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A net-zero carbon emissions economy will be the Scottish National Investment Bank's "primary mission", Nicola Sturgeon has pledged.

Setting out her programme for government, the First Minister committed the bank to investing at least £2 billion over 10 years "providing patient finance for ambitious companies and projects".

Sturgeon said confronting climate change would be "central to the investment decisions we make" under a "new Scottish Green Deal".

She said: "The year ahead will consolidate Scotland's position as a leader in the battle against climate change.

"It will see landmark policies, long in the planning, come to fruition."

The SNIB is due to begin operating next year. The Scottish Government was advised by veteran banker and former Tesco Bank CEO Benny Higgins and respected economist Professor Mariana Mazzucato on its plans.

Sturgeon also committed to £500 million of investment in transport to reduce congestion through priority bus routes.

Ministers will consult on what action will be needed to achieve "zero-emission city centres" by 2030, she said. The Highlands and Islands will pilot a new zero-emission trial for flights, starting in 2021. A law will be brought in to allow charges to be applied to single-use coffee cups under the Circular Economy Bill.

She added: "It lays the foundation for a new Scottish Green Deal, with measures to reduce emissions, support sustainable and inclusive growth, promote wellbeing and create a fairer society."

Sturgeon also told MSPs she would demand Holyrood be given the power to hold a second independence referendum and "seek agreement to the transfer of power that will put the referendum beyond legal challenge".

Predicting an "inevitable" snap general election in the event that Boris Johnson fails to win the confidence of the UK Parliament, she added: "Let me by crystal clear today - the SNP will put Scotland's opposition to Brexit and our right to choose independence at the very heart of that context."

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said:“Her version lacks the ambition, scale and courage required of an emergency response.

“We welcome her adoption of the idea that the Scottish Investment Bank should prioritise the climate emergency, but the funding is limited. This is not system change.

“The Scottish Government also seem infatuated with consumer choice and unproven technologies that apparently promise a quick fix - carbon capture and storage, electric aeroplanes and hydrogen trains – yet the technology we need to solve the climate crisis is already here.

“The response to the climate emergency cannot be piecemeal. It must mobilise the economy behind a just transition, one that creates jobs, gets Scotland moving and gives people warm homes. It must harness the power of the public sector to align in one direction – providing a future for all of us."