SNP aims to create 60,000 green jobs

Greenwise Staff

20th April 2010

The Scottish National Party (SNP) today unveiled its election manifesto, putting green jobs and the economic recovery at the heart of the party’s campaign.

It promised to create 60,000 green energy jobs by 2020 and ensure that Scotland was part of the first stage high-speed rail.

Launching the manifesto in Glasgow, SNP leader Peter Salmond said Scotland’s green energy potential was "huge" and that more Nationalists would mean more jobs for the people of Scotland.

"Our aim is to create 60,000 green jobs in Scotland by the end of the decade," he said.
"We can release the near £200 million fossil fuel levy to invest in renewable energy projects across Scotland. And we can remove the barriers to investment by ending the discriminatory transmission charging regime."

Salmond said Scotland could become the "renewable energy powerhouse of Europe", but for that the right decisions needed to be made now, while the wrong decisions in London had to stopped from holding the nation back.  

"Scotland must be part of the first stage of high speed rail," Salmond continued. "As the events of recent days have shown, Scotland's economy cannot rely on domestic air travel. So we say start high speed rail in Scotland."

The manifesto also said the SNP would work to remove obstacles to further investment in wave, tidal and wind generation in Scotland by ending the discriminatory transmission charging regime.

The Scottish Nationalists said they would pay for the investment required in the low carbon economic recovery by scrapping the £100 billion replacement for Trident, the £5 billion ID card project, the £100 million House of Lords and the near £10 million Scotland Office.

"We need a new capital acceleration to support a recovery that remains fragile. That measure alone would create and support almost 5,000 jobs this year," Salmond said.