Hansard

Even for someone who is a climate change doubter, creating a cleaner and healthier environment for ourselves and our children must be a commendable goal. Likewise, we are all acutely aware of the fact that fossil fuels are not a long-term solution to our energy needs. The green bus fund is investing in public transport while delivering jobs for the green economy and lowering carbon emissions. The SNP has adopted an ambitious climate change target to reduce emissions by 42 per cent by 2020. That is not going to happen without investment in the industry, which is exactly what the green bus fund is achieving.

Low-carbon buses produce 30 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than equivalent diesel buses do. Indeed, Lothian Buses confirms that the double-deck hybrids that it purchased using the fund are producing a 56.7 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency compared with the diesel vehicles that were previously used.

So far, the green bus fund has allowed for some 74 eco-friendly buses to be purchased by operators, and the third round of the fund will allow investment in a further 40. The third funding round of £3 million for the green bus fund was launched in August 2012.

The Government’s support is enabling further developments and improvements to technology at Alexander Dennis Ltd, which is a world-class company that manufactures these vehicles. The current hybrid buses show fuel and CO2 savings of around 60 per cent, but it is expected that the next generation of hybrid buses, which are scheduled to be introduced in 2013, will show fuel and CO2 savings much nearer to 70 per cent. That is good news for the bus operators, whose overheads are reduced, good news for the environment and good news for jobs and the economy. It is also good news for commuters. Most of us have stood at bus stops, breathing in the fumes from diesel buses. Those fumes will now be reduced and our health—and our children’s health—can only be improved. The good news for commuters also lies in the fact that new modern buses are being introduced to replace older, less comfortable and less efficient buses.

Road transport is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases and any initiatives that help to reduce its emissions must be a move in the right direction. The First Minister has stated that the green economy will be the “source of Scotland’s reindustrialisation” and it is clear to most that it is indeed being that. Some of the greatest opportunities are appearing as a result of developments in the green economy. Low-carbon and green jobs now number 77,700 in Scotland, which outstrips the motor trade and the telecommunications sector and challenges the leadership of the finance sector, which delivers 86,800 jobs. Scottish Enterprise has estimated that jobs in Scotland’s low-carbon sector could grow by 4 per cent per annum between now and 2020, which would mean that the number of people employed in that industry would rise to 130,000. All of that is good news for Scotland.

The green bus fund fits well with other green initiatives and forms part of the larger green investment package, which will invest £30 million in energy efficiency to tackle fuel poverty. Perhaps at this point I can make the case for my old favourite, geothermal power, to form part of the green mix. I have previously raised the opportunities that we have to significantly increase the use of geothermal energy. Across much of Scotland we have flooded mine workings, which are regarded as a threat. In fact, they represent an opportunity in our old industrial communities to develop alternative energy sources, using a tried and tested process that needs little in the way of development to deliver benefits to local communities. I know that the Scottish Government is looking into those possibilities.

The transition into a low-carbon economy is absolutely necessary, but it can be painful, even when it is adopted with enthusiasm. In that, Scotland is already leading the way. We may be a small nation, but we are ambitious. In the grand scheme of things we may be a tiny producer of CO2 and greenhouse gases—China, America and India, for example, dwarf us in production of polluting gases—but each and every one of us has a responsibility to work towards the low-carbon economy goal. To quote an old Scots saying, mony a mickle maks a muckle.

By taking the lead and tackling the challenge now, we are laying the foundation for Scotland as a competitive 21st century economy, which will be all the sounder and stronger for having taken hard decisions early and will gain the advantages of having done so while other nations catch up. The Scottish Government is to be congratulated on its progress and its commitment, as represented by the green bus fund.