Over the last few months, I have been calling for a green jobs scheme to provide employment for those looking for work as a result of the downturn in the economy. I’m glad to see that the Government seems to listening because in April’s Budget it announced a Future Jobs Scheme which will mean

• a guarantee of a job, training or work placement for all 18-24 year olds who are unemployed for 12 months.

• 100,000 new jobs in ‘socially useful activity’ will be created of which 10,000 will be green jobs.

• new funding to provide another 50,000 jobs in areas of high unemployment across the UK. These will be open to those over 25.

Local authorities and the voluntary sector will be chiefly responsible for the creation of the jobs which makes good sense as they are best placed to know what local needs are.

‘Green jobs’ don’t just mean work in parks and gardens although some of the most beautiful parts of Edinburgh owe their existence to people in the eighteenth and nineteenth century who were aware of their importance to the health and well-being of the city’s inhabitants.

I hope that financial services will continue to be a major employer in Edinburgh and I have lobbied hard on behalf of those at risk of redundancy in the banking sector. However, we need to rebalance our economy to be less dependent on finance by boosting industry and in particular the low-carbon kind. This might mean firms producing new equipment to cut carbon emissions in power stations or solar panels for instance.

At a time when new house building is at a low level, we should also make it a priority to help roofers, electricians and others employed in the construction industry to retrain to work in home insulation. This is an area where the Government is investing heavily as increasing the energy efficiency of our homes is one of the best ways to cut carbon emissions.

Boosting green industries which promise to be key to our industrial future offers the best hope that the jobs and training offered will lead to long-term employment for those people who join the scheme.

In December, countries will meet in Copenhagen at a UN summit to try and reach a new agreement to cut global emissions. Policies like this scheme are vital to create a more sustainable future in which our economy emerges from the recession on a stronger footing and we finally get to grips with tackling climate change.