicator for local officials. Evaluation will instead be based on raising living standards for poor residents and reducing the number of people living in poverty. Such initiatives need to be developed and given status through the summit process at a global level and the challenge of compatible data must be addressed. Finally, if the necessary political leadership is to be effective at all levels, support for behaviour change is essential, as highlighted by Graham Day in this debate. Awareness raising of climate change issues and how communities can get involved here in Scotland is another good story we share. The social media has played a part in this and the For the Love of campaign and the recent Stop Climate Chaos action film shows how people in Scotland are working together and this can be shared the world over through the internet. As others have said, 2,000 people marched in Edinburgh adding to the vast numbers across the world to highlight concern before the New York summit and collective understanding of the need for change is positive and important but support is also essential. Communities here are acting for change and the support of the climate challenge fund is being effective and is now more inclusive. My own local borough of Lanark tells this story well and it should be shared with many others in towns across Scotland and beyond. They say, we hope our project is beginning to change attitudes to growing your own produce and cutting down food miles. Certainly the school children seem to understand that. Climate justice is not only the way forward for developing countries but here in Scotland and in the UK. If those households and communities on low incomes are to be included on everything from sustainable living to flood prevention. The global dangers and opportunities for change presented by the climate change challenge are immense and the Scottish Government and Scotland have a good story to tell. As Cara Hylton said, let's all contribute to this. I wish the minister well in Lima. Many thanks. I now call on Paul Wheelhouse to wind up the debate. Minister, you have until 4.59 p.m. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I thank members for their contributions to this important debate today. The scientific evidence, as I said earlier on, is overwhelming. Climate change is happening. Extreme weather events are increasing in strength and frequency as Graham Day aligned in his speech. The road to a binding international agreement has reached a very critical stage. We know the cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of taking strong action now. With that in mind, the UN Secretary General's New York summit was convened at this crucial period to galvanise commitments from the international community and from the all-important head of government level. I spoke in my opening remarks about the cross-party business and civic society support for strong action in Scotland on climate change. Another key lesson we have for other countries indeed is our level of senior and cross-government political support for our climate programme in Scotland. I know many governments do envy the cross-party nature of the support that we have in this chamber for our action. From the First Minister to Cabinet colleagues and across portfolios, our own cross-government approach has been a key feature of our response. The First Minister's commitment to renewable energy and championing of climate justice have, I am sure, been noted by many in the chamber. The Deputy First Minister's support through HydroNation for the Climate Justice Fund, Claudia Beamish and others have referred to, is also to be noted. The finance secretary's priority of low-carbon in our government economic strategy, as well as his personal commitment to our climate justice agenda, having spoken at last year's conference, is also very much welcomed and very strong support, too, from international development colleagues for international climate change and climate justice agenda, not to mention, of course, the huge cross-portfolio efforts on domestic delivery and housing, business, the public sector and transport and rural affairs to pick up the points that Mary Fee mentioned earlier. So, in Scotland, part of our success has been in having absolute buy-in to the need for action on climate change from the head of government level down and, indeed, across the chambers I have recognised. And that's a feature that the UN are now looking for from other countries. Scotland now has a hugely important track record of high ambition and, to pick up Tavish Scott's point, we are, in terms of delivery on climate change and I'll outline some examples. But with our own voice on international stage, and as has been pointed out by Stuart Stevenson very fairly, the motion doesn't talk about independence. We just talk about having what other countries take for granted in a devolved government setup within their own nation states. With our own voice on international stage, we could better promote Scotland's example in tackling climate change to the global audience. You know, if you can't— I'm really pushed for time, if you can keep it brief please. Would the minister agree that the motion does actually indicate the point about new devolved powers? And that is the point that I was making that sort of does break to some degree the consensus in this situation. Well, the point that's being made and we're deliberately not pushing for independence in this motion, but we are pushing for the same rights as other governments take, sub-national governments take for granted. So, at the moment, there is no power for the Scottish Government to have an automatic right to attend these conferences. So, we're looking for some support from that. But I appreciate the members not willing to give that support today. Well, what I would say is that international bodies like CAN, international trade union congress, friends of the earth, other stakeholders who will be familiar with in this chamber do want to see Scotland having a voice in these audiences and being able to influence other countries that are in similar context to us to take forward our example in terms of the legislative framework we have and the kind of approach we've taken to statutory targets. Why, therefore, opposition parties with the exceptions of the Green Party and the independence will not acknowledge this obvious point is a mystery to me. But I will leave that for there for the moment. But, Presiding Officer, I'd be happy to meet Alison Johnson, the point that she raised, to discuss pension funds and the decarbonisation of their investments in due course. So, I'll happily be in touch about that. We remain on track for our 42 per cent emissions reduction by 2020, notwithstanding the points that have been made, the reality is that the target we have in absolute tonnage terms is considerably more than 42 per cent now, but we do remain on target to achieve the 42 per cent itself. And to achieve our targets of 50 per cent equivalent to renewable electricity demand by 2015 and reducing energy consumption by 12 per cent by 2020. We have increased forestry planting rates to around 16 million trees per year and we aim for 20 million trees per year from 2015 onwards. We are phasing out by a degradable municipal waste going to landfill by 2020, the first ban in the UK. The Iraqi Committee took evidence from stakeholders, as we've heard today, on climate change programme and I look forward to giving evidence to the committee myself next week. I'll be laying our annual report on climate emissions at the end of the month and making a statement to Parliament as soon as possible thereafter. The independent committee on climate change say that we are making good progress, particularly on renewables and domestic energy efficiency. However, we recognise that keeping up progress and tackling climate change will require new commitments and policies being brought to bear year on year. We have committed around £1.3 billion over the three-year spending review period on additional climate action in energy, homes and communities, businesses and the public sector, transport waste and rural land use. We have recently made commitments to keep us on track to our 2020 objectives. A new cabinet sub-committee on climate change, £15 million more for electric vehicles, new cycling infrastructure, greening of cap, including proposals for nutrient management on permanent grassland and a roll-out of smarter choices, smarter places throughout Scotland over the next two years as part of our commitment to achieving almost total decarbonisation and road transport by 2050. We have doubled our funding for the climate justice fund to £6 million and I will be announcing the successful round 2 projects for sub-Saharanian Africa next week. We are supporting the 2020 group, Keep Scotland Beautiful, Glasgow Clandedonian University and Solar Aid, with £200,000 for their Scotland Lights Up Malawi project, rolling out household solar lamps. As part of my web address during the UN summit, I also committed to support the compact of states and regions. This platform, reporting and progress on climate action will help to give the confidence and delivery from all levels of government that national governments need to encourage them to make ambitious pledges to the international treaty. Scotland can play a key role in demonstrating the economic benefits of making the transition to a low-carbon economy, encouraging other countries to follow our lead. We can also help to make the humanitarian case for action. I will continue to work with the UK Government. We have always been constructive with the UK Government in international affairs on this issue. There are partners in the EU and around the world to make the case for higher ambition, promote Scotland's low-carbon economy and champion climate justice. I will gently point out to Jamie McGregor if he is listening that both the UK target of 34 per cent and the five-year carbon budgets are far easier to implement and achieve than our own legislative framework. I would hope that he would recognise that in the points that he made about our own performance. We believe that the EU is an important party to the UNFCCC, and that has shown strong leadership on climate change over the years. We want to make sure that this continues and that the EU can respond with an appropriate commitment to an ambitious treaty. The EU will need to go beyond the 40 per cent pledge for 2030 as part of a treaty that will stand a good chance of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. UK Government modelling shows that a 40 per cent EU 2030 target will cost the equivalent of only 0.01 per cent annual growth, a 50 per cent target only 0.03 per cent of annual growth. Compare that to the cost of damage to our ecosystems and the way of life if climate change is not controlled. We will also continue to support high renewables ambition within the EU for the 2030 package. At the UNFCCC conference in Lima in December, I will be promoting Scotland's story on high ambition to the widest possible audience. As I previously mentioned, we have important contacts within the UN itself. Being active members of the climate group gives us access to their government and business networks and events. NGOs, the media and new MEPs are potentially important target audience for us as our international finance institutions. We will be taking a keen interest in the overall level of global ambition. It has to match up to the aim of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Presiding Officer, all those things are important and yet we cannot participate in key negotiation tracks ourselves even where we lead on areas such as Peatlands. We have somewhat encouraged this year by emerging commitment of the big players US, China and of course the EU to delivering a climate treaty in Paris in 2015. However, in Scotland, we have already done so. We have already made our commitments unilaterally and without conditions. In fact, we did so many years ago and I have since followed through in delivery. Once again, my thanks to members for their participation in this debate and I appreciate the comments that were made. Thank you very much. That concludes the debate on the UN climate summit 2014. The next item of business is consideration of business motion 11036 in the name of Joe Fitzpatrick on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau setting out a business programme. Any member who wishes to speak against the motion should press a request speak but now and I call on Joe Fitzpatrick to move motion number 11036. Moved. No member has asked to speak against the motion therefore I now put the question to the chamber. The question is that motion number 11036 in the name of Joe Fitzpatrick be agreed to. Are we all agreed? The motion is therefore agreed to. The next item of business is consideration of business motion 11037 in the name of Joe Fitzpatrick on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau setting out a stage 1 timetable for the Mental Health Scotland Bill. Any member who wishes to speak against the motion should press a request speak but now and I call on Joe Fitzpatrick to move motion number 11037. Moved. No member has asked to speak against the motion therefore I now put the question to the chamber. The question is that motion number 11037 in the name of Joe Fitzpatrick be agreed to. Are we all agreed? The motion is therefore agreed to. We now come to decision time. There are four questions to be put as a result of today's business. The first question is at motion number 11030 in the name of Shona Robison on the Ryder Camp 2014 be agreed to. Are we all agreed? The motion is therefore agreed to. Can I remind members that in relation to the debate on the UN climate summit 2014 if the amendment in the name of Claudia Beamish is agreed to, the amendment in the name of Jamie McGregor falls? The next question then is at amendment number 11029.4 in the name of Claudia Beamish which seeks to amend motion number 11029 in the name of Paul Healhouse on the UN climate summit be agreed to. Are we all agreed? The Parliament is not agreed. We move to vote. Members should cast their votes now. The result of the vote of amendment number 11029.4 in the name of Claudia Beamish is as follows. Yes, 38. No, 75. There were no abstentions. The amendment is therefore not agreed to. The next question is at amendment number 11029.1 in the name of Jamie McGregor which seeks to amend motion number 11029 in the name of Paul Healhouse on the UN climate summit be agreed to. Are we all agreed? The Parliament is not agreed. We move to vote. Members should cast their votes now. The result of the vote of amendment number 11029.1 in the name of Jamie McGregor is as follows. Yes, 16. No, 97. There were no abstentions. The amendment is therefore not agreed to. The next question is at motion number 11029 in the name of Paul Healhouse on the UN climate summit be agreed to. Are we all agreed? The Parliament is not agreed. We move to vote. Members should cast their votes now. Can I just remind members too that if you're going to say no, could you say a wee bit louder? The result of the vote on motion number 11029 in the name of Paul Healhouse is as follows. Yes, 63. No, 50. There were no abstentions. The motion is therefore agreed to. At a concluse decision time, we now move to members' business. Members should leave in the chamber, should do so quickly and quietly.