2007 Stevenson was decorated by the President of Kazakhstan with the "Shapagat" ("Mercy") award for his humanitarian work in Semipalatinsk. Ban of cat and dog fur Stevenson also led a successful campaign for eight years in the European Parliament to impose an EU-wide ban on the import, export and trade in cat and dog fur. It was estimated that up to two million cats and dogs were being slaughtered each year in China alone, simply to meet demand for fur products in Europe. Working with Humane Society International, Stevenson's campaign generated more than a million emails and signatures on petitions, finally culminating in a draft regulation being prepared by the European Commission and voted through the European Parliament. The regulation was enacted into European Union law across all 27 Member States in 2008. Climate change Stevenson was president of the European Parliament's Climate Change, Biodiversity & Sustainable Development Intergroup. He has been an outspoken critic of off-shore wind farms. Stevenson has recently cited the loss of ocean carbon sinks due to offshore wind turbines as a possible reason not to build them, and outlined the pros and cons of wind turbines in his book, So Much Wind: The Myth of Green Energy. Iraq Stevenson was chairman of European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Iraq (2009-2014). Since the foundation of the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA), a non-governmental and non-profit organisation based in Brussels 4 April 2014, he has acted as its president. Personal life His wife, Pat Stevenson is a former editor of BBC Radio Scotland. They have two sons and three grandsons. Bibliography The Course of History: Ten Meals That Changed the World (2017) Stalin's Legacy: The Soviet War on Nature (2012) Crying Forever: A Nuclear Diary (2006) Crying Forever (Russian version) (2006) References External links Profile at European Parliament website Personal website Official biography 1948 births Living people People educated at Strathallan School People from South Ayrshire Scottish Conservative Party councillors Scottish Conservative Party MEPs MEPs for Scotland 1999–2004 MEPs for Scotland 2004–2009 MEPs for Scotland 2009–2014 Alumni of Scotland's Rural College Scottish Conservative Party parliamentary candidates