The Power of Scotland Renewed Report Publication

That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the report, The Power of Scotland Renewed, commissioned by Friends of the Earth Scotland, WWF, RSPB Scotland and the World Development Movement; believes that rapid decarbonisation of the energy supply is central to the challenge of meeting the emissions reduction target of at least 42% set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009; further believes that achieving this decarbonisation will require an economic environment that drives investment in energy conservation, deferrable demand and low-carbon technology; considers new unabated coal plants, such as that proposed in the National Planning Framework for Hunterston, to be incompatible with this environment; understands that, as a developed nation, Scotland should be demonstrating to the southern countries that we are prepared to introduce policies that encourage investment in clean green energy; recognises that our investment in developing these new clean technologies can result in expertise being shared and exported, thereby encouraging clean energy development in the southern countries and increasing inward investment, and calls on the Scottish Government to introduce policy for consenting to new thermal power plants under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, which supersedes the National Planning Framework, to prevent any new coal power stations from being granted planning consent unless they incorporate carbon capture and storage technology from the start.