Chamber and committees

Those discussions are on-going, and that proposition is still on the table. Mr Ruskell is right that this is not a conundrum that we face alone; other countries around the world face the very same one. We are looking to show as much leadership as we can and to take our responsibilities as seriously as possible in relation to the decisions that we can take.

We will work collaboratively internationally to ensure that we take those responsibilities seriously. John Kerry was here recently, and the First Minister introduced him for a very important speech. Other discussions on that front are on-going. We take our international responsibilities seriously. We have world-leading targets to achieve, so we will take the decisions that we can take, such as supporting the just transition fund and our energy transition, and we will try to make sure that the decisions that are taken for us are taken in the best way possible to ensure that we have an accelerated just transition.

I will make sure that we follow up on that in writing.

The deputy convener’s point about the expertise is well made. I visited a number of operations and businesses over the summer that are involved in renewable energy, many of which have already transitioned from oil and gas. Many of our ports are doing likewise. Obviously, the deputy convener has more than a passing interest in that fact.

I was also at Montrose to visit the Seagreen offshore wind farm. The substantial investment made by Montrose Port Authority to ensure that it captures as much of the renewable energy potential as possible is demonstrable; it is there for all to see. I had a very good conversation with Port of Aberdeen, the Aberdeen port authority, as well, which Ms Dunbar and Mr Lumsden will be interested in. Again, the plans that it has to ensure that it is able to scale up and have the capacity to be able to deal with what is coming from the green industrial revolution—if you want to put it that way—are huge. We know that it is there and that it is coming. We just need to make sure that the landscape in which we are operating is encouraging those investment decisions to be made and supporting people in making those employment decisions. We also need to ensure that we are making the just transition happen as fast as possible. That is the Government’s ambition, and I am sure that it is the ambition of colleagues around the table.

It goes without saying how challenging it will be, for all the reasons that I have set out to Ms Dunbar and for the reasons that she set out in her line of questioning. Fuel bills have doubled for many customers. The change in the price cap, although welcome, has made a marginal difference to fuel poverty rates, moving the figure from 34 per cent to 33 per cent of households. That shows the scale of the challenge that is before us and the actual difference that the shift in the energy price cap has made in terms of the pressure on households—I think that only around 20,000 households were lifted out of fuel poverty, so we need much greater structural intervention as well as mitigations to ensure that this winter is not a very cold one for people across Scotland.

I obviously have an awareness of the work that has been done, and I continue to work closely with Màiri McAllan and Patrick Harvie on the work that is coming forward. I expect to have a copy of the report when it is forthcoming and to ensure that the stakeholders that I have an involvement with in the private sector investment landscape are able to play their part in what is going to be required in that heat in buildings work.

I would always encourage that, and, from the engagements that I had in the summer, I know that there is a lot of work going on around the innovation that will be required to assist us. A huge amount of innovation is happening in Scotland in energy generation but also in the system changes that Ms Lennon referenced to assist us in that progress. Also, businesses are looking at what they can do in their operations, whether or not they are involved in energy transition or anything to do with net zero.

The majority of the businesses that I deal with want to do the right thing and are looking at trying to decarbonise and make sure that they contribute in their own way. Monica Lennon is right: it is about making sure that, where people are looking to do that, we exemplify it and point it out. I say “we” as in the Government, but, in the engagements that the committee will have with your stakeholders as well, it is about making sure that, where there has been good practice and best practice, we share that, exemplify it and pass it forward as an example to others. It is also about making sure that we point people in the right direction of the interventions that we are making, which I shared with Mr Lumsden, to ensure that people know that the support is there for them to do that work.

That is correct.

I thank Ash Regan for that question. I note her emphasis on “recent”. The publication of the report was incredibly recent—it was this morning. It is incredibly important, as the convener and Ash Regan have said. I very much welcome the work that the committee has done to produce that report. It is very helpful, not least for the Government to be able to continue to make the case to the UK Government, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets and the systems operator to ensure that that investment comes forward.

It is not a Scottish Government responsibility, but we know that grid infrastructure is one of the major potential barriers to our being able to realise our net zero objectives and the potential that we have for offshore and onshore renewable energy. I was at the headquarters of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks in Perth yesterday and saw its transmission and distribution network grid. I saw how complex that is, and how much still needs to be done. Your report is helpful in that regard.

There are a couple of things that we need to do when it comes to funding and a new approach. Your report rightly highlights the fact that we need to take people with us. Where does that responsibility lie? The grid infrastructure is a UK Government responsibility rather than a Scottish Government one, but it has major implications for devolved policy. We are looking to work with the UK Government, Ofgem and the systems operator to ensure that we give people as much information as possible about what is going to be required. There is also an ask of industry to ensure that as much information as possible comes from industry as well. As I said, I had conversations with SSEN yesterday about that and how we can make sure that we take communities with us on this journey because, clearly, quite a substantial investment will be needed, in transmission infrastructure in particular, to ensure that we take full advantage. Those conversations are on-going.

Your report was published this morning. I have not had an opportunity to fully digest all aspects of it, but we will certainly interact with it and respond to it in due course.

I agree that we need to make sure that, where we have responsibility, we give as much certainty as possible to industry while also making sure that we maintain our high standards of consenting. We are due to publish soon our onshore wind sector deal, which touches on those issues. The programme for government sets out that we are looking to half the consenting time for onshore wind. Although it is at an earlier stage, we are also looking to reduce, as far as we possibly can, the consenting times for offshore wind. Part of that will mean interactions with local government on ensuring that it is appropriately resourced, in terms of the funding, people and guidance that we can provide to it. We want to provide as much certainty as possible while, as I said, maintaining high standards.

I point you to the upcoming onshore wind sector deal, which will give us more information around how that is going to be done in collaboration with industry.

I think that I am calling for transparency.