Investor Panel: Mobilising international capital to finance the transition to Net Zero

Co-Chair's Foreword

It is clear that the cost of the transition to net zero is beyond the scope of traditional sources of funding. Investment at scale is going to be needed and the public and private sectors are going to need to work together to secure it. This has been recognised by many countries and competition for capital is likely to be fierce.

The Panel was formed to make recommendations as to how the Scottish Government can compete for mobile capital investment. At inception the then First Minister charged the Panel to be direct in our assessment of the issues and to deliver practical proposals which, if implemented, will make a difference.

Scotland can attract investment, but it suffers from its small scale relative to other countries, limited historical engagement with international investors and like the UK as a whole, has some barriers to achieving the investment we need to support our just transition to net zero.

The Investor Panel's proposals aim to allow the Scottish Government to exploit Scotland's intimacy and devolved powers to make it a globally competitive investment destination. We believe this can be achieved through clearly determining priorities, being more agile in decision making and adopting the proven practices of small states and countries that have successfully attracted investment at scale.

We believe if adopted these recommendations, in conjunction with a broad upskilling of public officials, will increase the pool of capital available for investment in Scotland, decrease its cost and expedite the critical investment necessary to make the just transition to net zero happen.

Angus Macpherson
Chief Executive Officer, Noble & Co