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THE drive to net zero will deliver an “unjust and ineffective transition” if left to the market, the Just Transition Commission (JTC) has warned.
The commission was formed in 2022 by the Scottish government to provide independent scrutiny of progress to a just transition, but swiftly identified an “investment gap” of 2 per cent of Scottish GDP for it to be delivered.
Its latest investment report warns that “Scotland’s just transition will not be funded by the current approach.”
“If investment provision is left to the market alone, we will see an unjust and ineffective transition,” it said.
“The just transition for Scotland is fundamentally about place and a key insight at the roundtable was that ‘international finance doesn’t care about place’.”
The JTC also cautioned that net zero did not itself guarantee a just transition.
It said: “The conflation of these related but separate objectives risks obscuring the specific elements of Scotland’s journey to a low-carbon economy that will determine whether key changes are fair and equitable.
“Justice cannot be a second order consideration.”
JTC co-chairman Professor Dave Reay said he hoped the report “establishes a shared understanding of where we are on this national mission, and what now needs to happen.”
His co-chair Satwat Rehman added: “We need government at all levels to pay a proactive role in making sure the costs and benefits associated with these major but foreseeable changes are shared equitably.”
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: “With the right policies and funding in place, Scotland could see up to 367,000 jobs created as it decarbonises the economy.
“However, the current market-led approach has led to our resources being sold off to multinational companies with no benefit to workers and local communities.
“This report makes clear that a significantly more interventionist approach is required from government to close the investment gap, including measures such as equity stakes, profit-sharing mechanisms and municipal ownership of economic activity that can support community wealth building.
“Ahead of the Unite march and rally at Grangemouth on Saturday, we call on the Scottish and UK government to put their money where their mouth is and support the workers plan for a Just Transition at Grangemouth.”
The Scottish government said it will carefully consider the report as it continues the drive to reach net-zero emissions by 2045.
