Dr Jill Robbie has responded to two recent consultations which are relevant to the research ongoing in this EPSRC Programme Grant.

The first consultation was a Review of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement in Scotland. The Statement was first published in 2017 and is reviewed every 5 years. The Statement is an important document which sets out the vision of the relationship between people and land in Scotland. Since the Statement was first published, there has been increasing focus on the climate crisis and the requirement to change land use in order to transition to net zero. Jill supported the inclusion of reference to a “just transition to net zero” within the Statement. If this change is made to the Statement, this provides recognition of the importance of land and the need for land use change within the context of reducing emissions. The decentralised technologies developed in this grant will occupy land and implementation of the technologies may require transformations in the use or governance of that land. Please click on this link to read Dr Robbie’s response to the consultation.

The second consultation was the Draft Workplan for Energy, Post and Water 2022-23 for Consumer Scotland. Consumer Scotland will be the official, independent and expert voice of consumer concerns in Scotland. The consultation is seeking views on the focus of the upcoming work of this new body. There are two relevant water issues mentioned in this consultation: i) adapting the use of water and wastewater in homes to tackle climate change and ii) the implementation of the new EU Drinking Water Directive. Jill supported the inclusion of both of these issues in the Workplan for Consumer Scotland. She emphasised the need to consider innovative ways to transform water and wastewater services, as well as the need to support progressive realisation of the human right to water and sanitation for all. Please click on this link to read Dr Robbie’s response to the consultation