Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: Thursday, March 6, 2014
Official Report
831KB pdf
Decision Time
There are three questions to be put as a result of today’s business.
The first question is, that amendment S4M-09239.2, in the name of Iain Gray, which seeks to amend motion S4M-09239, in the name of Fergus Ewing, be agreed to.
Amendment agreed to.
The second question is, that amendment S4M-09239.1, in the name of Liam McArthur, which seeks to amend motion S4M-09239, in the name of Fergus Ewing, be agreed to.
Amendment agreed to.
The third question is, that motion S4M-09239, in the name of Fergus Ewing, as amended, be agreed to.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament notes the publication on 4 March 2014 of the Draft Heat Generation Policy Statement for public consultation; agrees with the statement’s ambition to deliver an affordable low-carbon heating and cooling framework for Scotland through to 2050; recognises that the policy statement establishes a strong foundation for decarbonising the heat system, helping underpin climate change targets, while offering real economic opportunities for business and industry along with affordable warmth for households; recognises the success of projects such as Aberdeen Heat & Power, Shetland Heat Energy & Power, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games Village, Fife Council’s Dunfermline District Heating Network, Ignis Wick and the many small-scale renewable district heating schemes in rural Scotland; encourages all interested parties to respond to the consultation; further recognises that, if Scotland is to meet its climate change targets, it must acknowledge climate justice commitments and should ensure that communities and households that are financially challenged are supported and not left in fuel poverty as heat is decarbonised; understands the necessity of the active involvement of local authorities and all public bodies in the process of decarbonising heating in domestic and non-domestic buildings, and agrees that there must be robust energy efficiency measures to support heat and decarbonisation, along with awareness raising of the ways in which demand reduction can be addressed; believes that reducing energy demand at a domestic level is key to cutting carbon emissions; notes the importance that insulation plays in the heat hierarchy; considers that well-funded energy efficiency and insulation schemes are an important way of encouraging householders to reduce their energy consumption while also saving households money on their energy bills; welcomes the introduction of smart meter technology, which can help households and small businesses to monitor and reduce energy usage; notes that more than 50 million smart meters will be introduced to 30 million homes and smaller non-domestic properties in the UK by 2020, and believes that improving energy efficiency at as local a level as possible can help meet climate change targets while transitioning to a zero-carbon Scotland.
Meeting closed at 17:01.