Building Scotland's Green Recovery (June 2020)
This plan from the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) sets out their vision for a Green Recovery from the COVID-19 crisis with a call for the Scottish and UK governments to deliver an ambitious ‘green stimulus’ to kick-start the economy, create new green jobs and fuel ‘clean growth’.
The plan has been developed by SCDI’s Clean Growth Leadership Group, which brings leaders and experts from business, industry, academia, local government and the public sector together in a shared mission to tackle climate change with practical ideas and action.
The report states that this ‘green stimulus’ should include new or expanded national programmes of investment in:
Domestic buildings retrofit and energy efficiency; Domestic buildings heat pumps; Low- and zero-carbon transport infrastructure (e.g. active travel routes, EV charging points, hydrogen refuelling points, railway electrification); Nature-based solutions (e.g. tree planting, peatland restoration, flood management); and, Digital connectivity.
The report also calls for:
A Green Jobs Transition Taskforce to prevent a surge in unemployment by supporting laid-off workers into new green jobs.
Green Reskilling & Upskilling Fund to help Scottish workers to keep pace with technological, environmental and labour market changes and to increase workforce and business resilience to future disruption.
Green Town/City Plans to transform the natural and built environment of Scotland’s towns and cities to create more inclusive, resilient and sustainable places which encourage walking and cycling, reduce pollution and facilitate social distancing.
New ‘net-zero presumption in favour’ in planning for developments which are essential to achieving net-zero (e.g. new active travel routes, onshore wind farms, pumped storage hydro or sustainable housing).
Better public procurement approaches by government, local authorities and public agencies to invest more public money locally and sustainably (e.g. Community Wealth Building).
Strong environmental conditionality on business support, rescue agreements or bailouts for the worst-hit businesses and sectors to accelerate their progress to net-zero.
