Low Carbon Future Is A Reality

Plans for Scotland to retain its leading role in cutting emissions and to continue to lead global efforts to tackle climate change have been recently set out by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government is investing over £1.14 billion over the next three years on measures to address climate change and has published the second draft Report on Proposals and Policies (RPP2).

The report details climate change strategies, which build on Scotland’s current low carbon action plan, to meet its world leading and ambitious climate change targets up to 2027.

Scottish Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse explained: “We are already more than halfway to meeting our 2020 target of 42%, and remain on trajectory to achieve it. But there is no room for complacency – that is why we are determined to do even more and must do so given the threat climate change places on our wildlife, our economy and our society.

“It would have been very easy for this Parliament to have set targets that lacked ambition, and were straightforward to meet or indeed not to have set targets at all. Instead, we have set extremely challenging targets and we know robust and continued action is required to meet them.

“Scotland has shown a can do attitude and the ambition needed to play our part in averting more severe climate change. That is something of which the people of Scotland can be proud.”

“A low carbon Scotland will be a better Scotland and there is no doubt that our action and the benefits – both economic and environmental – will be felt right across Scottish society, and will also make a key contribution to the global effort.”

Plans include:
• A new decarbonisation target to cut carbon emissions from electricity generation by more than four-fifths by 2030
• A commitment to deliver the equivalent of at least 100% of gross electricity consumption from renewables by 2020
• A National Retrofit Programme to transform older and colder homes into energy efficient homes
• A £50 million Warm Homes Fund providing grants and loans for renewable energy measures to heat homes
• A new domestic Heat Strategy including publication of a Draft Outline Heat Vision which sets our ambition for a largely decarbonised heat sector by 2030

The draft report will now be considered in Parliament for a 60- day period, and a final report will be published in the summer.