money

Effective use of financial resources is key to a successful Just Transition. 

But how we see the economy, finance, wealth and resources all needs to change themselves as part of the Transition. How does the construction sector sit in Scotland’s Wellbeing Economy? Will it create more wealth when it stops wasting resources through landfill and pollution? 

Scotland has a heritage of skills in finance, but understanding and agency outside that specialist community is limited – how do we build cohesion, feedback loops, and an understanding within the financial community of their role and pathway to an effective Transition to an equitable and thriving future?

How can local authorities have a key role in delivery if they are starved of resources? How do we work around the tax and regulatory constraints on power in Scotland?

We are a 6th richest country in the world, a wealth built on the carbon emissions of coal, oil and gas and the exploitation of the natural and human and resources through empire, but  we are also the most unequal in Europe, a place where inequality kills some of us in our homes, or lack of them. How do we prioritise investment of resources? 

How do we develop the skills and systems to count active and embodied carbon, social benefits alongside money? How do we balance between speed of carbon reduction over improving people’s health & reducing poverty? When will we detach electricity pricing from oil?

How do we fostering financial security with increasing climate uncertainty? How do we overcome inertia and embedded practices to accelerate disinvestment in carbon and investment in net zero enterprises. Will a carbon tax happen? What is the Glasgow Doughnut?

VIDEOS FROM THE EVENT

These are two of a series of films documenting 5 days of Conversations by 183 people in early 2024 about climate change, nature depletion and how the Just Transition in the Scottish Built Environment and Construction sector is responding.

The first film looks at how we manage our financial resources to deliver effective and fair change for all. In this film you hear from Rona Proudfoot of Fuel Poverty Action, Matthew Chubb of North East Scotland Retrofit, Anna Stoll of Amey, Doug Morwood of Regenerative Futures, among many others.

The second film looks at how we will retrofit around 2.9 million buildings in 20 years, and change our heat to be carbon free. In this film you hear from Catherine Williams, Deputy Director of the Heat Strategy at the Scottish Government, Fiona Rankin of Edinburgh World Heritage, Matthew Chubb of North East Scotland Retrofit, among many others,

You can show this film in your organisation to start a discussion about the challenges we face and how we can change the way we live, work and build to deliver the Just Transition by 2045. Please post comments and share.

About the event

Past Event Date: Monday 11th March 2024

Let’s talk about the emerging Heat in Buildings Strategy as a way not this. Thinking in Government is advanced, there’s a consultation ongoing, so it’s coming soon. Let’s talk about those plans and see give them a 360 degree sanity check. We really need to avoid repeating the well-meaning delivery disasters of ferries and bottle recycling. 

Given it’s scale, poorly designed delivery in the built environment would be a disaster for the Just Transition. But a good alignment of funding with effective delivery for the Heat in Buildings strategy could be a strong model for successful implementation in Retrofit and Circular Economy. Let’s dig into that.

To give us your input, or just for more information, please email BigConversation@seda.uk.net

Useful reading: Doughnut Economics, by Jate Raworth.

Check out: Scottish Government Consultation on the Heat Transition Strategy, ends 8th March.

This page will be periodically updated when further information for the event becomes available.

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