The Scottish government has pledged to create a £100 million Green Jobs Fund as part of its agenda for 2020/21.
The money will be used to support businesses in the country which offer sustainable and low-carbon products and services. Half will be invested through Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise.
Holyrood also promised to create a £62 million Energy Transition Fund to support businesses in the oil, gas and energy sectors as well as a £25 million National Transition Training Fund to help people who have lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic to find work in other industries.
It said it would additionally set out the first tranche of its £2 billion Low Carbon Fund as it seeks to invest £1.6 billion in heat and energy efficiency over the next parliament.
Writing in the introduction to the programme, which focuses heavily on the impacts of the coronavirus, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Even before the pandemic, we knew we had significant work to do in order to improve the state of nature and meet our statutory commitment to be a net zero society by 2045. The impacts of the crisis have reinforced the need for that, but also the opportunities it presents.
“This programme sets out the next phase of our Green New Deal announced in 2019. We will take forward ambitious commitments to transform how we heat our homes; giving us the opportunity to meet our climate and environment ambitions, whilst building a better economy and creating jobs.”
The announcement was applauded by the trade association Scottish Renewables, which said it echoed its recent calls for a training fund for workers transitioning to the sector.
“The first minister’s declaration of a £100 million Green Jobs Fund and a £25 million National Transition Training Fund are significant steps forward, not just for our industry – which will require a large number of skilled employees as we work towards our net-zero target – but also for all those people whose careers are not compatible with that target,” commented Scottish Renewables chief executive Claire Mack.
“Scottish Renewables has worked hard with politicians from all parties over the past four months to make the case that renewable energy should be at the very heart of a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are pleased that our suggestion of funding to refocus careers and businesses on the provision of green skills to support Scotland’s transition to net-zero has found a place in this programme for government, and look forward to working with the Scottish Government as it further develops its plans in the coming months.
“In particular, in it important that Scotland’s skills and enterprise agencies and skills providers work in tandem with industry to ensure that skills which are delivered are those which are required.”