APRS has responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on their Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. We support this joined-up approach but feel that there are some key areas where it could be improved:
- A better recognition of landscape and the potential impacts on it and possible mitigations within the plan.
- A stronger emphasis on energy reduction and support for a Circular Economy as a key policy response
- A clearer commitment to strategic, planned approach to energy infrastructure.
- A recognition that renewable expansion is not without negative consequences and the need for efforts to minimise impacts including those on communities and the environment and landscape, both on an individual development scale and collectively.
- A more just and robust mechanism for community contributions and a much stronger support for community generation.
- A commitment to securing net-positive benefits for biodiversity and recreation with respect to new developments and upgrades.
- Additionally, we would encourage you to consider some wider informal engagement perhaps through a series of workshops to establish good dialogue and to foster greater understanding and partnership on some of these issues.
Download our full response below:
Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan
This is APRS’s response to the Government’s Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan which we submitted on 9 May 2023.