Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 07 December 2021
What I am aware of is that Sir Ian Wood and others said that it is environmentally and economically the wrong decision and that it is like leaving the best player on the subs bench when playing a football match. The whole of the north-east is united against the decision that the UK Government took, and it is united in calling on the UK Government to reverse the decision so that we can get on with creating those green jobs and moving towards our net zero target.
Our net zero ambitions will generate a green jobs bonanza. In fact, that is already happening at pace. Just last week, PricewaterhouseCoopers released a report that placed Scotland as the top performer in the UK in creating green jobs. From climate-savvy gin production in St Boswells to sustainable food packaging made from seaweed in Oban, our economy is changing. Scotland-based firm SSE alone is proposing private investment of more than £12 billion over the next five years to accelerate our net zero journey and create thousands of green jobs across the nation.
I am sure that we will want to welcome last week’s news that the Port of Nigg wind tower factory will be built. It is expected that more than 400 jobs will be created at the site. That is another example of how our existing capabilities can be directed towards the transition to net zero.
I can confirm today that our public investment through the green jobs fund has led to £12.3 million being awarded so far this year. The investment is expected to create and safeguard more than 850 green jobs. As numerous recent reports have highlighted, we have the potential to create hundreds of thousands of new green jobs in hydrogen technologies and offshore wind, and through the decarbonisation of heating in our buildings.
We are on the cusp of a truly astonishing green jobs revolution in every corner of Scotland. I can announce that, in the new year, we will publish our work towards a Scottish definition of green jobs, which will help to guide our activity.
I will finish by providing a quick update on the new just transition commission. The remit of the new commission was announced earlier in the year. The commission is asked to provide advice on and scrutiny of the Government’s approach to co-designing just transition plans for sectors and regions. I have already confirmed that Professor Jim Skea will continue in his role as chair. We have approached people to be members of the new commission, and I will announce the full membership next week. I can confirm that we will take a dual approach to the commission’s membership, with some members being appointed for the full parliamentary session and others being appointed on a fixed-term basis in order to bring their expertise to a particular plan.