National Emergency Film Screening and Discussion at the Scottish Parliament

On 1st October, the acclaimed documentary, The People’s Emergency Briefing, was screened at the Scottish Parliament. The event was opened by First Minister, John Swinney, on Thursday evening, bringing together MSPs, public sector Chief Executives, Senior Managers, and academics, alongside SSN members.

First Minister, John Swinney, presenting at the NEB event at Scottish Parliament.

The event was organised by the National Emergency Briefing, the Scottish Parliament, the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN), and the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute (ECCI).

Following the First Minister’s opening speech and a scene-setting contribution from Prof. Mike Berners-Lee, the 80+ participants watched an edited 30-minute version of the People’s Emergency Briefing documentary that presents the national implications of climate and nature breakdown.

The film then led into a panel discussion with MSPs, chaired by Dr Kate Donovan from ECCI. David Barrett MSP, Claire Baker MSP, Ariane Burgess MSP and Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP explored the importance of effective public engagement on climate change, and took questions from delegates.

Themes explored included:

  • How to get the film in front of audiences who would not typically attend a community screening;
  • The vital role of local authorities, universities and other public bodies in showing the film within their organisations and in the community;
  • The important role of the public sector in delivering Scotland’s climate commitments, putting policy into practice across Scotland;
  • The challenge of ever-increasing polarisation of political and public discourse on climate change;

The importance in public engagement to focus on the needs and interests of people rather than leading with a focus on climate change. Or ensuring that work on climate action makes more explicit links to wider co-benefits on health, well-being, jobs, and poverty reduction.

 

First Minister, John Swinney, stated in his speech:

“I would encourage the sharing of this Briefing very widely across the country…. This is an important part of ensuring that, across the country, there is widespread engagement in taking the necessary action to tackle our climate crisis, to tackle the biodiversity crisis, to ensure we are taking the necessary action today to prepare for tomorrow”.