Chamber and committees

Good morning to you all.

I will start with a broad question, after which we can perhaps get into the specifics of certain amendments that you are looking for. Does the Energy Bill align with the energy strategy and just transition plan? Will it help to deliver the Scottish Government’s plan, or are there particular areas of divergence?

Okay. I know that colleagues will come back to that specific point later on.

I turn to an amendment that you have requested, which relates to the need for Ofgem and the secretary of state to consider Scottish emissions targets. What is the underlying concern there?

I have finished, convener.

Are there any other areas under part 1 of the bill that relate to the requirement to have cognisance of the Scottish targets? You mentioned carbon capture and storage in your opening statement.

Yes, and it might well feed into what Ragne Low might want to talk about. I want to probe a little further on the changing nature of environmental assessments. Does the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill and its proposal to move to environmental objectives rather than follow European standards and processes of environmental and habitats regulation assessments form part of the concern here? With a shift in environmental assessments, could the answer to mitigation end up being different according to whether the secretary of state defines particular environmental objectives?

I think that you are recommending withholding consent on part 1 until it is amended so that Ofgem and the secretary of state can consider Scottish emissions reductions targets.

I have one more question, which is about the world athletics indoor championships. The Scottish Government has largely funded the world cycling championships. My understanding is that there has been no contribution from the UK Government, even though the event will be seen as a Great Britain event that is hosted in GB. What about the world athletics indoor championships? Is the Scottish Government wholly funding that event or are there contributions from the UK Government? The championships will, again, be seen globally as a GB event.

We had some evidence from grass-roots music venues that there is a need to ensure that the big economic drivers, such as stadium gigs and big shows that are extremely profitable, transfer some of that wealth and value through to grass-roots music venues in particular. The same could be said for screen productions in Scotland. There is increased investment into Screen Scotland, which is great. It will certainly drive growth in the cultural economy, but how do we get the value from the big productions and the big gigs down into the grass roots again? It could involve ticket levies or some form of payment for those who are making Netflix movies in Scotland.

Are there particular challenges with countries such as Norway, which is in the EEA, and the UK, which is now outside the European Union—Sweden is, of course, in the EU—in trying to devise an energy policy that incorporates and draws on the resources of all those countries, but which also designs rules that will ensure that energy needs are met?

I am aware that there has been strong debate and discussion about the inclusion of gas and nuclear in the taxonomy.