Scotland’s natural landscape is, of course, one of its greatest assets. It also has a major role to play in the fight against climate change. Moves such as peatland restoration, woodland creation and blue carbon can all make a major contribution.
Introducing nature-based solutions will, however, require skills and people. The sector already makes a major contribution to the economy, accounting for at least 195,000 jobs – 7.5 per cent of the workforce – in 2019. But there is now scope for that to grow further.
Scotland’s nature agency, NatureScot, has just published a new action plan aimed at developing the skills and opportunities needed to secure both the planned transition to net zero by 2045 and the green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.