Meeting of the Parliament 08 January 2019
If John Mason bears with me, I will get to hydrogen, which has an important role to play.
This year, we will expand the scope and ambition of our work so that Scotland is at the forefront of growth in ULEVs and the ULEV market and so that our business community and workforce benefit from the opportunities that that growth presents.
Transport accounts for 37 per cent of Scotland’s emissions and, in 2016, road transport was responsible for 68 per cent of transport emissions. Those figures frame the challenge that we face. The need for focused action is clear, as is Scotland’s potential to become an innovation centre in low-carbon transport.
Scotland has one of the most highly qualified working-age populations in Europe, and we have more world-class universities per capita than almost any other country. My ambition is to build on those qualities to support low-carbon transport. To do that, we must take a lead in key technologies of the future and do so in a way that benefits all of society. Scotland must be an investor in and a producer of—not just a consumer of—the innovations that will shape the future.
In addition to Scotland’s considerable expertise in areas such as battery technology, power engineering and manufacturing of buses and specialised vehicles, there is enormous economic potential from the use of hydrogen as a low-carbon fuel in transport. We can build on existing projects in places such as Aberdeen, Fife, Orkney and now Dundee to develop products, services, skills and expertise in hydrogen transport to benefit our economy and provide value to the wider world.