Without action, the significant loss of skills and capacity experienced by the Scottish construction sector during the recent recession could hamper Scotland’s transition to a low carbon economy, industry bosses have warned.

A Scottish Government consultation on its discussion paper “Towards a low carbon economy for Scotland” closes today (30th June). Providing written evidence to the consultation, the Scottish Building Federation has emphasised the crucial role Scotland’s construction industry will have to play in making the transition to a low carbon economy.

At the same time, with the industry having lost thousands of jobs and a significant number of building firms having gone bankrupt over the past two years, the Federation warns there is a risk of a shortage of supply in future years which could drive up costs and undermine the global competitiveness of Scotland’s emerging low carbon industries.

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The SBF submission calls for up-front investment to retain skills and capacity in the construction sector. This would ensure the industry is able to deliver the infrastructure needed by those sectors where Scotland hopes to be able to take a global lead in the development of low carbon technologies.

Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is one area where a short-term focus could help to sustain skills and capacity in the construction sector until new industries such as marine power generation and offshore wind begin to take off, the SBF argues.

Scottish Building Federation Chief Executive Michael Levack said: “The challenge is that there is likely to be a time lag before some of these new industries really start to expand. But when they do, we could be faced with a level of demand for construction services that an industry battered by the recession is simply unable to meet.

“The practical effect could be that contractor prices will spike, driving up costs and making Scotland a less attractive place for low carbon industries to invest.

“We would like to see a short term focus on refurbishing buildings to make them more energy efficient. Not only would this make an important contribution to reducing carbon emissions in its own right. It would also ensure that construction workers remain employed in the industry, developing the green skills they will need further down the line to help new low carbon industries achieve their potential."

(GK)