Press Story

The director of Scotland’s progressive think tank, IPPR Scotland, has responded to the publication of the Project Willow report.

Stephen Boyd Director, IPPR Scotland said:

“The Project Willow report confirms the range and quality of potential development opportunities for the Grangemouth site. However, the proposed timescales for development suggest that the workers being made redundant this summer may struggle to quickly find new jobs.

“Therefore, it is essential that both governments and relevant agencies now redouble efforts to turn potential developments into tangible opportunities for those being made redundant at the refinery and local young people looking to enter the labour market. It remains to be seen whether the support promised by both governments will be sufficient to leverage the scale of private investment required.

“There should also be a deep and rapid reassessment of the process of ‘just transition’ in Scotland. It is essential that the right policy framework, funding and institutional infrastructure is quickly put in place to ensure that the process of transitioning from incumbent high emission to emerging low emission sectors becomes significantly less traumatic for the workers concerned”.

ENDS

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW:

Stephen Boyd, director of IPPR Scotland and Casey Smith, IPPR Scotland researcher are available for interview.

CONTACT:

Rosie Lockwood, head of media and advocacy at IPPR Scotland: r.lockwood@ippr.org, 07585772633

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Read IPPR Scotland’s recent blog on Grangemouth here: https://www.ippr.org/articles/grangemouth-after-the-refinery-lessons-from-history-in-how-we-make-a-just-transition-real

IPPR Scotland shapes public policy in pursuit of a fairer, greener, more prosperous Scotland. Ippr.org/Scotland