Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer has challenged the Scottish Government on its lack of date surrounding whisky maturation loss after being contacted by an industrial chemist in regards to ethanol evaporation and global warming, according to an article in The Courier.

Greer asked the government what date it plans on regulating emissions from maturation loss, as well as what mitigations would be put in place to reduce potential harm.

However, a spokesperson for the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said that some loss of spirt from casks during maturation is a natural part of the whisky making process.

“Loss of ethanol average around two percent per year and, as the Scottish Government points out, is neither harmful to the health nor impact on the environment due to its rapid dispersal,” said the SWA.

In June 2012 Greer was strongly criticised for posting a tweet saying: “I’m not exaggerating when I say nothing would thrill me more than for Buckingham Palace to burn to the ground.” Later the same year, Greer was criticised for tweeting about organising a party to celebrate the death of Margaret Thatcher (who was critically ill at the time) which contained the words “hope she goes soon!”

On 25 January 2019, Greer posted a tweet calling Winston Churchill “a white supremacist mass murderer.” He later went on Good Morning Britain and Politics Live and was challenged on his views. This was not the first time Greer has been criticised for his comments about the Second World War; a few years prior he was accused of historical ignorance after tweeting that “Britain was happy to live with Hitler”.

His self-publicity seems to work, however. He was elected in 2016 to the Scottish Parliament, making him at 21, the youngest person ever elected to the Parliament.