Finance Secretary John Swinney has officially unveiled his ambitious target for new jobs in low carbon industries through investments in energy production and efficiency, and sustainable transport.

Swinney says Scotland should seize at least one-tenth of the estimated 160,000 renewable energy jobs that will be generated in the UK over the next 10 years.

"We are in the most difficult economic climate for a generation and need to pursue every possible opportunity we have to create wealth. We are laying the foundations for economic success by investing in a greener deal for Scotland.”

"Scotland already generates a fifth of its electricity demand from renewables and we have unrivalled natural resources to go much further, with 25% of Europe's wave and tidal energy potential and abundant wind and forestry resources,” Swinney says.

Swinney, outlined his plans at an RSPB conference at Glasgow Science Centre, adding: "The jobs we want to create will be in our rapidly expanding renewables and clean fossil fuel technology industries, alongside energy efficiency and transport jobs – jobs for a sustainable economic future for Scotland."

The green strategy will not include any new government funding, but Swinney wants to build on the £1bn invested by private sector companies in Scotland over the past six months. The Scottish government expects a further £1bn to be injected by private companies over the next year.