Achi news desk-
The Carbon Free Buildings Minister and co-leader of the Scottish Green Party was speaking at the announcement, at the University of Edinburgh, of the first seven projects to receive grants from the £20 million Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund.
Edinburgh University funding will be used in a project to convert an existing heating network from running on gas to running on waste heat from the data center on campus.
He said the £20 million funding supporting the University’s data center project as well as other projects in Fife, North Lanarkshire, Dumfries & Galloway and Perth & Kinross, reflected the “type of priorities that green members is setting them up” when the Bute House deal first came out. form.
“Our first task,” he recalled, “when the possibility arose for us to go into government was to go to our members and say what are the priorities? Reducing emissions that had spent far too long stabilising, whether from heat, transport or land use was clearly very high.”
“Another,” he added, “was rent controls and we introduced the housing bill which includes that proposal. I think it would be tragic to walk away from all that.”
The SNP-Green deal has been in danger of collapsing since Scotland’s net zero secretary announced last week that the Scottish Government was dropping a key climate target, a 75% reduction in emissions by 2030.
Members of the Green Party are about to vote on whether they should continue to be part of the Scottish Government. The date has not yet been set, but it is said to be likely towards the end of May.
If the Bute House deal were to be dropped, co-leaders of the Green Party Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater would be forced to quit their government roles, and the SNP would lose their working majority and have to form a minority government.
Mr Harvie rejected the idea that his party could be more effective in opposition, saying more could be achieved by working in government.
“I am proud of the long record the Scottish greens have had of constructive opposition. That means putting forward good positive ideas and always trying to find common ground and working together because you can achieve more that way.”
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He added: “That’s the way we’ve done it as an opposition party, and as a coalition in government that’s the way we do it too. We are getting a lot more done as part of the Scottish Government, for example the introduction of the new Housing Bill, which brings in long-term rent controls, one of the highest priorities for our members when they drawing up the House of Bute agreement.”
“Our task,” he said, “is to accelerate the implementation of the heating program in buildings. That’s what we’ve been doing and it would be a mistake to walk away.”
