Just transition will fail without poverty action, Scottish parties are warned

Prioritise ending poverty and heating homes to achieve the just transition, Scottish parties have been told ahead of the election.

The Scottish Government has committed to reorientating the economy away from the most polluting industries and towards greener alternatives.

The SNP, Labour and the Greens have said they will pursue that agenda if they win the upcoming election.

Charity Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has said that will fail without concerted action against poverty.

New CAS data shows a spike in requests for help with household energy issues across its network since the last election and the organisation told Holyrood a just transition “can only be secured when people experiencing poverty are put first”.

More than one third of households are classed as living in fuel poverty, with one in five in extreme fuel poverty.

CAS said: “Years of unaffordable energy costs have forced households into hardship. People experiencing the worst energy harms face the greatest barriers to the net-zero transition: trapped in the coldest homes, burdened with the highest energy bills, and forced to live with damp and mould. Yet they stand to benefit most from a just transition that puts people first.”

In 2021, when this parliamentary term began, one in 10 people seeking help from the local advice bureaus in the CAS network wanted support with energy advice. By last year, that had increased to one in six – more than 25,000 people.

More than one in four tenants seeking advice about their accommodation needed help with damp, mould and repairs last year.

In one case, a single mother with children aged two and four was left without money for food after using up the credit on her prepayment meter to dry out damp caused by flooding in her council house.

The charity has said the just transition “can only be secured when people experiencing poverty are put first”. It says “climate action and social justice are inextricably linked” and “progress on both must align to deliver impact for people, places and the planet”.

It wants the next Scottish Government to direct net-zero investment to fuel-poor households first and treat tackling equality and cutting emissions as “twin, non-negotiable objectives” in funding distribution.

It is also seeking “sustainable, multi-year funding” for advice services.

CAS said: “High essential costs, mounting debts, unsafe and insecure housing and an inadequate social security system leave many people living permanently on the edge of crisis. The only credible and just pathway to net-zero must also mean zero poverty. Tackling fuel poverty and targeted support for energy efficiency measures must be designed and delivered with people and communities experiencing the greatest harm – they cannot remain the preserve of those better-off.”

The call follows the reopening of the expanded £17m Just Transition Fund for the north east and Moray, which aims to create green jobs, support innovation, diversify energy supply chains, and enable workers to transition into low-carbon roles.

The fund now includes more support for community groups and social enterprises, following recommendations from the Just Transition Commission and Aberdeen University’s Just Transition Lab, which said that “communities need to be at the centre of the transition to the low carbon economy”.