The housing chief of the Scottish Government says that all homes in that country - irrespective of tenure - must hit an EPC rating of at least C by 2033.
Patrick Harvie - who is a member of the Green Party and serves as Scotland’s Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights - made the statement to a conference of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Scvotland last week.
The Scottish National Party and the Greens have an informal working relationship in the Scottish Parliament, with the Greens leading on some issues including housing. In his new role, Harvie has been a leading advocate of rent controls.
He told RICS: “Our homes and workplaces account for around a fifth of Scotland’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Our statutory target for 2030 means that we need to reduce emissions from heating buildings by 68% below their level in 2020.
“This is a monumental but essential task. Our building stock is relatively old, and wasn’t always built to high energy standards. This legacy of poor energy efficiency has contributed to emissions and fuel poverty, so we need to start drastically improving that standard.
“By 2030, we want to see a large majority of homes achieving a level of energy efficiency at least equivalent to an EPC C – with all homes meeting that standard by 2033, where feasible and cost effective. This will reduce emissions from our buildings, but it will also help make our energy more affordable, by removing poor energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty.”
Harvie, who is the Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Glasgow region, also wants homes in Scotland to switch to zero direct emissions heating.
“Meeting our 2030 target means that we need over a million homes and the equivalent of 50,000 non-domestic buildings to switch from fossil fuels. This is a huge transition, affecting communities, businesses and homes across Scotland.
“Getting there will need a much faster installation rate for these zero direct emissions heating systems. In recent years that rate has been around 3,000 homes annually, but we need to reach around 200,000 each year in the latter part of this decade.”
He added: “We know there will be more issues to resolve and we intend to tackle these collaboratively, drawing on the best knowledge and ideas from across society.
“The climate emergency is already here. But if we adopt many of the actions and ideas being discussed at this week-long Green Home Festival, they will stand us in good stead to mitigate its worst consequences.”
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