Another 25 years in the

In the midst of a global climate emergency, what will a carbon neutral life be like in 2045?

Drones delivering parcels, shared boilers and collecting rainwater to flush toilets – these could become part of daily life in the next 25 years.

It is not a futuristic vision but what environmental experts say may be necessary to meet national carbon reduction targets.

Scottish Government legislation commits the country to becoming “netzero” by 2045, meaning any carbon dioxide emissions will be balanced by carbon reduction elsewhere.

As Fife Council approves its climate action plan, Catherine Payne, one of the authority’s environmental strategy officers, explained what could change in coming decades.

She said: “There are two issues to take into account – mitigation, to stop adding fuel to the fire, and adaption, to the effects of climate change that are inevitable because of previous emissions.

“Even if we cut all greenhouse gas emissions tomorrow, significant climate change is on its way.

“There are time lags in the atmospheric system, meaning greenhouse gases take one to 30 years from being released to warming the climate.

“The climate impacts we are seeing today come from emissions released as far back as the 1990s. Despite lots of talk about cutting emissions, since 1990 emissions have increased 60% globally.

“People never want to admit that we haven’t done enough, but the fact is we haven’t.

“I think life is going to look very different.”

Car will no longer be king. More people will be walking, cycling and using public transport. Those who do rely on private vehicles will switch towards environmentally friendly alternatives as petrol and diesel cars are phased out.

Catherine said: “I think it will seem nonsensical by then to take two tonnes of metal around everywhere you go.

“In Fife, we already have more electric car charging points than petrol stations but we understand there is still a lot to do.

“There is also potential for dry ports for freight deliveries, so all the orders from one company can be delivered to one place, then more eco-friendly modes of transport can be used to keep the lorries off the road.

“Suggestions so far have included ebikes, cargo bikes, smaller vans and even drones delivering parcels.”

Pressure will be on housebuilders to make developments fit for the future.

While proper insulation, energyefficient bulbs and airtight windows and doors are important, moving to bigger solutions like district heating schemes – a move away from each house having a boiler – is likely.

Catherine said: “There need to be massive changes in the home, I think that will be the biggest challenge.

“We will need to fit equipment and take measures to make homes more environmentally friendly.

“We have around 160,000 homes in Fife so as a society we need to retrofit homes to become more resilient, and cut their carbon emissions at a rate of 7,000 to 10,000 homes each year to get it done in time.

“By 2032 we won’t be allowed to connect new houses to the gas network and eventually the network will be re-purposed.”

With climate change causing temperatures to rise, some properties may also need to be fitted with cooling systems.

“In the next few decades we are going to have more extreme weather more regularly and warmer temperatures.

“People think that is a good thing, but it can be very dangerous for vulnerable and older people, who can die from heat stress.”

With the hot weather will come droughts, and Catherine said householders will have to play their part to save water.

She said: “The onus is on householders because at the moment we waste 40% of the water that comes into the home.

“We can collect rainwater and reuse it for things like flushing the toilet. “It would involve retrofitting, but other parts of the world think we’re crazy for flushing our toilets with drinking water.”

Although there is no immediate risk of St Andrews and coastal Angus disappearing under water, there is work being done to address rising sea levels, which may include losing farmland.

“Sea levels are going to continue to rise and we can’t stop that because the damage is done.

“They will continue to rise for centuries after we stop using fossil fuels.

“What we can do now is cut carbon emissions to minimise global warming, and work out how best to protect coastal communities from rising seas and storm surges.

“We would need to wall the whole of Fife off from the sea to protect it and unfortunately that’s not practical.

“A lot of our settlements and infrastructure is on the coast so that has to be the priority to protect.

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People never want to admit that we haven’t done enough. CATHERINE PAYNE

Edwards An anti-climate change beach protest was held in St Andrews in September, with hundreds of people forming a line in the sand to look out to sea. Picture: Mhairi