Chamber and committees

By encouraging tree planting on privately owned land, and through land acquisition for new planting on the national forest estate.

Financial support for tree planting on privately owned land is available through the Scotland Rural Development Programme. Land acquisition for new planting on the national forest estate is financed through the repositioning programme (under which areas of low public benefit are sold). The Forestry Commission''s proposed Code of Good Practice for Forest Carbon Projects is intended to stimulate further private sector investment in woodland based projects for absorbing carbon.

The Scottish Government expects that installations of renewable electricity generating devices will significantly increase with the introduction of the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) on 1 April 2010, even in light of the withdrawal of Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grants for these devices.

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change have projected that installations under the FIT will total 750,000 across the UK by 2020 and we will seek at least Scotland''s proportionate share of this.

Annual income from renewable energy projects on the national forest estate could rise to around £10 million over the next five years, but this is subject to a number of factors, including the price of renewable energy.

There will be no overall savings to the Energy Saving Scotland Home RENEWABLEs Grant budget line of £2.6 million in 2010-11. By closing the scheme to electricity generating technologies, the Scottish Government has been able to ensure that the remaining £450,000 is available for heat generating technology applications.

Because of the unexpected spike in demand the Scottish Government did not formally consult with industry representatives regarding the withdrawal of the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grants for electricity generating technologies. But we have an ongoing dialogue with industry representatives through the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland and the Scottish Microrenewables Working Group on the future of microgeneration support and the Feed-In Tariff.

Also, our recent consultation on Conserve and Save: The Energy Efficiency Action Plan for Scotland asked questions on how Scottish Government support for microrenewables should be delivered in light of the UK Government''s Clean Energy Cashback Schemes and how we can improve the energy performance of Scotland''s housing to help meet our climate change objectives. The response to this consultation are available on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Action/energy-efficiency-policy/ActionPlan.

The First Minister met the Maldives President''s Envoy for Science and Technology in Edinburgh on 11 December 2009 and then met President Nasheed of the Maldives in Copenhagen on 15 December 2009 during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) climate conference where they signed a Joint Statement and then addressed The Climate Group''s Climate Leaders Summit of over 60 state and regional government Ministers. Officials from The Scottish European Green Energy Centre in Aberdeen, Business, Enterprise and Energy Directorate, the Energy Technology Partnership and Culture and External Affairs Directorate have all had direct contact and discussions with representatives of the Maldives Government.

Scottish ministers are committed to the low carbon economy and the world-leading targets set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 provide certainty for businesses and communities to plan for the low carbon future. The Scottish Government is showing the way on renewable development and since May 2007 ministers have approved 29 large scale renewable energy projects contributing to a total installed and consented renewables capacity for Scotland of just under 7GW. The pace and momentum set by the Scottish Government continues with a further 26 large scale renewable energy projects applications currently under consideration. The Crown Estate''s recent announcement for the world''s first commercial scale leasing round for wave and tidal energy in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters has the potential to deliver as much as 1.2GW of marine energy off Scotland''s north coast, with significant associated economic benefits. The Scottish Government launched the £10 million Saltire Prize and has tripled funding for micro and community generation with £13.5 million available per year. In October 2009, we launched £2 million pathfinder Energy Saving Scotland Home Loans. We committed £15 million to a new Home Insulation Scheme targeting 100,000 homes in 10 local authority areas in 2009-10. As part of the Scottish Government''s recent budget, this will be increased in 2010-11 from £15 million to £25 million. The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 places a duty on local authorities to establish council tax discount schemes for Scots who install energy efficient measures in their homes. The Scottish Government is spending almost £2.4 billion over three years on greener transport. Scottish ministers have pledged to plant 100 million trees by 2015 as part of The Climate Group States and Regions Alliance commitment to plant 1 billion trees to encourage governments, businesses and communities worldwide to plant a tree for each person on the planet. The 100 million trees would, over their lifetime, absorb around a year of Scotland''s current emissions.

As set out in the answer to question S3W-30104, no arrangements have been made.

Officials from the Scottish European Green Energy Centre in Aberdeen, the Business, Enterprise and Energy Directorate, the Energy Technology Partnership, the Climate Change and Water Industry Directorate and the Culture, External Affairs and Tourism Directorate are supporting Scottish ministers on the Partnership with the Maldives.