🏴🌱 It's time to accept reality - private finance isn't going to fix Scotland's nature crisis.
It's time for a reset in Scotland’s approach to nature restoration.
New blog by @hannawheatley.bsky.social
www.futureeconomy.scot/posts/460-ti...
Surely this week's news about the breakdown of Scottish Government's nature finance pilot means its time for a reset in Scotland's approach to restoration? My latest blog for @futureeconscot.bsky.social ⬇️
www.futureeconomy.scot/posts/460-ti...
NEW: Private finance won’t fix Scotland’s nature crisis - only public investment can.
As featured exclusively in today's @theguardian.com, private investment isn’t going to deliver the nature restoration Scotland needs.
Read our new guest blog by Tom Gegg: www.futureeconomy.scot/posts/459-pr...
EXCLUSIVE in @theguardian.com: a £100m nature finance deal collapsed - & MSPs weren’t told.
Featuring our work on nature restoration and a new guest blog, it’s clear: private investment isn’t going to deliver the nature restoration Scotland needs.
Read coverage: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
ICYMI: Our latest election spotlight analysis finds 65,000 more Scottish children would be living in relative poverty today if Scotland’s poverty rate matched the UK’s.
But action needs to be stepped up in the next Parliament to meet targets.
Read in full: www.futureeconomy.scot/posts/457-el...
Meeting 2030 targets to eradicate child poverty will require a step change in policy and funding. The next Parliament must turn ambition into delivery.
Read our new analysis by @jujupepe.bsky.social
www.futureeconomy.scot/posts/457-el...
Child poverty has fallen in Scotland, which now outperforms the UK, reflecting policies like the Scottish Child Payment and stronger social protections, but...
🚨 Election Spotlight: Eradicating Child Poverty in Scotland
Scotland has made real progress but 110,000 more children must be lifted out of poverty to meet 2030 targets.
Scotland has shown that ambitious policy can bring child poverty down.
But action needs to be stepped up in the next Parliament to meet targets.
Our new analysis ⬇️
Read press release here: www.futureeconomy.scot/press/315-sc...
Exclusive coverage of our latest research on child poverty in featured in @scotnational.bsky.social today.
We find that 65,000 children are being kept out of poverty in Scotland thanks to devolved policy decisions.
Read the full article 👇 www.thenational.scot/news/2600555...
This analysis informs the second edition of our Election Spotlight series.
Read the full press release here: www.futureeconomy.scot/press/315-sc...
"Poverty is a policy choice"
Our co-director @lmacfarlane.bsky.social comments on the analysis.
With the May election approaching, parties need to move beyond ambition.
Voters should expect clear plans for meeting the 2030 targets – both the policies required AND how they’ll be paid for.
But this progress isn’t enough.
To meet the Scottish Government’s 2030 targets, child poverty must fall by a further 11%. This means lifting 110,000 more children out of poverty in the next Parliament.
The challenge now is turning progress into pace.
This gap isn’t accidental.
It reflects Scotland’s “social contract” – policies like the Scottish Child Payment, mitigating UK welfare cuts, and greater provision of social housing.
🚨NEW: Scotland’s ‘social contract’ keeps 65,000 children out of poverty
Child poverty would be significantly higher if Scotland’s poverty rate matched the UK’s.
But there’s more work to do ⬇️
Tomorrow our co-director @lmacfarlane.bsky.social will join a webinar hosted by the @scottishtuc.bsky.social to discuss how to fix Scotland’s broken public services.
Register here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/98e687...
💡 Election Spotlight: Scotland’s Net Zero challenge
Our blog explores the gap between Scotland’s climate ambition + delivery — and what the next Parliament must do to close it.
By @hannawheatley.bsky.social.
To find out more, read our report Neil recently co-authored with our co-director @miriambrett.bsky.social:
NEW: Scotland has passed the world’s first Community Wealth Building Act ✊
But how do we ensure it delivers on its transformative potential?
Read our new interview with @neilmcinroy.bsky.social:
👉 www.futureeconomy.scot/posts/456-fr...
Scotland’s renewable energy should benefit all of us. We’re backing the movement for:
♻️ Community-owned renewables
🍃 A public stake in offshore wind
🏭 Renewable manufacturing based in Scotland
Join the #OurPower movement 👉 bit.ly/Our-power
The challenge for the next Parliament is clear: match ambition with action. A just transition to net zero is achievable – but only with credible, funded policies in key devolved sectors.
Scotland can’t afford more delay.
To meet targets, the Scottish Government is relying heavily on so-called ‘negative emissions technologies’.
The problem? These technologies remain unproven. Campaigners have called the proposals “science fiction”.
Despite progress on electricity, key sectors like transport, buildings, heat and land use are still lagging – with plans for much needed action delayed into the 2030s.
As these sectors are devolved, there is no excuse for inaction.
The new Climate Change Plan aims to reset the approach, shifting to carbon budgets and greater transparency.
But delays and limited detail mean big questions remain. Gross costs are put at ~£44bn – but with unclear assumptions on who wins and who pays.
Scotland has set world-leading climate targets – but delivery has lagged.
After missing 8 of 12 annual targets, key milestones were dropped in 2024 after a damning assessment of progress from the Climate Change Committee.
💡 Election spotlight: Scotland's Net Zero Challenge
Our new blog examines the gap between climate ambition and delivery – and the challenge facing the next Parliament to close it 🧵
We're excited to be partnering with @foescot.bsky.social, @cescotland.bsky.social, @stopclimatechaos.bsky.social, Uplift and Platform.
Come along to share a free meal, hear from people from across Scotland who are already involved in changing our energy system ⚡
