Briefing on the Economic Recovery

On Wednesday 12 August, MSPs will debate the Scottish Government’s “Economic Recovery Implementation Plan”, setting out their plans to rebuild the economy from the impacts of Coronavirus.

This briefing sets out Friends of the Earth Scotland’s view on the Scottish Government’s Economic Recovery Implementation Plan and some of the steps that must be taken to secure a just and green recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.

The pandemic has devastated communities across Scotland and urgent intervention in the economy is a necessity. Our approach to the economic recovery from COVID-19 must be one that puts action to tackle the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis at its heart, as well as tackling the inequalities laid so bare by the unequal impacts of the virus, as the surest way to build an economy on a secure and sustainable footing.

In particular, we need Government intervention to create green jobs through an investment led recovery, including:

• Rapidly doubling Scotland’s energy efficiency programme.
• Supporting councils to set-up municipal bus companies
• Launching a large scale fossil fuel decommissioning programme