THE Scottish Greens’ radical renewable jobs plan could transform Scotland into a world-leader in the battle against the climate crisis.
The party’s bold commitment to stopping exploration for fossil fuels in the North Sea is a policy that no other political party has had the guts to put forward. With 5.7 billion barrels of oil and gas in already-operating fields that would push the UK beyond the limits set out in the Paris Agreement, it’s clear that green jobs and investment in renewable energy is the only way forward.
And by promoting a jobs guarantee for those in the oil and gas industry as they move into renewables and promising to create 100,000 jobs in total through an extensive investment plan, we could see Scotland move away from fossil fuels and create a booming new industry that also helps bring emissions down.
The party split their green jobs plan into four pillars – homes, public transport, countryside and parks, and renewable energy.
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With households in Scotland causing a fifth of the nation’s climate emissions through heating and gas, the Greens want to upgrade “hundreds of thousands” of homes over the next parliament, creating 45,000 jobs in energy efficiency and heating, and the construction sector.
A publicly owned, zero-emissions rail system is also part of the party’s plan to transform Scotland’s infrastructure, and they want to create two new national parks, a rangers service and transfer woodland into publicly owned hands, all of which could create thousands of jobs. But the main issue where the Greens outstretched their rivals is the commitment to renewable energy, and their commitment to build vital wind turbines in Scotland and with Scottish firms.
During the launch, Lorna Slater (above) told reporters that there should be conditions placed on companies who work in the energies sector and that they should commit to using Scottish supply chains instead of outsourcing to overseas firms.
She said: “The turbine I’m working on at the moment is being built in the Port of Dundee, it was welded together in Fife and the steel was bought from Liberty Steel in Motherwell. We can build large structures like this in Scotland, we can do the heavy fabrication here. We have everything we need, it’s just the political will to write those clauses in the contracts.”
By combining both the climate and jobs crisis, and coming up with a merged and innovative solution, the Green manifesto gives us an insight into the kind of country we could be without the UK Government holding us back.
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