Swinney unveils his green jobs blueprint

The Sunday Times
February 1, 2009
Finance secretary to outline plan for low-carbon industries in energy production and efficiency, and sustainable transport

John Swinney, the finance secretary, will tomorrow set out a blueprint to create thousands of green jobs with proposals for new low-carbon industries.
Swinney will commit the Scottish government to work for a “greener deal” for Scotland as part of its economic recovery plan, with the aim of grabbing its share of the thousands of jobs in energy industries and research.
At an RSPB conference on Scotland’s Natural Wealth, Swinney will outline specific proposals to create new, low-carbon industries in energy production, energy efficiency and sustainable transport.
It is estimated that there could be 160,000 jobs in the renewable energy industry in the UK over the next decade. There are currently about 3,000 jobs in renewables in Scotland.
Speaking ahead of the conference, Swinney said: “Scotland already generates a fifth of its electricity demand from renewables and we have unrivalled natural resources to go much further, with 25% of Europe’s wave and tidal energy potential and abundant wind and forestry resources.
“The jobs we want to create will be in our rapidly expanding renewables and clean fossil fuel technology industries, alongside energy efficiency and transport jobs for a sustainable economic future for Scotland.”