Press & Policy

Comments attributable to Dr Liz Cameron OBE, Chief Executive, Scottish Chambers of Commerce on Air Departure Tax:

“Ever since Nicola Sturgeon announced we are facing a ‘climate emergency’ the policy changes have been coming thick and fast. We need the Scottish Government to bring us along with them in terms of consultation before it commits to any further changes that have implications for our economic health.

We remain worried about how the continued imposition of APD will affect inbound tourism and outbound international trade. It keeps us on the wrong level of the playing field compared to other European regions that cut or scrapped aviation taxes years ago. It also sends out a signal about our attitude to global trade, not to mention higher costs just as the need to move into new global markets becomes urgent due to Brexit.

However, I don’t hold out much hope that Scottish Government will u-turn on their u-turn on this. The tone of the climate change debate has reached such a level that policy makers can no longer ignore it.

We need to know what else will be caught up in this new approach to CO2 emissions as a matter of urgency. We are dismayed that The Scottish Government may reverse its support for Heathrow expansion plans. There are implications for Scotland if the Scottish Government is no longer supporting the expansion of UK aviation capacity. We also need to ensure that, as a country, we take a balanced approach to the oil and gas industry which employs hundreds of thousands of people and has a huge role to play in the energy transition.

We urge the Scottish Government to sit down with business. They will be pleasantly surprised at how open the private sector is to tackling climate change. Scottish businesses share an ambition of leaving the earth in the best condition possible for our future generations. We are creative and entrepreneurial, but we are also pragmatic and want to collaborate on the problems facing humanity”