Chamber and committees

As a member of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, I am pleased to speak in the debate, and I take the opportunity to welcome the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition and the Minister for Energy to their roles.

The SNP Scottish Government has demonstrated that it is committed to tackling climate change and to delivering a just transition. That is crucial in the face of the global climate and nature emergencies.

In the Scottish Government’s policy prospectus, the cabinet secretary, working with her Cabinet colleagues, has made a commitment that, by 2026, the Scottish Government will have

“Driven down Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions further – our new Climate Change Plan will clearly set the pathway to achieving Scotland’s world leading commitment to be net zero by 2045.”

In addition, it will set out its plan

“for building resilience to the impacts that climate change is having and will increasingly have on communities and businesses, in our Adaptation Programme”

and

“Co-developed a series of just transition plans in support of, and together with, sectors and communities most affected by the net zero transformation, and delivered direct support though our £500 million Just Transition Fund. We will also have consulted on net zero conditionality for significant public sector investment, including proposals to support businesses”.

Those are important steps, and I will focus my contribution on the just transition, not least because of the need to have a fair and just transition away from complete reliance on North Sea oil and gas.

Scotland is taking lasting action to secure a net zero and climate-resilient future in a way that is fair and just for everyone. The latest emissions data for 2020 show that Scotland’s emissions are down by well over 50 per cent since the 1990 baseline, which is more than halfway to net zero. Action that is being taking now will deliver significant reductions in emissions in years to come.

The transition will require a truly national effort from all sectors of the economy, including significant private sector investment in net zero and climate resilience to ensure the long-term strength and competitiveness of our economy.

The Scottish Government has been clear that a just transition is an opportunity to go beyond delivering our very necessary climate goals, to bring a nationwide, cross-industry transformation to build a greener and more equal Scotland. The national just transition planning framework sets out how the Scottish Government will work with others to manage the economic and social impacts.

I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to developing just transition plans across sectors and regions—beginning with the Scottish Government’s “Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan”, which was published in January 2023.

The first £20 million of the Scottish Government’s just transition fund for the north-east and Moray was identified as part of the 2022-23 budget. Although that is welcome, I request further information from the cabinet secretary on how that fund will address employment transition in the north-east, including for my constituents in Aberdeen Donside.

It is interesting to note that the UK Government’s green jobs task force recommended that that Government sets out how it will match support that is available through the European Union’s just transition fund. That has still not been acted on. The UK Government has refused to match the Scottish Government’s £500 million just transition fund, despite the £300 billion that has gone to the Treasury from North Sea oil since the 1970s. That is shocking. I call on the UK Government to match the funding and take action in the face of the global climate emergency.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.

I am just fair forfochen—I am sorry; that is a good old-fashioned Doric word for being exhausted—haein tae explain tae Liam Kerr that money is money. I am an Aberdonian, and I will appreciate any money that we can get, but I ask him to ask his UK Government colleagues whether we can get some of the £300 billion back. That would be exceedingly helpful, too.

I am sorry about the shocked look that you just had on your face until I explained what my Doric word meant, Deputy Presiding Officer.

We are transitioning to a net zero emissions Scotland for the benefit of our environment, our people and our prosperity. We also need to adapt and build resilience to the impacts of climate change alongside our actions to reduce emissions.

The Scottish Government is committed to ending its contribution to climate change in a way that is fair and leaves nobody behind. The actions that are needed to become net zero by 2045 will transform all sectors of our economy and society, and they will require rapid structural change.

In Scotland, we have seen how unplanned structural changes in the past have left intergenerational scarring and deprivation—most notably in our former coal mining communities. Our transition to net zero must be managed differently. If we plan ahead and act, ending our contribution to climate change presents a unique opportunity to improve the collective wellbeing of our nation. Everyone—including those who work in oil and gas—must be engaged with and brought on board.

The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 embeds the principles of a just transition. That means that, as we reduce our emissions and respond to a changing climate, our journey is fair and creates a better future for everybody, regardless of where they live, what they do and who they are.

I again welcome this debate, and I welcome the steps that are being taken in Scotland’s just transition. If we all work together, we will reach our net zero goals.

The witnesses also said to us that being put into a police cell was the most traumatic bit of the process, because they were suddenly shut in by themselves and there was little or no support. Are we going to consider whether it is appropriate for children to be put in police cells in the first instance? Are we thinking of finding a better situation for them to be put in?

I, too, welcome the cabinet secretary and the minister to their new roles.

I agree with Fulton MacGregor that the earlier session in private was really powerful. I have to be quite frank and honest here—I had not even considered some of the things that were discussed. For example, one of the young ladies told us how daunting she found it to come out of secure accommodation and be put into a flat, because she realised that she did not have basic life skills such as putting on a washing machine or paying a bill. Those are things that most people would not even think about. She said that that was purely down to the fact that the care system did everything for her when she was in secure accommodation. What is being done to ensure that our young folk get the basic life skills that they need once they leave secure accommodation?

If the police are going to charge children with something, they could still go to their foster home rather than to a police cell. Is that what you are saying?

You have told us that you are monitoring the effectiveness of the LEZs. What is being done to monitor that? What impact do the LEZs have on low-income communities that are reliant on private car travel?

I asked for your thoughts on the length of the grace periods that will be put in place and on the monitoring of that.

I will bring in Gary Fuller now.

Thank you. First, I should tell the panellists that the convener wags his pen at us, too.

I am not sure to whom I should put my first question, so just stick your hand up if you wish to answer. If Scotland were to adopt the 2021 WHO guidelines, what would that mean for local authorities in meeting the current legal air quality limits? I am not sure who would be best to answer that.

So a huge amount of work would need to be undertaken across all local authorities.