Harvie warned over ‘clean heat’ cost to public

has admitted at least £33 billion will be needed to clean up how Scotland’s buildings are heated, but only £1.8bn has been pledged from the Scottish Government. It has insisted the bulk of the funding for the heat transition will come from the private sector.

Under Mr Harvie’s draft plans for the rest of Scotland’s buildings, modernised energy efficiency standards will need to be met from 2028. Privately rented homes will be required to meet a minimum energy efficiency standard no later than 2028, while owneroccupied homes will need to meet those same standards by the end of 2033. All homes and non-domestic buildings will be required to end their use of polluting heating by the end of 2045.

Scottish Conservative shadow secretary for net zero energy and transport, Douglas Lumsden, said: “It is vital that Scotland achieves net zero, but the right way to achieve is not forcing significant financial burdens on homeowners. Patrick Harvie and his careless policies are out of touch with the public’s priorities. The Greens insist on ploughing ahead with rash ideas without considering the impact on individuals and their lives.

“That is why last month the Scottish Conservatives launched our proposal to create a new grant that would give Scottish households the support they need to make the switch from fossil-fuel heating systems to low carbon options.”

The regulations that have gone live today will mean direct emissions heating systems, such as gas boilers, will no longer be installed in new homes and non-domestic buildings.

Mr Harvie said: “This is an important step on our journey to moving all buildings in Scotland to clean heat by 2045. Heating our homes and buildings represents about a fifth of Scotland’s carbon emissions so there is no route to deliver net zero without making this change. Some housebuilders and social landlords are already ahead of the game and installing clean heat as standard. So this makes sure that we’re building the right homes and buildings of tomorrow – reducing the need for retrofit in the future – and that people can live in homes that are warmer and cleaner to heat.

“The Climate Change Committee recognised the significance of the new build heat standard in its recent report on progress on reducing emissions in Scotland. We have to increase the pace and scale of the transition, and our proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill would mean that Scotland has the most ambitious clean heat programme in the UK.”