Monday 23 January 2023

‘Councils need help for net zero’, say Scottish MPs

Scotland won’t hit net zero if local authorities are not given more support.

That’s according to MPs from the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, saying that more funding and skills training is needed.

The committee has released a new plan, detailing how councils will be critical to the country achieving its climate goals – with financial barriers needing to be lifted.

Edward Mountain MSP said: “Over the course of almost a year of evidence-taking, it’s clear that unless key barriers facing local government are dealt with, we will not reach net zero by 2045.

“Local government is the layer of democracy closest to communities. They have local knowledge and capacity to lead by example and are also uniquely well-placed to form the partnerships we’re going to need at a local and regional level.”

In response to the report, a Scottish government spokesperson said: “In 2023-24, we are increasing the resources available to local government by over £570 million, a real terms increase of £160.6 million or 1.3%.”