Scottish Government Budget 2022/23

Kate Forbes MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy has today set out The Scottish Government's Budget 2022-2023 which prioritises tackling the climate emergency, cutting emissions and delivering green jobs.

Responding, Morag Watson, Director of Policy at Scottish Renewables, said:

“Today’s Scottish Budget acknowledges the need to tackle the climate emergency and take key steps to deliver Scotland’s clean energy revolution, with significant pledges made for heat, transport and the energy transition.

"With just 6.4% of Scotland’s heat demand met by renewable sources achieving progress on heat decarbonisation will require us to deploy every tool in the box. The announcement of £414 million for energy efficiency, and low-carbon and renewable heat is a welcome step forward for achieving warm homes which are compatible with our net-zero future.

"Scottish Renewables has called for The Scottish Government to increase the size and scale of its existing interest-free loan programmes for heat pumps and to commit to multi-year funding. We welcome the announcement from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy in today’s budget that The Scottish Government will double and refocus grants for energy efficiency and heat measures, including heat pumps.

"Scotland’s transition to low-carbon energy offers enormous opportunity to create the green jobs of the future and deliver a just transition for those impacted by the shift away from fossil fuels. Ensuring that Scotland has a skills base which is compatible with net-zero will be critical to achieving this. Scottish Renewables has consistently campaigned for green skills programmes and we welcome the announcement of £23.5 million for the Green Jobs Fund."

Ends

Notes:

• Read The Scottish Government's Budget 2022-23 here.