Listen
Working towards a low carbon economy
27/05/2009
The Scottish Government and the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) today agreed to work in partnership to ensure the creation of high quality jobs through Scotland's transition to a low carbon economy.
At their bi-annual meeting in Edinburgh's St Andrews House, chaired by First Minister Alex Salmond, the Scottish Government and the STUC agreed a Joint Communiqué on Climate Change. The joint communiqué outlines shared aims and objectives, including a commitment to:
- Recognise the potential of the low-carbon economy to deliver quality, secure employment
- Work in partnership to develop policies to green the Scottish workplace
- Work in partnership to ensure that the regulatory framework for energy is supportive of new investment, particularly in remote communities
- Promote the importance of education, traning, skills and workforce development in delivering effective action on climate change
- Government analysts will undertake a scoping exercise of what research there is on the impact of climate change on employment at a national and regional level and report back to the STUC with results
The STUC also agreed that the Scottish Government's Climate Change legislation sets a world-leading level of ambition by covering all the internationally recognised greenhouse gases and emissions.
First Minister Alex Salmond said:
"Climate change is the most serious environmental threat faced by the global community. At the same time, however, Scotland has vast potential and comparative advantage in renewable energy. By maximising that potential we can help prepare our nation to recover first and strongest from the current economic downturn, while positioning ourselves at the forefront of the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"The Scottish Government's Climate Change Bill is the most comprehanesive and ambitious Climate change legislation anywhere in the world. It sets a target of reducing Scotland's emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, including emissions from international aviation and shipping. But 2050 is a long way off and we need to be certain we are taking effective action now. That is why today's Communique is such an important part of our efforts - recognising the need to work in partnership to manage our transition to a clean, green economy.
"It is a transition we can all be excited about, with the promise of sustainable economic growth, competitiveness, green workplaces, and high-quality secure employment.
"The Scottish Government has already demonstrated its commitment to this vision. Only today we published our Carbon Management Plan, setting out a number of actions to reduce the Scottish Government's carbon footprint. This government is determined to lead by example in our drive to create a Greener Scotland."
Grahame Smith, STUC General Secretary said:
"The STUC welcomes the agreement of this important communique with the Scottish Government. Action is necessary to ensure that the achievement of the Climate Change Bill targets is accompanied by the creation of quality, sustainable jobs and the development of green workplaces."
Bi-annual meetings are an important element of the Scottish Government/ STUC Memorandum of Understanding signed in December 2007. That agreement places economic growth at the heart of a stronger working relationship between the two bodies.
The Climate Change Bill will establish a legal framework for emissions reductions in the run up to 2050. The Scottish Government is currently developing a range of short, medium and long term policy options to drive the changes needed to meet our ambitious targets. These options will be published in the summer.
The second stage of a consultation which looks at how Scotland should plan for the 'unavoidable consequences' of climate change is currently underway. The Climate Change Adaptation Framework consultation closes on July 20, 2009.