SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT // Draft Energy Strategy & Just Transition Plan
Click poster to zoom in
Scottish Government - Main Text
The Scottish Government's draft ‘Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan’ was released in January 2023 and provides guidance on the need for new energy systems that can provide safe and secure energy for everyone while also creating economic opportunities to meet the country's legal commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, five years ahead of the rest of the UK.
The implementation of this draft plan is designed to lower long-term energy costs and lessen the impact of future international energy price changes while also ensuring its resilience to the effects of climate change in the future.
In a statement to Scottish Parliament in 2023, Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport advised: “Scotland is an energy rich nation, with significant renewable energy resource, a highly-skilled workforce and innovative businesses across a globally renowned supply chain. The renewables revolution is global, as all countries seek to address concerns about climate change, and Scotland is at the forefront of this transition.”
Some of the key ambitions in the plan are noted in the information shown on this poster.
The UK government also has responsibility for many facets of Net Zero policy and in the Ministerial Forward for the plan it states: “We have highlighted the key policy levers and decisions that are currently held by the UK Government and where, because of the reservation of powers to the UK Government, action is required by UK Ministers and regulators alongside that of the Scottish Government.”
Lord Deben, the chair of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which is an official advisory body, also stated: “In 2019, the Scottish Parliament committed the country to some of the most stretching climate goals in the world, but they are increasingly at risk without real progress towards the milestones that Scottish ministers have previously laid out.”
With the release of the Scottish Government's draft ‘Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan’ there is now a clear guide to the Government’s long-term plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045, but there is a lot of pressure now to start to deliver on the ambitions set out in the plan.
However this is not just an issue at a government level and it will require all of Scotland's population to gain a more in depth understanding of the challenges ahead to assist with making the most of the energy resources the country has to hand.
POSTER RESOURCES //
To find out more about this topic please visit the following websites which were used to create this poster: