GLASGOW has become the first city to sign up to climate emergency education.

Elected members of Glasgow City Council, including leader Susan Aitken, will undertake the training this August, developed with, and provided by Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Keep Scotland Beautiful is Scotland's only certified carbon literacy training organisation and has worked with Glasgow City Council to create what it calls a "bespoke climate emergency training course that is relevant to the Glasgow and Scottish context".

Glasgow City Council declared a climate emergency in May 2019 and appropriate training was one of 61 recommendations identified to help elected leaders best respond to the growing risks that climate change poses to the area.

Ms Aitken said: "Glasgow City Council is committed to playing a leading role in helping to address climate change, so I am looking forward to attending the very first session of this bespoke Climate Emergency Training that we have developed with Keep Scotland Beautiful.

"As the course includes elements tailored to the Glasgow and Scottish context, it will help elected leaders to respond effectively to the risks that climate change poses at a local level. Developing a better understanding of what climate change means for Glasgow is essential if we are to build a cleaner, healthier, low carbon city."

Glasgow Times:

The Climate Emergency Training course will be delivered online with the first 29 elected council members due to start their training in mid-August.

The training includes learning on the causes of climate change, how the changing climate will impact Glasgow and the strategies the council can implement to help mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The course also highlights the potential for positive action and champions the work of communities in Glasgow who are contributing to a more sustainable, cleaner and healthier city.

The training course will culminate in a final assessment, requiring participants to select one individual action and one group action to reduce carbon emissions, demonstrating their learning and understanding of carbon emission sources and solutions.

Each participant will be awarded with official Carbon Literate accreditation upon successful completion of the course.

Barry Fisher, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: "We are delighted that Glasgow City Council has chosen to work with us.

"The training is part of our portfolio of climate change support that is available to help organisations, businesses, communities and young people understand the climate emergency and respond to the risks, opportunities and responsibilities ahead."

In May, last year, Glasgow City Council became the third council in Scotland to declare a climate emergency.

Edinburgh became the first city in Scotland to declare a climate emergency in February, 2019 with the Highland Council following in May.

The Glasgow declaration came just days after the council announced their bid to become the first net-zero emissions city in the UK.

They announced a roll-out of electric transport and heating systems on Tuesday, with the backing of energy giant ScottishPower.

In September, last year, it set a target of becoming a carbon neutral city by 2030.

The decision marks the council's formal acceptance of a key recommendation in the recent report by the city's Climate Emergency Working Group, which set out more than 60 recommendations on how the city as a whole should tackle climate change.

A plastic-free shopping zone and major tree planting programme will be considered along with the low energy efficiency of the city's older housing stock. Consideration will also be given be given to a wider roll-out of car free zones at schools and other locations.

Last month it emerged that Scotland was leading the UK march towards becoming carbon zero – but ministers were under fire for continuing to support “climate-wrecking” Heathrow expansion plans.

New research based on local authority data showed that from 2005 to 2017, Glasgow cut carbon emissions by 36.4% – but was behind Sheffield, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Liverpool, according to the analysis by Utility Bidder.