The Consumer Futures Unit (CFU) has responded to the Scottish Parliament’s joint call for evidence as part of its scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s third draft Climate Change Plan.
The CFU is pleased to have had the opportunity to comment on Scottish Ministers’ plans for meeting Scotland’s annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets. In responding to the Scottish Parliament’s joint call for evidence we have limited our comments to areas of the draft plan that are directly relevant to our remit.
In this publication we present our written evidence to the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee. Our evidence to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee and the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee is available separately and can be downloaded below.
The draft CCP has clearly set out the Scottish Government’s vision for a low carbon Scotland and the overarching framework for achieving emissions reduction targets.
Much of the progress to date in reducing Scotland’s emissions derives from changes in the power generation sector. Achieving further significant progress will need progress in areas that require active consumer involvement.
In relation to costs, there is insufficient detail to judge the impact on consumers. The significant increase in investment required to achieve the ambitions in the plan must be carefully handled to ensure consumers are not overburdened. Financial support or incentives will be required to achieve the proposed paradigm shift in domestic heating by 2032.
In relation to costs, there is insufficient detail to judge the impact on consumers. The significant increase in investment required to achieve the ambitions set out in the plan must be carefully handled to ensure consumers are not overburdened. Financial support or incentives will be required to achieve the proposed paradigm shift in domestic heating by 2032, and there should not be overreliance on technologies that are still commercially unproven.
A focus on the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock is warranted because it has the theoretical potential to reduce GHG emissions at the same time as helping alleviate fuel poverty. We welcome the commitment to developing Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme to meet the scale of the ambition. More detail is required on how the new target of installing 90,000 new insulation measures each year from 2023 through to 2032 will be met, as well as how to motivate investment in energy efficiency measures in the owner occupied sector.
The draft CPP has been successful at identifying the share in discrete policy envelopes the total decarbonisation effort at the lowest cost. However, it doesn’t allocate specific emission reductions attributable to each policy or proposal, or adequately account for the role of consumer behaviour in meeting the targets.
