Latest news with #2045
Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Times
SNP transition fund spends £43m on just 110 jobs for oil workers
A fund designed to protect North Sea oil and gas workers from the SNP's net zero drive created just 110 new jobs despite spending £43 million, a new report has found. An analysis of the first two years of the Scottish government's Just Transition Fund, which is set to cost taxpayers half a billion pounds over a decade, found that it had 'safeguarded' only another 120 further existing roles. The policy, announced by Nicola Sturgeon in 2021, was intended to ensure that new green jobs are created for workers whose livelihoods depend on fossil fuel industries. A report commissioned by the Scottish government found the scheme, which backed 24 projects such as a 'sustainable' whisky distillery, an eco-tourism firm and new tidal energy research projects, could be 'a successful catalyst for economic and environmental change'. However, critics claimed that it had delivered only a 'paltry return' after the SNP repeatedly vowed that it would ensure that North Sea workers do not end up on the scrapheap as part of its plans to wind down the oil and gas industry and replace it with clean energy industries. The North Sea oil and gas industry is estimated to directly employ around 30,000 people and supports a further 100,000 indirectly. The Scottish government has said it wants to hit net zero by 2045 — five years ahead of the rest of the UK — and is sticking to the target despite repeatedly failing to hit, and then scrapping, interim targets. The analysis, carried out by the research firm Blake Stevenson Ltd, found that 47 jobs had been created through the Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund, which include positions in 'green skills training'. A handful of others were created through a nature restoration project based around the River Findhorn and an 'adventure tourism' firm. However, the report warned that many of the roles were 'temporary, project-based, or contingent on further investment' and 'may not transition into lasting opportunities'. Douglas Lumsden, the Scottish Tory net zero spokesman, said: 'This paltry return will do nothing to allay the fears of tens of thousands of highly skilled workers in Scotland's oil and gas sector. 'They know the SNP and Labour are taking a wrecking ball to their industry and this report confirms they have not got a clue how to properly protect jobs for the future. 'Taxpayers will be rightly thinking their money has typically been squandered by the SNP who must urgently shift from their current reckless approach if we are to achieve an affordable transition.' The fund was created as a counter to claims that the SNP's net zero policies, which were enthusiastically championed under Sturgeon, would cost thousands of jobs and cause devastation to the north east economy. The SNP has repeatedly claimed that it will ensure the push to net zero does not mean that communities suffer in the same way as others did under deindustrialisation under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. When the just transition fund was announced, ministers said they would target investment to help create 'good, green jobs' to replace those that would be lost in the North East and Moray. According to the report, the fund has also helped to leverage £30 million in private sector investment and £4.7 million from the public sector or charities. It claimed that initiatives funded by the scheme were also responsible for the training of 750 people. The report said that while the fund 'has been a successful catalyst for economic and environmental change' in the area, 'several administrative and logistical challenges have emerged'. These include uncertainty over long-term funding, confusion over the application process and a lack of clarity over funding criteria. The report said: 'Many projects remain in early stages, making it difficult to fully assess employment outcomes, carbon savings, and long-term economic benefits.' Gillian Martin, the climate action secretary, said: 'This independent report demonstrates our Just Transition Fund is a catalyst for economic growth. With £75 million allocated to the fund since 2022, the expert report makes clear it has supported job creation and re-skilling, empowered communities, catalysed private investment and initiated innovation in green technologies. 'Thanks to the Just Transition Fund, more than 230 jobs have been created and safeguarded, 750 training places opened up and over £34 million in additional investment secured in its first two years. These are the initial impacts of the fund and we are confident that job numbers, investment leveraged and other key outputs will increase as projects continue. 'This is just one example of how this government is supporting Scotland's valued and highly skilled oil and gas workers, who are at the very heart of the just transition to net zero — despite the fact that decisions on offshore oil and gas licensing, consenting and the associated fiscal regime, are all matters that are currently reserved to the UK government.'
CBC
07-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
City of Winnipeg still waiting on full delivery of electric bus order
The City of Winnipeg is still waiting for some of the electric buses it ordered. A report to the finance committee said all of the 16 zero-emission buses in the city's initial order should have arrived by June 20. But as of Monday, the city said it's still waiting for three battery-electric buses to arrive from New Flyer Industries. Finance chair Jeff Browaty says he's frustrated, because the city made efforts to work with the local company. "The fact that these buses are made in Winnipeg, it's a shining example of a really great Winnipeg success story," Browaty said. "So a little frustrating when we do our best to work with them and we're not getting the buses in a timely way." The company blames supply chain problems, as well as production issues for the delay, according to the report. "Supply chain disruptions, build quality, and compliance issues continue to result in late bus deliveries," Jesse Crowder, the city's manager of asset management, wrote in the report. In 2022, the city, province and federal government signed an agreement worth $276.6 million to supply Winnipeg Transit with new buses. Under the Investing in the Canada Infrastructure Program, the city committed to buying approximately 100 zero-emission buses, which would equal 15 per cent of the city's fleet by 2027. Longer term, the city set the goal of replacing its entire fleet with zero-emission buses by 2045. The buses include a mix of fuel cell electric, which charge with hydrogen, and battery electric, which can be plugged into a charger. In November 2024, the city announced it would scale back its plans, due to rising costs and other demands on city finances. The first hydrogen fuel cell bus arrived in February.
ABC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
The Queensland government has launched an ambitious 20-year tourism plan, but won't say how much the new strategy will cost.
The strategy aims to double the annual total visitor expenditure to $84 billion and add almost 40,000 new tourism industry jobs by 2045.
New Indian Express
12-05-2025
- New Indian Express
IndiGo Delhi–Amritsar flight returns midway after sudden airport blackout
NEW DELHI: An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Amritsar abruptly turned back midway and returned to Delhi on Monday evening following the sudden imposition of a blackout at Amritsar airport. Flights to and from Amritsar had been non-operational since 7 May due to Operation Sindoor and were only cleared for travel on Monday. Sources in the Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed to this newspaper that an IndiGo flight en route to Amritsar was forced to return to Delhi. Flight No. 6E 2045 had departed from Delhi's Terminal 1D at 8:26 pm (a delayed departure by 16 minutes) and was scheduled to reach Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar approximately 50 minutes later. According to flight-tracking websites, after flying for around 30 minutes, the aircraft made a sharp U-turn and landed back in Delhi at 9:21 pm.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ultra wealthy Gen Zers are redistributing the millions of dollars they've inherited—Meet the money coaches helping them
Gen Z and young millennials are stepping into money only to give it all away—and they're not doing it alone. Money coaches are guiding wealthy young people in redistributing their millions to philanthropic causes to offset their guilt. 'A lot of them are just like, 'Get it off, get it away,'' one inheritance advisor tells Fortune. Receiving a mountain of cold hard cash might be a dream come true for most. But for others, it's a crushing responsibility that comes with a lot of shame. Rich young inheritors are grappling with newfound wealth by banding together to give it away. 'For some people, it's such a scandalous idea and a horrifying idea to think that you would give away a third of your wealth,' Iris Brilliant, a money coach for inheritors, tells Fortune. 'And for others, it's so wrong to not do that. It brings up so many feelings of guilt about privilege, and the knowledge that more money does not equal more satisfaction in life.' That's as the 'great transfer of wealth' is on everyone's mind, as $84 trillion is expected to be passed down from seniors and baby boomers to Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z by 2045. One of the largest forces driving this money towards good is Resource Generation—with 18 chapters across the U.S., the organization gathers young people aged 18 to 35 with access to wealth. Through group sessions and its annual Making Money Make Change conference, these high net-worth members have the ultimate goal to distribute their wealth, land, and power to causes promoting racial and economic justice. Money coaches have also entered the fold; part-financial advisor and part-therapist, these experts guide clients through their feelings and create a plan of action to redistribute their money meaningfully. Exposed to extreme wealth inequality, 'eat the rich' sloganing, and billionaire hoarding, Gen Z and millennial inheritors are looking to money coaches to also lighten their emotional load. Brilliant is one of many money coaches out there helping to redistribute the 1%'s wealth to meaningful causes. Her job may sound like a financial advisor on paper—but her work goes a lot deeper than bank accounts. 'There's more support that's needed logistically and emotionally,' she says. 'Logistically, what it takes to give away $3 million is very different than what you need to give away $10,000. The stakes are higher, it's a lot more labor to make those decisions, and at a certain point you need more in-depth support.' After having worked at Resource Generation for five years, Brilliant became a certified coach through the Co-Active Training Institute, and has been running her own practice for nearly seven years. She works with millionaire couples and individuals to unpack their newfound money and where it came from. This year, Brilliant is even coaching descendents of Nazis whose wealth came from the Third Reich—confronting the difficult truths of their inheritance, and how to redistribute it equitably. Vermont-based money coach Jo Lum is also helping rich clients find a meaningful way to offload wealth via monthly two-hour sessions aimed at addressing the stigma of being rich. Lum is also a young inheritor whose grandfather was an early employee at $146 billion pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, and draws upon their own conflicted feelings to help clients. 'Wealthy people are often the villain, [but] at the same time that wealth is valorized or idealized,' they tell Fortune. 'There becomes this internal battle.' Money coaches tell Fortune that high net-worth people who want to redistribute can come in all shapes and sizes. But a few patterns emerge: their clients tend to skew progressive, young, female, and queer. Lum says marginalized groups may have had life experiences that compel them to act for the betterment of others. 'Because this is really sensitive, vulnerable work, it takes a really open heart to decide to swim upstream. The choices that my clients are making are the hard choices,' they say. 'The easy choice is to hoard, retain the money, and just let it do nothing.' Lum has also noticed that Gen Zers are more anxious about stepping into wealth than other generations, saying young people are exposed to intense wealth disparity on social media. They don't want to be lumped in with power-hungry billionaires. 'For my younger clients, I tend to have to support them more in thinking about themselves. A lot of them are just like, 'Get it off, get it away,'' Lum says. 'And for some older clients, I've experienced more coaxing to open the hand.' This movement falls in line with some billionaires sticking their necks out. Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates recently vowed to give $200 billion to charity over the next 20 years, redistributing most of his fortune. He and Melinda French-Gates have also joined forces with investing mogul Warren Buffett in creating the Giving Pledge. But the actions of a few don't represent the majority; instead of erecting libraries and building schools, many billionaires are hoarding their wealth in droves. And this isn't lost on many Americans struggling to get by, rationing money for groceries and rent. Brilliant says demand for her coaching rises in times of geopolitical distress; when Donald Trump was first elected as U.S. president, she got four times as many coaching requests than she had in the past. The COVID-19 pandemic—when people were quarantined at home and sucked into social media—was another driving force. 'We saw an even bigger gap in the wealth disparity around that time. And there was just a lot more media [content] as well about how much money the 1% was profiting every year. All of that impacts people,' Brilliant explains. 'There's collectively a lot more class rage, which I think is really healthy, ultimately.' This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
