The next item of business is a statement by Aileen McLeod on the publication of the 2013 greenhouse gas inventory. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I note that a number of members are not in their seats.
They are now.
16:26
This is a milestone year for climate change, with a new global treaty to be negotiated in Paris in December. Those negotiations will seek a legally binding and universal agreement on climate change. That treaty must form the foundation for a truly effective international response to climate change that will limit global temperature rise to no more than 2°C, and protect the poorest and most vulnerable people from the worst extremes of climate change.
Scotland has world-leading ambition on climate change and we are calling on other countries to match that ambition. In that context, I want to update the Parliament on the publication this morning of the latest statistics on Scottish greenhouse gas emissions and the progress that is being made. The statistics show that Scotland’s source emissions—that is, greenhouse gas emissions from sources in Scotland—in 2013 were 34.3 per cent lower than the 1990 baseline: a third lower. On the wider emissions measure recorded in the net Scottish emissions account, which takes account of EU emissions trading, the 2013 level was 38.4 per cent lower than the 1990 baseline.
Those data demonstrate that Scotland is now more than three-quarters of the way to our target reduction of 42 per cent by 2020. Let me underline that point. Scotland is on track to meet our 42 per cent target by 2020. The figures demonstrate that Scotland is making significant progress in making the low-carbon economy a reality.
Scotland, Germany, Denmark, the USA and China all have fast-growing low-carbon sectors. Scotland is at the centre of a new strong story about low carbon driving a renewal of the global economy: it is delivering jobs, growth, regeneration, energy security, the circular economy, climate resilience, social justice and climate justice, and it is tackling poverty.
We know that we have to underpin that ambition with domestic action, so progress against the annual targets that are set in legislation is very important. Changes to the method of calculating emissions have added 10.6 megatonnes to the 1990 baseline from when the fixed targets were set, which has made it harder to meet the fixed targets. Despite that, the net Scottish emissions account in 2013 was 49.7 megatonnes, compared to the target of 47.9 megatonnes: a gap of less than 4 per cent. If it had not been for successive increases to the baseline since the targets were established, Scotland would have met—and exceeded—our target for this year and for the three previous years. We have made very significant progress, but like all other countries, we must continue to lift the pace of our actions year on year.
Achieving our targets is clearly not easy and it is not something that the Government can do on its own: it requires support from right across society. I was very appreciative of the strong cross-party support and the support of the public for action on climate change that was expressed at the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland rally at the Parliament on 27 May. I hope that we can continue to maintain that consensus in the important period ahead.
Last year, we announced new actions that the Government would take, and those are being delivered. The Cabinet sub-committee on climate change is co-ordinating our response at the highest level of Government, and the ambition of the sub-committee and of the Cabinet overall on the agenda is resolute.
I am very pleased that ministers collectively are determined that we place appropriate priority on climate change, and that the Cabinet has agreed to embed climate change in this autumn’s budget process. I am also pleased to announce further action across Government that will reduce our emissions.
Scotland’s homes account for a quarter of our emissions; energy efficiency is key to meeting our targets, and we are making good progress. Since 2008, nearly one in three households has installed energy efficiency measures, and more than a third of Scotland’s homes have a good energy efficiency rating, which is an increase of 56 per cent since 2010.
We have increased investment in domestic energy efficiency from £94 million last year to £119 million this year. Since 2009, we have allocated more than £0.5 billion to fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes.
Heat accounts for approximately half our emissions and for more than 55 per cent of our energy demand. We spend £2.6 billion annually on heating and cooling our homes and businesses. This week, we are publishing our heat policy statement, which places energy demand reduction and reducing the need for heat at the top of our hierarchy of actions. It provides a framework for largely decarbonising our heat system by 2050, for diversifying sources of heat, for reducing pressure on energy bills and for seizing economic opportunities.
We will now go further to realise the full potential of carbon saving from energy efficiency and drive down energy costs. Scotland’s new energy efficiency programme will provide an offer of support to all buildings in Scotland—domestic and non-domestic—to improve their energy efficiency. That will be the cornerstone of action to designate energy efficiency as a national infrastructure priority. Further detail will be set out in the infrastructure investment plan later this year.
Our approach to energy is central to the challenge of reducing emissions, and energy efficiency must be at the heart of the approach that we will take to decarbonising our energy system. We will work together with energy experts, businesses and communities to develop a more holistic approach to those issues over the next year, as we prepare for the third report on proposals and policies in 2016.
The Scottish Government has consistently sought opportunities to provide additional investment in sustainable and active travel, and I have agreed with the Deputy First Minister that we will carry that commitment into the next Parliament. As part of that, we will launch a second future transport fund.
We will review the programmes to ensure they are effectively targeted to reduce transport emissions, improve air quality and promote active lifestyles. That will include exploring how we might support the concept of exemplar travel settlements and how we might refocus and enhance our support for low-carbon buses, including scrapping the oldest most polluting vehicles from the bus fleet. We will set out further detail in the budget this autumn.
The school run is a significant cause of congestion and localised air pollution, and it contributes to inactive lifestyles. We will investigate school transport choices and what influences them, map existing activity, assess what is most cost effective, and advise where efforts would best be concentrated. That will lead to a relaunch of an integrated policy on tackling the school run.
We will start work with a local authority to develop a low-emissions zone, and we will discuss with local authorities where a pathfinder would most usefully be undertaken. Initially we will support transport modelling to understand the pressures on air quality and emissions. That will allow the development of a low-emissions zone in respect of how the zone operates and how travel needs can be supported.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. We will build on successful pilot projects to roll out the retrofit of landfill gas capture at older sites. A further £500,000 will be invested this year to tackle the legacy of waste-management practices.
We have an ambition that every household will have access to food-waste collection. To accelerate the action that is under way across Scotland to divert food waste from landfill, we will provide an additional £5 million over two years to help local authorities that have yet to roll out food-waste collections
We will shortly publish work on the carbon impacts of a more circular economy, which will be one of the first attempts anywhere in the world to quantify those benefits. If we get smarter about how we manage materials, the carbon savings could be significant.
The importance of peatland has been recognised in two recent debates. Last year, 5,580 hectares were restored through the Scottish National Heritage led peatland action initiative. Funding of £10 million is available through the Scottish rural development programme. I am pleased to announce that there will be a further £3 million to support peatland restoration this year. The Scottish Government and SNH will shortly publish our peatland plan, which is a strategic approach to managing, protecting and—where it is required—restoring Scotland’s peatland.
We have previously announced measures to tackle agricultural emissions from permanent pasture through the common agricultural policy greening. We will go further than that, and will introduce a requirement for compulsory soil testing on all improved land. In addition, we will work with stakeholders to take increased action on livestock health and production diseases in order to reduce the intensity of emissions from the sector.
Last October, we started work on the next report on proposals and policies—RPP3. We are developing a new model that will help us better to understand the opportunities and challenges that we face. Reducing emissions can be based only on action by us all, and not just by the Government, if we are to achieve our ambitions. Therefore, I am clear that we will engage widely within Scotland, with the UK Government and with the EU as we develop RPP3 over the coming months.
We are making good progress but, of course, more must be done. In this milestone year for our environment, Scotland is acting locally and can help to show the way globally. We are calling on other countries to match Scotland’s ambition to boost the global economy through low carbon and to protect poor and vulnerable people here and abroad from climate change’s worst impacts.
I welcome the advance copy of the minister’s statement. I note that the timing change has enabled Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee members to return from Parliament day in Orkney to hear the statement, although I highlight that I heard the headline announcement from the press in advance of the statement.
Will the minister confirm that the Scottish National Party Government has missed its fourth annual target in a row? Given that the revised 1990 baseline reveals that there was a higher level of dangerous climate emissions, will she confirm that she has no intention of watering down the targets, which would send a dreadful message ahead of the Paris talks? Does the minister understand our disappointment at the lack of new proposals and the lack of details on new funding for the transformation that we need urgently in our building stock, given the level of fuel poverty that a third of our households live with day to day? Does she understand our disappointment that there has been an increase in business and industrial processes’ emissions? Will she accept that the challenge is not about whether there is consensus in this chamber for radical action, but in what the Scottish Government will do in its budget and its RPP to deliver the radical transformation that Scotland needs in order to meet our targets?
We have put in place a comprehensive package of policies and measures to meet our emissions reduction targets. I have just set out in my statement exactly what further action we are prepared to take to ensure that we meet our targets.
It is also fair to point out that I am, to be honest, disappointed about missing our fourth annual target. However, it is important to record what we have achieved in respect of the long-term target.
We are more than three quarters of the way towards achieving the 42 per cent emissions reduction target, as I set out in my statement. That amazing progress has been made by this Government, the Parliament, and by people, businesses and industries right across Scotland. We have a challenge in facing our annual emissions targets simply because the data on which our targets are based have improved—successive changes have been made to the data on which our targets are established. Things have moved on and we are making substantial progress towards achieving our 42 per cent target. This afternoon we have set out the further action that we are prepared to take. I think that is extremely substantial, especially since energy efficiency has now been designated as a national infrastructure priority.
I thank the minister for early sight of the statement, but I share the disappointment and concern that for four years running the Scottish Government has failed to meet its targets. The cumulative impact of that means that we will all have to work even harder as we go forward. We support the extra measures on making all homes more energy efficient and boosting insulation, which we have asked for continually. Will the minister indicate what the extra spending commitment is in today’s new energy efficiency programme? How will the Government ensure that the new measures reach the homes of groups that are difficult to reach, such as very elderly and severely disabled people who might need help in accessing the schemes? On food waste, how will the Government support the most rural and island local authorities where a food-waste collection system is more difficult due to dispersed settlements and smaller chances of economies of scale?
The cornerstone of our national infrastructure priority is Scotland’s energy efficiency programme, and we have said that we will develop that over the next two to three years in conjunction with stakeholders. For the first time, it will bring together action on the domestic and non-domestic sectors. That new programme has the potential to transform the energy efficiency of Scotland’s housing stock and it will provide an offer of support to all buildings in Scotland, to help them to achieve a good energy efficiency rating over more than 15 to 20 years.
New powers, through the Scotland Bill, that are due to be devolved to this Parliament will determine how supplier obligations on energy efficiency and fuel poverty operate, which will give us the scope to tailor our new programme to Scotland’s unique circumstances. For example, it will help to ensure that we effectively target support to remote, rural and island communities that have not been adequately served by the UK’s existing energy company obligation. Equally, that will give us scope to design programmes to address the unique nature of Scotland’s built environment. For example, a lot of the hard-to-heat housing that we find in many of our rural areas has solid walls or is within historic conservation areas. We have said that we will work with stakeholders over the next two to three years to develop and design that programme, and we will set out further information in due course.
I advise members that 13 people wish to ask questions of the minister and there is less than 15 minutes to allow that to happen. Will members keep their contributions to one brief question? I would also be grateful for brevity from the minister.
I welcome this positive programme. Will the minister confirm that the high percentage reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2012-13 is not just methodological? What specific actions has the Scottish Government taken to achieve such a high percentage reduction?
It is clear that the introduction of a tighter EU emissions trading-scheme cap is a result of the introduction of phase 3 of the emissions trading scheme. That had a significant impact on emissions, which was reflected in the RPP.
What is important, and what we are focused on, is delivering the sustainable long-term emissions reductions that are required by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. We expect emissions to continue to decline as a result of the policies that have been put in place by the Scottish Government. Progress towards Scotland’s climate change targets is measured against the net Scottish emissions account. That incorporates greenhouse gas emissions from sources in Scotland, as well as our share of emissions from international aviation and international shipping. It takes into account the use of emissions allowances by Scottish industries and by airlines participating in the EU emissions trading system. When the 2013 emissions are adjusted to take account of that, the net Scottish emissions account shows a decrease of 14 per cent between 2012 and 2013.
With emissions from agriculture still accounting for 23.4 per cent of total emissions, with a cut of only 1.1 per cent, is the minister confident that the right range of measures is in place to reduce emissions from that sector?
Although I recognise the demonstration value of the climate change focus farms, I point out that there are only eight of them. Does the minister agree that the time may now have come for a simple mandatory carbon reporting process for all farms to be consulted on?
Carbon audits are built into the Scotland rural development programme. Following the success of farming for a better climate, additional funding of £100,000 was allocated in 2014-15 to increase the number of focus farms from four to eight, so as to allow greater coverage and to enable more farmers to attend demonstration events.
The agriculture and climate change stakeholder group is further strengthening industry initiatives to promote the uptake of emission reduction measures.
Supported by the green bus fund, Stagecoach East Scotland has just introduced 18 new hybrid buses on the Arbroath to Dundee route in my constituency, and it has plans to replace the fleet serving the inland Kirriemuir to Dundee service next year. I absolutely welcome the commitment that the minister has given to enhancing existing support for low-carbon buses in the next session. How will the Government actively encourage increased participation in the scheme? Does the minister believe that sufficient funding will be available to meet anticipated demand?
Since its launch in 2010, five rounds of the Scottish green bus fund have provided £13 million to support the introduction of 269 new low-carbon vehicles, mostly hybrids, into the Scottish bus fleet. The fund is complemented by the bus service operators grant, which currently pays double the standard rate of grant for services that are operated by low-carbon vehicles. We are reviewing future options for supporting green buses in the light of technological and market developments and the increasing importance of air quality in order to maximise value for money and impact.
I am disappointed that the minister chose to release the figures to the press rather than to the Parliament—but no matter.
In the past three years, not one single building on the Scottish Government’s 79 building estate has had an improvement on its energy performance certificate. Indeed, only two buildings have renewable energy sources. How will the minister’s department rectify that and set an ethical example for renewables in our public sector?
I did not quite catch all of what Mr Hume said, but I put it on record that the statistics that were published online this morning are official statistics—they are independent of the Government.
Regarding what I think Mr Hume was asking me, on the cornerstone of the national infrastructure priority that I set out earlier and Scotland’s energy efficiency programme, I have said that the programme has the potential to transform the energy efficiency of Scotland’s housing stock. It will provide an offer of support to all buildings in Scotland, so as to help them achieve a good energy efficiency rating over the 15 to 20-year period. That programme will provide support to overcome the up-front costs of installing energy efficiency measures. As I said earlier, we will work with stakeholders over the next two to three years to develop and design that programme, and we will be setting out further detailed information in due course.
It is clearly disappointing that the annual target has been missed, but how does Scotland compare with the rest of Europe at present?
On progress against the emission targets, we use slightly different definitions for Scotland and the UK. For direct comparisons with the UK, it is advisable to use the source emissions including international aviation and shipping. On that basis, Scotland’s emissions decreased by 3.6 per cent between 2012 and 2013, compared with a 2.3 per cent decrease for the UK as a whole. Between 1990 and 2013, there was a 34.3 per cent reduction in emissions in Scotland, compared with a 27.4 per cent reduction for the UK as a whole.
As far as Mr Campbell’s question about the EU data is concerned, unfortunately we do not have comparative data for other EU countries, because the European Environment Agency has not yet released the comparable figures. We look forward to receiving those figures, because between 1990 and 2012 the EU average for emissions reductions was 18.5 per cent, whereas the figure for Scotland was 29.9 per cent. Therefore, we are outperforming not only the UK but the EU average.
I am sorry that I missed the very beginning of the minister’s statement, but I heard her promise to make an offer of support to all buildings in Scotland on energy efficiency. She then talked about consulting on that over the next two to three years—
Yes, but can we get a question?
How much new money does the Scottish Government intend to invest in that objective over the next 12 months, given that it does not want to miss the targets again in 2016?
The new programme will include multiyear funding that will give our delivery partners the certainty that they need to deliver the ambitious energy efficiency projects. As I said earlier, the detail of the programme still needs to be developed, and we will work with stakeholders over the next couple of years before we launch the new programme.
I welcome the stats that show that Scotland’s source emissions are more than a third lower than the 1990 baseline. To help improve on that, what is the minister doing to support economically challenged communities and households in Scotland to tackle emissions and fuel poverty and, in the process, have a better quality of life?
Since 2009, we have allocated more than £0.5 million to a raft of fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes, and nearly one in three of our households—more than 700,000 of them—has now received energy efficiency support. Tackling fuel poverty remains a priority for this Government. This year, we are spending unprecedented amounts on fuel poverty and energy efficiency—the budget for 2015-16 is a record £119 million.
HEEPS—the home energy efficiency programmes for Scotland—are supporting those who are most in need. For example, £48 million of the £65 million that is available for the HEEPS area-based schemes in the current year is allocated on the basis of need, which takes into account levels of fuel poverty and reflects the different types of properties in rural areas. Our spending on domestic energy efficiency has already made hundreds of thousands of homes warmer and cheaper to heat and, as the Scottish house condition survey shows, it has helped to mitigate the rise in fuel poverty.
It is to be hoped that the reannouncement of the national infrastructure priority for energy efficiency, which John Swinney first agreed to more than six months ago after pressure from Alison Johnstone, will lead to some good work of the kind that Greens have been calling for for more than a dozen years, but is not that the story of this whole scenario? We are seeing—
Question, Mr Harvie.
I am asking a question.
Get to it, then.
It is only after four targets have failed to be met that action is beginning to be taken and we are seeing a few pilot exercises on transport when we already know what has to be done.
The story is actually the fact that Scotland has reduced its emissions by 38.4 per cent. We are making significant progress on our long-term target—we are more than three quarters of the way to achieving the target of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent by 2020—and I think that we should celebrate the amazing progress that has been made by not just the Parliament and the Government but the people of Scotland.
Does the minister share my view that decarbonising freight transport will help the Scottish Government to meet future climate change targets? We need to get more freight off road and on to sea and rail. Does the minister agree?
Yes, I do. The Scottish Government is committed to rail electrification and recognises the key benefits that it brings in the shape of improved journey times and connectivity, environmental benefits and reduced industry costs, particularly on the intercity network, including the north of Perth to Inverness and central belt to Aberdeen routes.
How do we make this personal for each citizen in Scotland? The minister mentioned the people of Scotland several times in her statement but, in the end, it is only the people of Scotland who will take the steps on transport and heating that will make the difference. Tremendous progress has been made. How do make this a personal priority for every person in the country?
I thank Mr Russell for that question because we know that governmental action alone cannot meet the ambitious targets that have been agreed by this Parliament. We therefore continue to work with a range of audiences to put in place the information and resources that will enable change to take place. We are working with and supporting a wide range of partners to drive forward a coherent package of interventions to deliver the shift that we need to see in our low-carbon behaviours, which includes our greener together engagement with the general public, working with established networks such as eco-schools, Young Scot, eco-congregations, Scotland’s 2020 climate group and the sustainable Scotland network, and the climate challenge fund.
Does the minister believe that anyone should be surprised when she tells us today that only now will she be working with energy experts, businesses and communities on housing emissions in preparation for the third report on proposals and policies? Her Government will fail to meet its legally binding commitment to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016. Does she accept that that is far too little much too late?
Work is already under way in terms of how we deal with fuel poverty. Since 2009, over £0.5 billion has been spent by this Government on addressing fuel poverty and our energy efficiency measures. Of course there is always more for us to do, but we are making significant process in how we deal with our fuel poverty.
After four failures on targets, will the Scottish Government now go ahead with the deposit refund scheme and lead by example rather than wait to do anything with the rest of the UK?
We are considering that scheme in relation to the Zero Waste Scotland study.
The minister’s statement mentioned the role that agriculture has to play in reducing carbon emissions, and spoke of the intensity of the emissions from the agricultural sector. However, how can any reductions in those emissions be measured when no baseline has ever been set?
Minister, your answer can be a bit longer. You have until 4.58.
We are measuring nitrogen oxide in terms of our agricultural emissions.
Thank you. We will now move swiftly on to the next item of business.