Scotland's mineral, water and energy resources: building a low-carbon future

Scotland’s Earth resources, which include minerals, hydrocarbons, water and hydro energy, have for many centuries provided a driver for population and economic growth. The nature of the onshore geology, with key rock formations underlying the Central Belt of Scotland, has led to a long-term relationship with extracting fossil carbon from the subsurface. The first written records relate to New- battle Abbey (near Dalkeith) permitting surface coal mining in the thirteenth century. Subsequently, coal, oil shale, and offshore oil and gas production fuelled Scottish industrial technology and devel- opment though the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, in the past 20 years there have been successive environmental drivers to reduce CO 2 and other emissions, which along with policy changes have impacted the way in which these high-carbon geological resources are used.