Climate watchdog warns Scotland needs to take 'immediate action'

The UK’s climate watchdog has warned that Scotland needs to take “immediate action at pace and scale” to cut its emissions after ministers axed a series of policy pledges.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) is calling for a “rapid increase” in the number of electric vehicles (EVs) heat pumps across the country.

It said urgent action must be sped up if Scotland wants to meet its net-zero targets by 2045.

The CCC’s latest report for the Scottish Government set out a pathway for reaching climate targets in Scotland by 2045.

The Committee advised that fully electric vehicles should increase from less than 2.2% of cars and vans in 2023 to 60% by 2035, rising again to 94% over the next ten years.

It said 40% of homes should be heated by low-carbon electric systems by 2035, adding the “majority” of these would be heat pumps, with this then rising to 92% of properties by 2045.

To achieve this, the CCC said that “annual heat pump installations in existing homes will need to accelerate rapidly, reaching nearly 35,000 by 2030”.

The CCC stressed that this “rapid increase in installation rates is feasible”, although it said “immediate policy support” from Scottish ministers would be needed.

‘They’ve been kicking the can down the road’

The climate watchdog has already issued stinging criticism of the Scottish Government’s faltering progress so far in tackling the climate crisis.

After repeatedly missing emissions targets, the original goal of cutting emissions by 75% by 2030 has been delayed by up to six years.

Ministers have also abandoned pledges to cut car miles and decarbonise homes by mandating low-carbon heating.

They’ve also cut funding for tree planting, missed targets to restore peatland and ignored calls for a plan to cut meat and dairy consumption.

“Key message out of this advice is that John Swinney and his Government need to stop kicking the can down the road and really get on with actions that is going to reduce climate pollution and improve the lives of people across Scotland,” Caroline Rance from Friends of the Earth Scotland said.

“That’s things like warm homes, cheap reliable pub transport, and a fair and fast transition away from expensive, polluting fossil fuels.”

The Scottish Government says it will consider the report’s recommendations carefully.

“The carbon budgets proposed via secondary legislation must provide an achievable pathway to net zero in 2045 – one which delivers better health outcomes, puts more money in people’s pockets, and leaves no workers behind,” acting net zero secretary Gillian Martin said.

“That is the approach the Scottish Government has always taken and measures announced in our Programme for Government, like abolishing peak rail fares for good and delivering 24,000 additional public electric vehicle charge points by 2030, will contribute to that.

“That will be followed by a new Climate Change Plan, outlining our policies and proposals for reducing emissions between 2026 and 2040. This will be brought forward shortly after the carbon budget secondary legislation has been approved.”