Reaching net zero by 2045 requires ‘immediate action at pace and scale'
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said the country needs to see a 'rapid increase' in the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the roads while the installation of heat pumps must also 'accelerate rapidly'.
MSPs also stressed a switch to EVs and alternative heating systems could help Scotland reduce carbon emissions.
But the CCC said: 'Getting to net zero by 2045 will require immediate action, at pace and scale.'
Its latest report for the Scottish Government said while the CCC could offer advice, 'decisions on the exact pathway and policies within devolved powers are for the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament'.
However, the CCC set out a 'pathway' for reaching net zero by 2045, saying as part of this the number 'fully electric' should increase from about 2.2% of cars and 0.8% of vans in 2023 to 'around three-fifths of cars and vans' by 2035, rising again to 94% over the next 10 years.
Two-fifths of homes should be heated by low-carbon electric systems by 2035, it added, saying 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'.
However, it stressed this 'rapid increase in installation rates is feasible', although it said 'immediate policy support' would be needed.
The CCC also said it was 'disappointing' Scottish Government plans to require heating systems to be converted to low-carbon technologies after a property sold 'have been abandoned' by ministers as they revamped the Heat in Buildings Bill.
'Electric technologies are now the clear low-carbon choice in many areas,' the CCC said.
'Technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles (EVs) are available today, and could be deployed rapidly, provided the right incentives are in place.'
While the number of public EV charge points is already 7% higher per person in Scotland than the UK average, ministers were told the number of chargers would 'need to continue to increase in line with EV uptake'.
With the changes relying on a switch away from fossil fuels to electricity, the CCC stressed the importance of 'making electricity cheaper'.
It said this was a 'key recommendation' already made to the UK Government – but said action on this 'will be essential to delivering Scotland's targets, in tandem with action by the Scottish Government'.
The comment came as the CCC published its suggested carbon budgets for the Scottish Government to adopt.
Ministers pledged to introduce carbon budgeting in the wake of the decision last year to scrap the interim target of cutting emissions by 75% by 2030 – with this said to be 'out of reach'.
The CCC is now proposing the Scottish Government should have carbon budgets where the annual average emission levels are 57% lower than 1990 levels for the period 2026 to 2030, with this rising to 69% for 2031 to 2035, 80% for the period 2036 to 2040 and then 94% lower for 2041 to 2045.
Interim CCC chair Professor Piers Forster said: 'Scotland's new system of carbon budgets will help guide the action we need to get to net zero by 2045. We're delighted to be able to present a good news story about how Scotland can decarbonise.
'But we do need to see action now.
'The Scottish Government has devolved powers to deliver the necessary emissions reductions in key sectors, particularly buildings, surface transport, agriculture, and land use. We encourage them to exercise these powers as quickly and fully as possible.'
Claire Daly, head of policy and advocacy at WWF Scotland said: 'Today's advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) to the Scottish Government should be a light-bulb moment that it needs to take action, and it needs to take it now. '
She added that measures such as the switch to heat pumps and improved support for nature-friendly farming practices were 'not new ideas', adding: 'Over recent times we've failed to see the ambition and momentum needed in both sectors.'
Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: 'Scotland's climate action so far has been too slow, too shallow and too soft on polluters and that's got to change.
'To stick within these proposed carbon budgets we must swap delay and dither with proper investment in warm homes, sustainable travel and green jobs.'
Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin said the government would 'carefully consider the committee's advice before bringing forward regulations to set carbon budget levels for Scotland'.
Ms Martin said: '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.
'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.'
STV News is now on WhatsApp
Get all the latest news from around the country
Follow STV News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Labour has lost control of our borders entirely – why can't our Government crack down on asylum rules?
Lunatic asylum FAR from smashing the gangs, Labour has lost control of our borders entirely. For months ministers have insisted they have been cutting the use of hotels for illegal migrants. 1 In fact, numbers in them have gone UP in the last year. — another record — as 51,000 arrived on small boats. That's a 38 per cent increase in just 12 months. At the current rate, 181,000 may have come here illegally by the next election. The figures also reveal thousands are being quietly placed in blocks of flats among families in cities across the country, adding to the housing crisis. Worse, there is clearly widespread abuse of the legal migration system. More than HALF of asylum claims are from foreigners granted a student or work visa only to suddenly claim persecution in their home country when it expires. It should be obvious that anyone who comes here as a student or to work should be automatically banned from claiming asylum later. Sweden has cracked down on asylum rules. It has made language and culture tests harder, ramped up deportations and put failed asylum seekers in detention centres. Why can't our Government do the same? Cry freedom LUCY Connolly should never have served a year behind bars alongside drug dealers and murderers for a nasty tweet. What she published during last year's riots may have been unpleasant. But mum Connolly clearly immediately regretted the post and swiftly deleted it Her crime was never worthy of a 31-month sentence. As a comparison, Palestinian Hamas supporter Abu Wadee, who arrived illegally on a small boat and posted calls for the slaughter of British Jews, got just nine months. Childminder Lucy, also denied bail, has become a symbol for those who believe she was a victim of politically motivated two-tier justice. Did she really deserve her life and family to be so devastatingly torn apart? White trashed WHAT is the plan to help white, working class kids do better at school? Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson should be concerned by yet another overall fall in the GCSE pass rate. More concerning is the catastrophic performance of poor, white children — especially boys. Many will now join the ranks of the one million 16 to 24-year-olds currently not in work, education or training,
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Why a capital gains tax raid is the last thing homeowners need
A new tax on the sale of expensive homes would cause the property market to grind to a halt, and would be unlikely to raise much revenue, experts say. The government is said to be considering a shake-up of property taxes in the budget this autumn as it tries to fill a multibillion-pound black hole in the public finances. Many options seem to be under discussion, according to widespread reports this week, but most appear to be aimed at those selling high-value homes. The Times reported on Wednesday that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was considering charging capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale of main homes worth £1.5 million or more. This would be on top of stamp duty paid by buyers, which raised £13.8 billion in the 2023-24 tax year. CGT raised £13 billion in that year. Jonathan Brandling-Harris from the London estate agency House Collective said: 'Handing sellers a large CGT bill on sale will simply discourage them from moving.' Geoff Wilford from the estate agency Wilfords London said: 'It would be the single worst decision any government could make for the housing market. It would grind activity to a halt. Instead of boosting Treasury receipts, it would kill them off completely.' At the moment the sale of your main home is exempt from CGT. If it wasn't, the Treasury would make an estimated £31 billion a year. CGT is charged at 24 per cent for higher rate taxpayers and 18 per cent for basic rate taxpayers on the sale of assets including second homes, shares and art, for example. HM Revenue and Customs said that not charging CGT on the sale of main homes costs it £31 billion a year. Heather Powell from the accountancy firm Blick Rothenberg said: 'Abolishing this relief would be hugely controversial and would mean the end of the principle that no tax is payable on the sale of your family home.' Tom Bill from the estate agency Knight Frank said that because CGT is only charged on sales, many homeowners would simply decide to stay put. He said: 'If CGT applied from when the property was last bought, it would divide sellers into two groups: those sitting on a gain and those who are not. 'Anyone with a taxable gain would think twice before selling, which would reduce transaction numbers. That's despite the government seeming to want a predictable flow of revenue that is skewed towards the wealthiest homeowners.' • Ben Wilkinson: This tax policy chaos does not bode well Homes worth more than £1.5 million make up about 1 per cent of the 1.2 million property sales in England every year, and about 5 per cent of the sales in London, according to Hamptons. The average gain on the sale of a £1.5 million-plus home in England and Wales in the past 20 years was £836,219 — a rise of 71 per cent. The CGT bill on that gain for a higher-rate taxpayer would be £199,973. Aneisha Beveridge from the estate agency Hamptons said that when buyers of more expensive homes were last hit by big changes to property taxes, sales fell. Stamp duty moved from a 'slab' system where a single 5 per cent rate was charged to a 'slice' system where bands of the purchase price were taxed at 2 per cent, 5 per cent and 10 per cent. The change left anyone buying a home worth less than £935,000 paying less, but those who bought higher-value homes paying more. Under the old system someone buying a £1.5 million home would have paid 5 per cent across the entire property's value — £75,000. They now pay £93,750. • Read more money advice and tips on investing from our experts In 2014 about 4 per cent of homes sold in London went for more than £1.5 million, according to Hamptons. Last year 2.9 per cent sold at that level, once you accounted for property price inflation, the lowest share on record. Beveridge said: 'What we saw with the stamp duty changes was that demand for those homes at the top end of the market slowed because they became much more expensive, so people did not move as often.' A property sales tax on expensive homes would have a knock-on effect on all those further down a sales chain if the sellers at the top simply decided not to move. Wilford said: 'Imagine finally deciding to move after decades only to be stung with a bigger bill for selling than you would ever have paid for buying. That leaves a very sour taste.' Experts argue that anything that deters older homeowners from downsizing is bad news for the market in general. Some 53 per cent of homes in England and 35 per cent of homes in Scotland have at least two spare bedrooms, according to Nationwide Building Society. Polling of 4,300 people by Barclays suggested that 37 per cent of those with one or more spare bedrooms were over 65. • How could Rachel Reeves reform stamp duty and other property taxes? Barclays said that those who downsize should be given grants or be allowed to offset any moving costs against their stamp duty bill. Brandling-Harris said: 'Downsizers should be helped because every move they make unlocks the housing ladder beneath them — freeing up family homes for those moving up the ladder, and so starter homes for first-time buyers. That's why the focus should be the exact opposite of a sellers' tax: rather than penalising people for moving, we should be encouraging it.' Wilford added: 'Downsizing is already a daunting process. People want to stay near friends, family and their GP yet often suitable homes locally are scarce. 'Add in the emotional attachment to the family home, the slog of clearing out a lifetime of belongings, plus legal fees, removals and surveys, and it is no wonder many decide it is easier to stay put — they just don't want the hassle. Add a seller's tax into the mix and you risk wiping out a whole segment of the market that keeps the housing ecosystem moving.'
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Popular Scots shopping centre with Home Bargains and Greggs up for sale
It comes after plans emerged for a potential takeover of the site MALL OR NOTHING Popular Scots shopping centre with Home Bargains and Greggs up for sale Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A POPULAR Scots shopping centre featuring Home Bargains and Greggs has hit the market. Arbroath's Abbeygate Shopping Centre, on the High Street, is described as the "focal point of the town's retail offering". Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Arbroath's Abbeygate Shopping Centre has hit the market Credit: TSA Property Consultants It spans more than 44,000 sq ft and includes car parking for 205 vehicles. The centre is being marketed by TSA Property Consultants at offers over £950,000. Tenants include Greggs, Poundland, Home Bargains and Specsavers. The listing reads: "The Abbeygate Shopping Centre, comprising a purpose-built mall constructed in 1984, is located at the heart of Arbroath on High Street and is the focal point of the town's retail offering, providing approximately 53,925 sq ft of sales, ancillary and storage accommodation. "The centre offers 18 individual retail units at ground floor level. In addition, it offers some storage, offices and a residential flat above. "The centre is formatted in an 'L' shape with retail units lining the parade that branches west off the High Street. "The internal specification of individual units varies throughout the centre however the majority of the units benefit from substantial glazed frontages, WC facilities and dedicated loading and storage access at the rear. "There is a large car park (approximately 205 spaces) serving the centre with access off Gravesend." It comes after plans emerged for a potential Dundee and Angus College takeover of the site, The Courier reports. But it's understood no formal discussions have taken place. High street chain with 185 stores launches 70% off closing down sales ahead of 25 shops shutting We recently told how more than 20 jobs were axed at a Scottish shopping centre after the sale of the building was sealed.
