Routes between Scotland and global hubs like Heathrow and Amsterdam are essential for Scotland’s international connectivity, supporting economic growth in Scotland and helping us deliver our Trade and Investment Strategy. We recognise the need to reduce emissions from all forms of transport and the forthcoming update to our 2018 Climate Change Plan will set out how we will achieve that.

It is for the UK Parliament to hold the UK Government to account.

Yes, we remain committed to the memorandum of understanding between the Scottish Government and Heathrow. We are clear that expansion of the UK’s only global hub airport should deliver benefits for all the nations of the UK. Routes between Scotland and global hubs like Heathrow and Amsterdam are essential for Scotland’s international connectivity, supporting economic growth in Scotland and helping us deliver our Trade and Investment Strategy. As these reasons remain valid we have not considered withdrawing from the memorandum of understanding.

This was based on the Climate Change Committee’s report “Meeting the UK aviation target – options for reducing emissions to 2050” which estimated that the combination of aircraft, Air Traffic Management and operational efficiency improvements could result in a range for annual improvement in fleet fuel efficiency from 0.8-1.5% per seat-km between 2005 and 2050.

Routes between Scotland and global hubs like Heathrow and Amsterdam are essential for Scotland’s international connectivity, supporting economic growth in Scotland and helping us deliver our Trade and Investment Strategy. We recognise the need to reduce emissions from all forms of transport and the forthcoming update to our 2018 Climate Change Plan will set out how we will achieve that.

Routes from Scotland to global hubs like Heathrow and Amsterdam are essential for Scotland’s international connectivity, supporting economic growth in Scotland and helping us deliver our Trade and Investment Strategy. However, we recognise that more needs to be done to reduce emissions. The Scottish Government’s forthcoming update to our 2018 Climate Change Plan, recast as part of a green recovery from COVID-19, will set out a pathway to meeting Scotland’s economy-wide greenhouse emissions reduction targets over the period to 2032. This includes plans to create the world’s first zero emission aviation region and trial low and zero emission aircraft in Scotland. The actual number of flights operating between Scotland and Heathrow in the future will be determined by capacity, demand, and competition from airlines serving other global hubs.

The Scottish Government’s Energy and Climate Change and Local Government and Communities Directorates already work together to deliver energy efficiency and renewable heat measures across a range of programmes and support mechanisms, for example in terms of the joint leadership of the Route Map for Energy Efficient Scotland.

This year the Scottish Government has allocated more than £198 million to its domestic and non-domestic energy efficiency programmes and has increased its support for renewable heat to secure accelerated deployment. The Heat Transition Deal will come online in phases over the coming months to support economic recovery in the energy efficiency, heat and low carbon energy sectors.

The following funding invitations were launched on 17 June:

• a £1 million LCITP funding invitation to support projects to develop investment grade business cases and;
• a £4.5 million CARES funding invitation for local energy and community projects, administered on our behalf by Local Energy Scotland.

Further capital funding invitations will be launched in the coming months.

This is in addition to the support already available, including grants, interest free and low cost loans for renewable technologies and energy efficiency measures, accessible via Home Energy Scotland and the Energy Efficiency Business Support service.

Later this year the Scottish Government will publish a Heat Decarbonisation Policy Statement and an updated Energy Efficient Scotland Route Map setting out a clear vision and pathway for deploying renewable and low carbon heat and reducing emissions from heating our buildings, in line with the climate change targets. As the member will be aware, earlier this year we introduced the Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill to Parliament which, we aim, will help support renewable heat investment.

The renewables sector has a vital role to play in meeting our climate ambitions, as well as creating jobs and contributing to our recovery from Covid-19.

I and fellow Scottish Government ministers have been engaging with the energy industry on a regular basis throughout the pandemic, both via one-to-one meetings with an extensive range of representatives from organisations such as Scottish Renewables, Ofgem, National Grid ESO, SSE, Scottish Power, EDF, EDPR, ADE, Red Rock and with our agencies, Marine Scotland, Crown Estate Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

The work of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council, which I co-chair, has continued to discuss progression of renewable energy in the context of both floating and bottom-fixed offshore wind. We have continued to progress work around tackling barriers to deployment represented by military and civilian radar matters. In addition, we have discussed renewable energy opportunities through forums such as the Strategic Leadership Groups that sit as sub groups of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board (SEAB), upon which I sit, with SEAB being co-chaired by the First Minister and Professor Sir Jim MacDonald of Strathclyde University.

The most recent, virtual meeting of SEAB took place on 16 July where discussion focused on delivery of a green recovery, and steps towards publication of the Climate Change Plan and subsequent update to Scotland’s Energy Strategy. At the meeting, as the Ministerial co-chair of three of the four SLGs, I set out the work of the four Strategic Leadership Groups underpinning SEAB, i.e. those on: Renewable Energy, Networks, Oil and Gas and Energy Transition and the newly established SLG for Consumers. In particular, the Renewable Energy Strategic Leadership group provides advice and recommendations on: the key challenges and opportunities facing the sector; the options for addressing them, and how the sector may go further to support the Scottish Government’s Energy Strategy priorities.

We will continue to engage with a wide range of renewable energy stakeholders in the months ahead as we target a green and just transition of our energy system.

Scotland is already an experienced exporter of energy and related skills and services with many international companies already benefiting from our long-standing expertise and experience in renewables and other energy related sectors. This government and its trade and investment agency, Scottish Development International, actively seek to promote a business environment which encourages growth through partnership, co-investment, and sharing of experience with other countries. We make it easy for companies to access our experts and talent and know this will stand Scottish companies in good stead internationally, with those countries seeking to make a green recovery to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Scottish Planning Policy and National Planning Framework 3 were published in 2014. Given when it was published, the current policy does not expressly refer to the Global Climate Emergency, but does aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and includes a vision for Scotland to be a low carbon place.

Since then, the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 sets out six outcomes to which a future National Planning Framework (NPF) should work towards, one of which is meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. We are developing proposals for radical change to our national planning policies and spatial strategy to support a transition to net zero by 2045 and economic recovery, as well as adaptation to the long term impacts of climate change.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Planner and I published a letter on 29 May (available from the Scottish Government’s website: https://www.gov.scot/collections/chief-planner-letters/ ) which set out that the draft NPF4 is anticipated to be laid before the Parliament in autumn 2021. That draft will set out the proposed approach, for discussion and public consultation.

In the meantime we will update stakeholders by publishing a NPF4 Position Statement this autumn. This will highlight potential policy changes and reflect on what planning can do to help societal and economic recovery as well as addressing the climate emergency.

In all cases, it is for decision-makers to identify relevant material planning considerations on a case-by-case basis, and what weight to attach to each material consideration in determining the application.