The Scottish Government has announced a new fund to support organisations across the country, including community, cultural and education groups, taking action to address the climate emergency.

The £250,000 Climate Engagement Fund will support activities such as climate festivals, skills workshops, art exhibitions and youth development programmes – all aimed at increasing people's understanding of climate change and encouraging climate action.

The annual fund has already supported eight projects with funding totalling £550,000. These include the Building Futures Galloway project which has equipped people in the region with the skills to improve the energy efficiency of historic buildings and apply techniques in their own homes.

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Net Zero Secretary Màiri McAllan said: "Scotland is fully committed to meeting our target of net zero emissions by 2045 and, as part of this, it is important that people understand the nature and the scale of the climate emergency, the actions they can take to help and the support available to them to do so.

"By supporting grassroots action, the Climate Engagement Fund will help enable individuals and communities to directly contribute to tackling climate change."

Chairman of the Board of Building Futures Galloway Graeme Davies said: "This fund has previously supported a range of activity to address energy efficiency issues in historic homes and buildings, including a film project with young people from Whithorn Primary School.

"The pupils interviewed our charity's young trainees and visited some of the heritage restoration projects they are working on. They also produced a film to share what they had learned with others which was screened at an assembly and was broadcast online to other schools in Scotland."