Keith Baker: The UK government’s plan for achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is at a serious risk of sinking before it’s been fully launched. With the Treasury having rejected a request by MPs to come up with a “clear funding plan”, there’s now every chance that an already bad plan will turn into no plan at all. Things aren’t looking any better in Scotland. On 10 May, Scotland’s minister for zero carbon buildings, Patrick Harvie MSP, called on the UK government to rethink its “woefully inadequate” plans to insulate homes and tackle fuel poverty – central elements of the UK government’s net zero strategy, which would eliminate 20.8% of the UK’s emissions if successful. But in November 2021 – when Harvie was himself questioned on where £33 billion of funding to decarbonise Scottish homes by 2045, as set out in the Scottish government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, would come from – he couldn’t answer the question. And to make matters worse, figures published by the Scottish pro-independence think tank Common Weal suggest the real cost of decarbonising Scottish homes could easily be double that.
The Conversation 24th May 2022 read more »