Scottish Government at COP26: What was achieved?

Showcasing Scotland’s trade and investment opportunities

The world’s economy is transforming to achieve the transition to Net Zero. Business, trade and investment will provide the technology and the funding needed to drive this change. COP26 gave Scotland the opportunity to set the scene for further investment, innovation and sustainable growth.

Scottish ministers and Scottish Government’s enterprise agencies worked with the private sector to showcase the best of Scotland’s innovative business and investment opportunities to a global audience of policy makers, trading partners and investors. Activity focussed on Scotland’s values-driven approach to green capital investment, nature-based solutions, and the renewable energy sector.

Objectives

4 Expand ambition in Scotland’s domestic climate agenda

7 Built and strengthened partnerships and connections at a global level

8 Raised Scotland’s Net Zero trade and investment profile

Over the course of the two-week programme, Scottish Government and Enterprise partners delivered a programme of over 140 events and engagements with an economic focus, including through partnerships with the Scottish National Investment Bank, Glasgow Chambers, Association of British Insurers, City of London, and Global Ethical Finance Initiative.

Showcasing Scotland’s values-driven approach to trade and investment (Objectives 4, 7, 8)

Key activity which promoted the Scottish Government values-driven approach to trade and investment, and Scotland as a destination for green capital investment, included:

• Scottish Enterprise organising a Green Finance Day where the First Minister provided a keynote speech promoting Scotland’s value driven approach to investment, recognising that a just transition to net zero underpins all that the Scottish Government do. The FM was clear that the public sector alone cannot deliver this and invited investors who share Scottish Government values to collaborate to address the grand challenges facing our society.
• Promoting the Green Investment Portfolio, which has a current value of £2 billion, to showcase propositions which demonstrate that Scotland is a world leader in green industries and to signal that we are working to expand the Portfolio to £3 billion in 2022.
• Participating in the Getting Serious about the Green Economy event
• Announcing over £100m investment from DSM to manufacture a new feed additive in their North Ayrshire site, which can reduce methane emissions from dairy cattle and sheep – an investment that will also safeguard more than 300 jobs, increase job numbers in the site, and create 100 to 150 construction jobs over 2 years.
• Scottish Enterprise signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Mitsubishi Electric committing to joint working on the long term expansion of the Livingston Heat Pump factory, with an initial investment of £15m to create over 55 new jobs and support over 300 existing jobs.

Showcasing Scotland’s potential in renewable energy (Objectives 4, 7, 8)

Key activity that highlighted Scotland’s potential to be a key international partner in renewable energy and its ability to be a leading exporter of hydrogen to the UK and Northern Europe; a leader in the development of floating offshore wind technology; and a leading strategic location for the zero emissions heating and energy efficiency industry, included:

• Showcasing ambition to be a leading exporter of hydrogen through the H100 project in Fife and the power generation with CCS project at Peterhead.
• The First Minister hosting a stakeholder event at Edinburgh Castle to reinforce the strong policy position on the growth of the hydrogen economy.
• Hosting an Offshore Wind Roundtable discussion with supply chain industry senior leaders, co-chaired by Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport and Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal of Strathclyde University. The discussion included the need for industry to take forward a collaborative approach, to maximise opportunities for the Scottish supply chain.
• Hosting over 80 business leaders and delegates from the Low Carbon Heating industry to discuss Scottish supply chain opportunities.

The Scottish Government also held a series of events in Blue Zone pavilions that showed Scotland’s peatland restoration action; nature-based solutions, and leading role in marine energy, to raise their profile.