In his latest opinion column, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer explains more about his party's Scottish Green New Deal...

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With fires raging from the Amazon to Siberia, we’re running out of time to stop the climate crisis.

The same people causing this breakdown are trying to persuade us that it can be stopped by personal sacrifices and lifestyle changes. They’re lying. What we require is systemic transformation which not only saves the planet but delivers the quality jobs and public services needed for a just society.

That’s why we’ve launched the Scottish Green New Deal.

We want to use the powers available to the Scottish Government right now to transform our economy into one that serves people and the planet, not just the rich few.

We can do this through changes in transport, farming, a new manufacturing industry and more.

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Eighteen thousand jobs currently exist in renewables and the low carbon sector, with about the same indirectly dependent on it. Our plans would see Scotland harness our potential – 25 per cent of all of Europe’s potential renewable energy can be generated here – to create over 200,000 more jobs, lifting entire communities out of poverty, and rebuilding what was lost to deindustrialisation.

Making it happen means investment though: only 30 per cent of current infrastructure spending is low carbon. We want to see that raised to 70 per cent in the next few years.

Creating a network of community and publicly owned renewable energy companies also means breaking the power of the Big Six private companies, whose high prices lock so many into fuel poverty.

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And the Scottish Green New Deal would fully support those currently employed in the oil and gas sector transition into these jobs, ensuring that no-one is left behind as we make this necessary shift.

Ending the huge handouts given to fossil fuel corporations, leveraging the investment power of pension funds, and moving the billions already allocated to disastrous projects such as motorway expansion could see this ambitious program begin immediately.

Tackling the climate crisis is unavoidable, but it’s also an opportunity. This isn’t about sacrifice, it’s about the opportunity to create an economy which works for everyone. That’s exactly what the Scottish Green New Deal would deliver.