WDM Scotland Past Successes

Our Achievements in 2009

WDM Scotland campaigned hard in 2009 for a strong Scottish climate change bill - calling in particular for international aviation emissions to be included in the bill.  Working in coalition with Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, we succeeded in establishing a very strong Act with the most ambitious emissions targets of any developed country: 42% cut in greenhouse gases by 2020.

Liz presents our 'climate change kills' boarding cards to the Cabinet Secretary John Swinney MSP.

Stick men demand action at the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland rally outside the Scottish Parliament and (below) WDM activists join the mass lobby of MSPs before the final bill is voted on:

We also worked with Friends of the Earth Scotland in 2009 to stop new coal-fired power stations being built in Scotland - with some success: in November DONG pulled out of a partnership with Peel Energy to build a coal plant at Hunterston in Ayrshire.

Later in the year a coalition with other international development and environment NGOs and trade unions formed to create 'the People's G20' at St. Andrews when G20 finance ministers met there in early November.

We told the G20 finance ministers to take their heads out of the sand and look for real solutions to the climate and financial crises:

...and more than 400 campaigners joined 'the People's G20' at the students union in St. Andrews after the photo-shoot:

We also organised a host of events including our campaigner convention in Edinburgh, film showings in collaboration with Take One Action Film Festival, the Stupid Awards, and local film nights and education events with our education project Global Connect.

Previous Years

2008

WDM Scotland is involved in the first Take One Action Film Festival in Scotland, organises workshops at the Edinburgh World Justice Festival, holds world-wise workshops in Oxgangs...and WDM Scotland members respond to the climate change Scotland bill consultation - that receives a total of 21,000 responses.

2007

In a Scottish elections year, WDM Scotland rated the parties on their commitment to tackling climate change, organised hustings, and equipped supporters through our website to question candidates.  We also organised two speaker tours: one on climate change with keynote speaker Richard Navarro, former Chair of Friends of the Earth International, the second focussing on Malawi with Mavuto Bamusi of the Malawi Economic Justice Network.

2006

WDM Scotland became a founding member of GCAP Scotland, and was involved in the first ever Edinburgh World Justice Festival, joined a debate on the WTO at the Scottish Parliament, and quizzed Gordon Brown on Nigeria's debt when he visited Dunfermline.

2005

The G8 comes to Edinburgh and WDM Scotland was involved in Make Poverty History, marching through Edinburgh with a quarter of a million others to demand action on aid, debt and trade.  We also took part in a major conference on Malawi at the Scottish Parliament, and won our first Scottish Executive grant for work on our education project, then called 'World-wise'