It’s WWF’s annual Earth Hour tonight, between 8:30 and 9:30. Many of us will be turning our lights off to show that the planet and its environment is a priority and to show that we want our government to take it seriously. I noticed that this year it clashes with Channel 4’s docudrama thingy about the Coalition. When I moaned about it on Twitter, people reminded me about Channel 4 + 1.

WWF Scotland have asked the country’s political leaders to contribute a blog post to explain what Earth Hour means for them. Willie Rennie’s is here. He starts off by saying why Earth Hour matters:

 In our busy day-to-day lives this huge event forces us to stop and think about the future. Raising awareness of the climate challenge we face. Setting out concrete actions we can take to protect our environment. Ensuring that our children live in a fairer, greener society.

The Liberal Democrats are the only party to have nailed their green credentials to the mast, and set out how our radical agenda will be delivered in a way that is both credible and affordable.

He goes on to talk about building on the work the Liberal Democrats have done in government (because, let’s face it, the Tories weren’t keen):

Liberal Democrats are proud of our environmental record in government. From the launch of the Green Investment Bank to record investment in railways and renewable energy, we have taken a personal responsibility for the “green crap” that others too often brush aside past polling day.

The challenge to our climate in Scotland and across the UK remains as stark as it was five years ago. We have made progress, but much more needs to be done. For example, the Committee on Climate Change found that UK sales of electric vehicles in Scotland had fallen back to 6%. Our five green laws go further and put green commitments at the heart of the next Parliament’s legislative programme.

They will set out the target of a zero carbon Britain by 2050, decarbonising energy production and supporting renewable strengths (PDF) we have in Scotland.

And shockingly, he gets stronger economy and fairer society the wrong way round. Don’t tell Paddy.

Our Warm Homes law will allow OFGEM to help Scottish households who connect to heat networks, giving people more confidence to take the step. We will permit the Green Investment Bank to support community heating and insulation initiatives.

Our Nature Act will help protect biodiversity, with new provision for wildlife including the establishment of a one million kilometre South Atlantic marine reserve.

This sets a clear direction for households, industry and the public sector when making policy. It realises Liberal Democrat ambitions for a fairer society, building a stronger and more sustainable economy which provides opportunity for future generations.

So how will you be marking Earth Hour tonight? What will you be doing in the dark? We usually talk, or go for a walk and see how many houses in our street have the lights off. There have been more and more as the years have gone on, which is definitely encouraging.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social