Withdrawal of Funding from the Sustainable Development Commission

That the Parliament notes with extreme concern the decision of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to withdraw funding from the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC); believes this to be a deeply retrograde decision and seriously out of step with the spirit of climate change legislation; recognises the excellent work that SDC has done under the chairmanship of Professor Jan Bebbington of the University of St Andrews; commends the SDC’s recent report, Prosperity without Growth, and the thinking behind it that is essential to find a way forward to address the problems of climate change; acknowledges that Scotland, Ireland, and Wales share particular and common problems such as areas of low population density, concentrations of social deprivation and derelict post-industrial areas, while at the same time hosting the bulk of the United Kingdom’s alternative energy resources, and urges the Scottish Government to consider working with the other devolved administrations to keep this important centre for the dissemination of new ideas and discussion of new strategies and to assist the SDC in continuing to create events, research and publications to further joint aims in addressing climate change and creating a vibrant green economy.