Scottish Green Party

From the National Politics Section Friday the 11th of September SMP criticised over UN database loophole in Israel boycott Written by James Walker The Scottish Government has been criticised for not automatically borrowing companies named on a UN database of businesses linked to Israeli settlement activity and the West Bank from receiving public contracts and grants.

The Scottish Greens have accused SNP ministers of leaving loopholes that allow companies to continue benefiting from public money.

It comes as the Scottish government has been accused of failing to fully implement a promised Israel boycott, notably after confirming in June that Barclays was one of nine banks chosen to support a £1.5 billion issuance of bonds.

The Palestinian-led boycott, divestment, sanctions, BDS movement notes that Barclays has an agreement with Israel to act as a primary dealer for its government bonds.

procurement guidance, being named on the database is not, on its own, normally considered sufficient grounds to exclude a company from a contract process.

Public bodies should also consider other sources of evidence when conducting due diligence, the guidance adds.

Neither Scottish Greens have questioned why, adding that the UN list should be the starting point for any credible boycott policy.

A spokesperson said, If a company is active in occupied territories or profiting from the repression of Palestinians, it should not be allowed to profit from public money here in Scotland.

Thank you.

Can I pass on the Scottish Green's condolences to Cathy Craigie's family and our friends in the Labor Party? Her work in particular in establishing a register of landlords in Scotland started a really important journey that this parliament is still on to protect those in this country who rent their own home.

It's made a real difference to people across the country.

And Presiding Officer, I want to start by congratulating the community groups across the country whose campaign against hyperscale data centers has forced the Scottish Government to act.

There are various people arguing for or against them in Scotland.

The Scottish Greens want to pause the development of new data centers because of the concerns on, on the, on the, the amount of water and energy they use.

Mm.

Mm.

We- they want oversight on the biggest plans.

Well, the Scottish Greens aren't happy with that.

They think it doesn't go far enough, so they've asked to bring it back to Parliament so they can have another say, so they can have their objections heard once again.

And that's happening this week.

Yeah.

I kind of thought the government had a plan for this.

I thought this had all been dealt with, but the Scottish Greens are, are, are kind of trying to change course here, aren't they? What, what's going on?

Yeah.

We've got another story not on independence to talk about just now and something else that is a Massive issue at the moment, and increasingly terrifying, and data centers.

So I want to talk about the fact that the Scottish Greens are going to force a Holyrood vote on an AI data center moratorium.

They have accused the SNP of sitting on the fence as speculative proposals for the energy hungry infrastructure continue to mount.

So there's already 24 applications in at the moment with more expected.

So campaigners have been calling for just a whole pause on new developments, with analysis showing that contracted energy demand for the project is already one and a half times the total peak energy demand across Great Britain, which is obviously crazy numbers.

The SNP's National Council backed calls for a moratorium on But the Scottish government has not translated this into policy.

Scottish Greens MSP Patrick Harvey said, quote, We will be forcing the Scottish government to make a very simple choice.

Will they put a pause on the rush to build hyperscale data sensors or will they continue to allow speculative applications to keep piling up with no national strategy in place? Now, this is going to be a really interesting vote.

I mean, it's politically questionable as well, given the fact that we've just lost two by-elections.

The SNP lost two Edinburgh Council seats after being beaten by the Scottish Greens and Labour in separate results announced on Friday.

In the Craig Miller Portobello contest, Scottish Greens candidate Lorenzo Martiniccio topped the poll ahead of SNP candidate Silas McGilvery.

In the Southside Newington Ward, meanwhile, Labour's Ruth Elliott won, while the Scottish Green's Isabella Gastel Alejandra was second, and the SNP's Sam Alexander-McKenzie finished third.

Ramsey went on to stress how the issue of data centres could come to hurt the party in the forthcoming local elections.

Promises made and promises delivered.

Almost half of Scots now have access to free or cheap bus travel, making it easier for folk to get to work, college, university, medical appointments, the shops or to see their friends and families.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens welcomed the introduction of the £2 fare cap in Glasgow, but called for the cap to be rolled out nationwide as quickly as possible.

Replacing gas boilers with electric heating and insulating buildings will make our homes warmer and cheaper to heat, and won't contribute to the rapid climate breakdown like Jackdaw.

When the Scottish Greens were in government, we published a plan to roll out clean, cheap heating to a million homes.

Last week's program for government cut that plan by 90%.

Has the Scottish Government bought the line that Jackdaw and Rosebank will solve the crisis of high energy bills, or do they intend to take real action to ensure every home in Scotland has clean, green, and affordable heating? [applause]