Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Official Report 823KB pdf

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Annual Target Report)

The next item of business is a statement by Paul Wheelhouse, the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, on the Scottish greenhouse gas emissions annual target report. The minister will take questions at the end of his statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions. [Interruption.]

Members who are leaving the chamber should do so as quietly as possible and let us get on with this item of business. Mr Wheelhouse—you have about 10 minutes for your statement.

14:56

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

I announce to colleagues across the chamber that the first Scottish greenhouse gas emissions annual target report for the year 2010 has been published today, under section 33 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. As members will be aware, Scottish emissions in 2010 exceeded the level that was required by the annual target that was set under the 2009 act. Many people will remember that 2010 was a challenging year for all sorts of reasons—not least the two exceptional cold snaps, which were a major factor but were not the only reason why emissions rose in 2010. The report today sets out clearly what influenced emissions in that year.

Progress towards Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets is measured against the level of the net Scottish emissions account, which incorporates the following: greenhouse gas emissions from Scotland, including international aviation and international shipping; emissions removals through carbon sinks such as forestry; and accounts for emissions allowances by Scottish industries in the European Union emission trading system.

The net Scottish emissions account for 2010 is calculated as being 54.7 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The Scottish target for 2010 was 53.6 megatonnes, which means that the target was missed by 1.1 megatonnes. Naturally, I and all members of the Scottish Government are disappointed that Scotland has missed its first climate change target. The 2010 increase in greenhouse gas emissions was the first year-on-year increase that has been experienced in Scotland since 2006, so we should not lose sight of what has been achieved to date.

I, this Parliament and Scotland’s people should be heartened that Scotland’s emissions have fallen by 24.3 per cent since 1990. Looking forward, the long-term trend shows that emissions in Scotland will continue to reduce. Provisional figures from the United Kingdom Department for Energy and Climate Change suggest that domestic gas consumption in the UK as a whole decreased by 25 per cent between 2010 and 2011, and I expect that that will be reflected in Scotland’s 2011 emissions data.

It is the trajectory that is critical, so I am confident that we remain on track to deliver the 42 per cent target by 2020, and to deliver our long-term target of 80 per cent reductions by 2050. Parliament will appreciate that we must all take the action that is necessary to achieve that end.

Our world-leading climate change targets are an inspiration to many. When it voted unanimously to pass the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, the Scottish Parliament acknowledged that meeting such ambitious targets would be challenging. Year-to-year fluctuations in factors that are beyond our control are inevitable. As I have said, the trend remains strongly downward, which is key. I can assure members that the Scottish ministers remain fully committed to delivering Scotland’s ambitious and world-leading greenhouse gas emission targets, despite the budget constraints and challenging financial environment in which we are all operating.

In January, the UK Committee on Climate Change acknowledged that Scotland has made good progress on reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, including action on energy efficiency in buildings, use of more efficient vehicles, and promoting schemes for farmers. I visited last week Upper Nisbet climate change focus farm, near Jedburgh, to see a mixed farm that is adapting its approach.

My ministerial colleagues and I have a collective responsibility to take action and are working together to develop a low-carbon economy to ensure Scotland’s prosperous future. To help to build on the fantastic work that was undertaken by my predecessor, Stewart Stevenson, in tackling climate change, I am holding a series of bilaterals with colleagues to identify where we can achieve more. Achieving the transition to a low-carbon economy is crucial to this Government, which is why it is identified as a strategic priority in our economic strategy and why the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth announced a green stimulus package.

Today’s report identifies the key factors that influenced Scottish greenhouse gas emissions in 2010, and there are a number of things to consider. As I stated earlier, prolonged extremely cold weather at the start and end of 2010 had a major impact on emissions. It is worth recalling that the average temperature for the six months covering January to March and October to December 2010 was the coldest in almost a century—in fact, since 1919. As a consequence, domestic heating emissions rose and the consumption of heating fuels increased as people heated their homes to keep warm and safe. The figures show how greenhouse gas emissions in the residential sector increased by 15 per cent, which equates to more than 1.1 megatonnes of emissions.

There are also significant underlying data changes to consider. Historical emissions data have been significantly revised upwards due to new data being made available, and to changes in the methodology. As a result, the latest revision to industrial-process data increased Scottish emissions by a further 1 megatonne in 2010.

The 2010 weather was exceptional, but there may well be other cold years to come, so this early experience highlights the need not just to plan to meet the targets, but to build in contingency where we can. One part of that will be improvement of the energy efficiency of our buildings, which is why the national retrofit programme is at the heart of the sustainable housing strategy for Scotland, which the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment launched earlier this year, in June.

We agree with the UK Committee on Climate Change’s recommendation that it will be necessary to accelerate the pace of emissions reductions in order to meet longer-term targets. Implementation of policies and measures across all sectors of the economy will be necessary to ensure that emissions continue to fall at the right pace. It is important to stress that the Scottish Government already has a comprehensive package of policies and measures in place to deliver emissions reductions. Policies such as the green deal, the climate challenge fund and Scotland’s zero waste programme, along with European Union-wide policies such as new car CO2 emission standards, will help to drive down emissions in Scotland.

We are also continuing to invest in low-carbon initiatives that will help to create multiple benefits, including emissions reductions, for the people of Scotland. The Scottish Government has invested almost £300 million in domestic energy efficiency and fuel poverty programmes between 2007-08 and 2011-12, with a further £250 million planned investment over the next three years. On transport, the Scottish Government has since 2007 invested £93 million in active travel, £8 million in low carbon vehicles, £8.8 million in green buses and more than £9 million in freight facilities. A further £26.25 million will be invested in cycling over the next three years and the future transport fund will support the transition to low-carbon travel and freight.

Since 2008, the Scottish Government’s climate challenge fund has made 542 awards to 394 Scottish communities to support low-carbon action at local level. By 2015, the fund will have awarded an incredible £68.6 million to community-led projects.

The Scottish Government is also ahead of schedule on its renewables targets, with 35 per cent of Scotland’s electricity needs coming from renewables in 2011, which beat our interim target of 31 per cent. Scottish Renewables claims that that activity displaces 8.36 megatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Early growth in 2012 suggests that we are moving further towards our target of the equivalent of 100 per cent of Scotland’s electricity demand being met by renewables by 2020. Between April 2011 and July 2012, £2.3 billion-worth of new renewable energy projects were completed in Scotland, creating more than 4,600 jobs.

In forestry, the Scottish Government is reversing the declining woodland planting rate to protect that important carbon sink. Our action helped nearly to double the planting rate to about 5,000 hectares in 2010-11, with a further increase to around 9,000 hectares in 2011-12. We aim to achieve a planting rate of 10,000 hectares per year from 2015, and progress for 2012-13 looks very encouraging indeed. Yesterday, I announced plans to invest £1.7 million in the restoration of Scotland’s peatlands as part of the Scottish Government’s green stimulus.

I am confident that a low-carbon economy will bring significant economic benefits and opportunities for our communities, businesses and industry while helping to protect our environment and wildlife from the effects of climate change. That is a high priority for the Government. A low-carbon economy will make much more effective use of our resources while reducing the amount of energy that people use in their homes and in schools, workplaces and public buildings. A low-carbon economy will improve air quality in our public places by reducing traffic pollution, and it will benefit our biodiversity as a result of measures ranging from peatland restoration and tree planting through to increasingly sustainable land use. A low-carbon Scotland will be a better Scotland.

Later this year, we plan to present to Parliament our second report on proposals and policies, which will look forward to our targets for the years 2023-27 and will refresh the actions that were identified in our earlier report. Where we can, the Government will deliver more, not just at home but internationally. That is why Scottish ministers are championing climate justice and strengthening support for developing countries through our £3 million climate justice fund.

However, the issue is not just about action by Government; it is important to recognise that the Government can lead directly on only some actions. Scotland also needs partnerships between the public and private sectors and it needs communities to engage and to take action together. All of us, as individuals, need to consider what action we can take to make a difference. That is why we must work together to facilitate opportunities for people—young or old, rural or urban, deprived or affluent—to play their part. I look to the Scottish Parliament to support the Government in achieving that.

The minister will now take questions on the issues that were raised in his statement. I am afraid that we are extremely tight for time. If I am to fit in every member who has indicated that they want to ask a question, we will need succinct questions and answers.

I thank the minister for providing an advance copy of his statement. We all support Scotland’s ambitious climate change targets and we recognise that they are world leading, but surely it is now time to lead by example. There has been a failure to meet the first greenhouse gas emissions annual target. In the statement, the Scottish Government offers every excuse under the sun, including the lack of sun, but the Government must now accept responsibility for the failure of its policy direction. Emissions from the residential and transport sectors were higher in 2010 than they were 20 years ago.

The minister says that there is a “comprehensive package”, but Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, in response to this year’s draft budget, said:

“Today’s Budget makes it clear that the Government is not taking sufficiently seriously the need for urgent action to tackle emissions and meet its legally-binding climate change targets.”

The failure on emissions makes future targets even more challenging, and we are not seeing the step change that is needed to achieve our ambitions. Scotland is set to fail to meet all but one of the annual emissions reductions targets between 2010 and 2022.

In the light of those concerns, what does the minister hope to achieve through the bilateral meetings that he mentioned, and what influence can he assert on the draft budget—particularly in relation to fuel poverty, transport and housing—which, as it stands, does not carry the confidence of the members of the public who will come to lobby us in Parliament on Thursday? It is revealing that not one member of the Cabinet is here for the statement. The minister might have had to make the statement alone, but it is clear that he cannot deliver on the targets alone.

Ms Baker states that the Government is not taking climate change seriously, but perhaps she will reflect on the 2013-14 budget, which includes a number of measures under the heading of “green investment”. Those include, as I have just highlighted, the additional funding for peatland restoration, which was a direct response to issues that were raised by the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee. Our energy assistance package is helping more than 230,000 people on low incomes to reduce their energy bills. About 30,000 insulation measures have been installed under the universal home insulation scheme—UHIS—and 7,000 households have received funding to replace old and inefficient boilers. We have invested £48 million to support householders.

I ask Claire Baker to take into account the extensive areas in which the Government is making commitments and putting in funding in straitened financial times. Last week, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing also announced public sector investment in hospital buildings. Claire Baker does Parliament a disservice by suggesting that the Scottish Government is not taking the issue seriously. We must live within a constrained budget; I hope that she reflects on that.

Will the minister set out more details of what support the Scottish Government is offering businesses to reduce their reliance on energy from fossil-fuel sources? Will he join me in commending the work that is taking place in the Scotch whisky industry—the biggest investor in renewables in Scotland outside the utility sectors—which is confident that, by 2020, 20 per cent of its primary energy will be derived from non-fossil-fuel sources? As the Scottish Government’s failure will make future targets even more difficult to achieve, what will he do to make up the ground that has already been lost?

There are two parts to that question; I will take the second first.

Mr McGrigor suggested that our having missed the 2010 targets will make it more difficult to achieve future ones—I think that he misheard what I said earlier. An adjustment has been made to the statistics that were used for the baseline, but we have also taken into account the impact of the weather in 2010.

As I said in my statement, we will see fluctuations above and below targets as we go along. The key thing on which to focus is the trajectory, and I am confident that we are on trajectory to hit the 42 per cent target and the later target of 80 per cent.

On support for business, I point out that, since 2007, the Scottish Government has invested £19.9 million in supporting business and public sector organisations through the Carbon Trust. To date, that has resulted in 1,271 kilotonnes of CO2 savings and up to £153 million cost savings to those businesses.

The Scotch whisky sector, to which Mr McGrigor referred, is setting a good example in its action to reduce its energy costs. That is good business sense, but it is also good for the environment. I hope that other sectors will pick up that example.

I remind members that, if they wish to ask a question, they need to press their request-to-speak buttons.

As the minister mentioned in the final section of his statement, the Scottish renewables industry is making a significant contribution to reducing carbon emissions as well as to creating jobs and investment throughout Scotland. Can the minister assure me of the Government’s continuing commitment to the industry?

I can indeed. New figures show that electricity generation in Scotland displaced 8.36 million tonnes of carbon dioxide during 2011. The figures, which were published on Monday, are contained in a reply to a parliamentary question at Westminster.

In August 2012, the Department of Energy and Climate Change published figures mapping renewables investment and jobs throughout the United Kingdom. They show that £2.3 billion of new renewables projects were completed in Scotland between April 2011 and July 2012, which created more than 4,600 jobs, as has been mentioned. They also show that Scotland’s renewables sector has a higher level of projected investment—£9.4 billion—than the renewables sector in any other part of the UK.

As I am sure the minister will acknowledge, there are some missed targets in the present report on proposals and policies. How will they be accounted for in the new RPP, which has not yet been announced? Will he commit to including downstream emissions in the carbon assessment tool for future budgets in order to get a realistic picture of emissions across departments and to highlight the sense of collective responsibility to which he referred in his statement in, for instance, transport policy decisions?

I will take on board the points that Claudia Beamish raises on downstream emissions. We are well aware that transport and the domestic sector are areas of the economy on which the Government, stakeholders and members of the public need to take more action. I will work closely with colleagues in transport and housing, through bilaterals, to identify whether there are ways in which we can make a greater impact on climate change gas emissions within a constrained financial environment.

The minister will be aware that in April 2013 new regulations will be introduced that will make it compulsory for businesses that are listed on the London Stock Exchange to provide in their annual reports emissions data for their entire organisations. What discussions has the Scottish Government had regarding compliance, implementation and measurement with such companies that are headquartered in Scotland or which have major subsidiaries here?

As Mr Brodie might be aware, that is a United Kingdom Government requirement under the UK Climate Change Act 2008. The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, announced unexpectedly at the Rio+20 earth summit in Brazil in June that rules on emissions reporting would come into effect from April 2013 for companies that are listed on the stock exchange. My officials are working with UK officials at the DECC, who are leading on implementation of the scheme, to ensure that Scotland’s views are taken into account.

The Scottish Building Federation and many non-governmental organisations such as Scottish Environment LINK have highlighted that the green investment package and the national retrofit programme are not sufficient to reduce carbon emissions from Scotland’s homes. What discussions has Paul Wheelhouse had with the Minister for Housing and Welfare about meeting their target to cut emissions by 42 per cent and ensuring that there is adequate funding for that?

Margaret McDougall raises an important issue. I hope to have detailed discussions with my colleague Margaret Burgess on the housing front. There have already been discussions on issues to do with building regulations and how their implementation impacts on our achievement of climate change targets. I undertake to keep Parliament informed of work in that area.

What discussions is the minister having with the UK Government about climate change plans, given that many of the powers that would help us to make the most of the challenges and opportunities that are associated with climate change remain reserved?

Joan McAlpine raises an important point. We are, however, all partners in the UK Climate Change Act 2008, which is why we are working with the UK Government to encourage other nations across the EU to increase their ambition and to try to achieve a 30 per cent reduction.

The UK act requires five-year emissions budgets, and we are part of that, with all of Scotland’s action on climate change counting towards the additional targets. Scottish climate change ministers, including Stewart Stevenson, have always had regular contact with DECC ministers. I recently spoke to Owen Paterson by telephone and I hope to meet Ed Davey soon.

I thank the minister for advance sight of his statement. Last year, the Scottish Government stated its commitment to integrating climate change more closely into its policy. Almost half of Scotland’s emissions stem from the housing and transport sectors. Will the minister inform Parliament of the nature of the bilateral discussions that he has had with his ministerial colleagues? What necessary policy changes will be effected as a result of those discussions, in order to get the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 back on track?

I cannot reveal any detail of the discussion that I have yet to have with my colleague Keith Brown, but I propose to have such a discussion. There are a number of policy areas in which we are trying to achieve significant change in behaviours, including in relation to residential properties and individuals’ use of transport options.

A key area that we will look at is how we can influence behaviours in the community to encourage modal shift and encourage people to use more low-carbon options in transport. The Government has also announced additional funding for cycling, which I hope Jim Hume welcomes, to stimulate active travel options in Scotland.

The Kyoto protocol requires measurement of emissions from soils and peat from 2013. Can the minister provide Parliament with an estimate of the number of megatonnes of CO2 equivalent that can be reduced annually from peatland re-wetting through investment by various bodies? That would enable emissions from peat to be counted in a more comprehensive picture of greenhouse gas emission figures.

I know of Mr Gibson’s long-standing interest in the issue. I hope that he welcomes the recent announcement of investment in peatlands. There is still a lack of clarity about the absolute level of impact of peatlands and there is on-going research on the subject, so it would be premature for me to state the expected impact for Scotland as a whole. However, we know that 20 per cent of Scotland’s landmass is taken up by peatland, so it clearly has a significant role to play. It is well known that when peatlands are drained, some of the carbon in the peat is lost to the atmosphere in the form of CO2, and that it can be as much as 4 tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year. However, it is too early to comment on the aggregate impact.

I call Neil Findlay. Please be brief, Mr Findlay.

How will cutting the Edinburgh to Glasgow improvement programme at the same time as increasing road building contribute to meeting climate change goals?

Mr Findlay’s point is perhaps too narrow. We have to look at the overall emissions of the economy as a whole. Therefore, if we are investing in roads, for example, we have to find other ways of reducing emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in other sectors of the economy. Each sector of the economy has to take its fair share, in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and transport is no exception.

Very briefly, Marco Biagi will ask a question.

The Climate Change Act 2008 places a duty on all public sector bodies, including those that one might not automatically think of as being part of the effort, such as the national health service. What discussions has the minister had with all public sector bodies and parts of the Government to ensure that action is being taken across all sectors?

We have had a number of discussions with directors and others within the Scottish Government. I certainly accept the point that all parts of Government have to play their part. I point to the example that was announced on Friday last week of significant investment in the NHS to produce greater energy efficiency and reduce its emissions. Across Government, all departments are taking the issue seriously and all ministers are bound by legally binding targets.

Finally, and very briefly, Alison Johnstone will ask a question.

The minister acknowledges that the trajectory is crucial. Does he agree that, given that we have missed the first target by more than 1 million tonnes of CO2, it is essential that we overachieve this year if we are to close the gap and avoid missing future targets? Does he also agree that we should do so by prioritising energy demand reduction, with a minimum standard of energy performance in private housing, and prioritising traffic demand measures, which are glaringly omitted from the current RPP? Can he advise when the updated RPP will be available?

Alison Johnstone asked quite a lot, there. In terms of the last point on when the RPP will be available, we are planning to produce the report by the end of this year. I hope that we can achieve that, but as the member will appreciate, the document will be very complex. We have to get a robust document in place so that we can have the proposals and policies that we need to achieve our long-term targets. I hope that Alison Johnstone appreciates that it is better to get that right and to get the document before Parliament in good order, rather than rush it to meet the deadline.

In terms of the other issues that Alison Johnstone mentioned—

I am afraid that you must be brief, minister.

I apologise. I will perhaps correspond with Ms Johnstone on the issues.

Many thanks. That ends the statement and questions.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. The importance of this statement and the questions and answers on it cannot be overstated. When parliamentary business is planned in the future, could the minister be given more time and could the answers be slightly longer, because it is a complex subject? I realise that there is a lot of business in Parliament, which is a problem, but I ask that business managers look at this, because the subject is highly important.

Thank you. Everyone who wished to ask a question was called, although we were very tight for time. It is for the Parliamentary Bureau to programme the timetable. Your point is now on the record.