United Kingdom – The UK and Scottish governments have reached a historic agreement to work together to build two Green Freeports in Scotland.
By 2045, all bidders for the Green Freeports will be required to make a pledge to achieve net zero carbon emissions. Following a bidding period that begins in the spring and ends in the summer, the bids will be evaluated and the locations that were chosen will be announced. Spring 2023 is the target date for the new sites to be operational.
Agreement with Scottish Government builds on ambitious long-term UK plan to spread opportunity more equally across the whole of the UK, as set out in Levelling Up White Paper.
Reaching goals
Ministers from both the UK and Scotland will have an equal say in selecting the final sites, which will be evaluated by government officials from both countries to ensure that their goals are being met.
To be considered, a consortium of businesses, the council, and other relevant public bodies must come together at a port of any kind (air, sea, or rail). But any consortium hoping to get Green Freeport off the ground needs to make sure that locals benefit from it and that ambitious goals for Net Zero can be met, as well. The government expects the confirmed Freeports in the UK to generate gross value added of £23.9 billion and private investment of £25.3 billion, based on the business case for Freeports.
