3. Energy Efficiency
- Improving energy efficiency is widely recognised as the easiest and most cost-effective means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and needs to be pursued in parallel with measures to increase renewable energy use. This will have benefits in terms of job creation in products and services.
- We fund the work of the Energy Saving Trust and its network of centres and the Carbon Trust in Scotland to offer advice and support to the domestic, business and public sector on how to improve their energy efficiency.
- The Scottish Government is using building standards and the planning system to help achieve low carbon buildings.
- We are developing and implementing a CERT Strategy 5 for Scotland in partnership with the energy supply companies, the Energy Saving Trust and Ofgem.
- We will continue to work with the UK Government to consider what additional energy efficiency measures could be adopted across the UK to cost effectively reduce carbon emissions.
- We are committed to continually reviewing, improving, simplifying and streamlining programme delivery to ensure that support is effectively targeted.
- We will set out in 2008 our Energy Efficiency and Micro-generation Action Plan, outlining the actions we are taking and plan to take across Government.
- We are considering the recommendations of the Fuel Poverty Forum on redesigning our fuel poverty programmes, to ensure they provide maximum help to those struggling with high fuel bills
3.1. Developing renewables is only one part of our overall approach to developing sustainable energy production and use in Scotland. Demand for energy continues to grow. Under current patterns of production, this leads to increased carbon emissions and tends to drive higher energy prices. Improving energy efficiency is widely recognised as the easiest and most cost-effective means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and needs to be pursued in parallel with measures to increase renewable energy use.
3.2. The financial benefits of investing in energy efficiency are clear: - industry and society can achieve more with less energy, public services are delivered at lower cost, and fuel poverty is reduced. Better insulated buildings and more energy efficient workplaces cut energy bills for householders and businesses. Energy efficiency can also be achieved through better practice in our use of energy (switching lights off, less use of standby). Reducing demand in these ways also puts less pressure on energy supplies.
3.3. The Stern Review states that:
Studies by the International Energy Agency show that, by 2050, energy efficiency has the potential to be the biggest single source of emissions savings in the energy sector. This would have both environmental and economic benefits: energy-efficiency measures cut waste and often save money.6
Stern goes on to suggest that reductions in global CO 2 emissions due to greater energy efficiency could be between 31% and 53% of the total reductions achievable by 2050.
3.4. However it is not always clear that individuals and organisations fully realise the benefits that can be achieved through simple energy efficiency measures. There are still barriers to be overcome: making use of and acting on clear and trusted information, disruption if works are taking place, and the initial financial investment - although most energy efficiency measures save money in a relatively short time. A key element of our approach is to increase the quality of information available to people and businesses to allow them to reach better informed decisions about ways to manage more effectively their energy use.
3.5. The Scottish Government has devolved responsibilities for the promotion of energy efficiency and takes on the challenging role of changing behaviour through raising awareness and providing advice and financial incentives to improve energy efficiency across the public, business and domestic sectors. The Scottish Government funds:
- support provided by the Carbon Trust and the Energy Saving Trust;
- a new network of energy savings advice centres in Scotland
- an interest-free loan scheme for SMEs;
- an energy efficiency fund for the public sector;
- fuel poverty programmes.
The Scottish Government also supports Envirowise, which provides advice to business and the public sector on waste prevention, the efficient use of water and reducing unnecessary use of raw materials. Much of Envirowise's work ( e.g. reducing the unnecessary use of raw materials) will also have energy efficiency benefits. The Scottish Government is considering whether changes could be made to the resource efficiency programmes it supports, to provide a more joined-up service to the consumer.
3.6. The Scottish Government is also using building standards and the planning system to help achieve low carbon buildings. The Sullivan report recommends staged increases in energy standards for new buildings to substantially reduce emissions, with a route-map to the goal of zero carbon buildings. The impact of the recommendations are currently being investigated and it is intended that proposals for changes to the energy standards will be issued to consultation early next year, with a view to changes being introduced in 2010. Work to prevent waste and increase recycling also has energy efficiency benefits. For example, it often takes less energy to make new products from recycled materials than from virgin materials. The Scottish Government also plans to consult on further measures to reduce energy use and emissions from existing housing to enable us to build on the impact of current energy efficiency and fuel poverty programmes and to contribute to our emission reduction objectives. Further improvements to housing energy efficiency are central to this and, going forward, the use of renewable energy sources alongside a more energy efficient housing stock, will become increasingly important.
3.7. Some regulatory powers associated with energy efficiency are the responsibility of Westminster, for example, the obligation on energy suppliers to support energy efficiency measures by their customers through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target ( CERT). The Scottish Government is concerned that Scotland may not be benefitting fully from CERT and we want to ensure a more strategic and integrated approach to maximising the impact of CERT in Scotland. We are therefore developing and implementing a CERT Strategy for Scotland in partnership with the energy supply companies, the Energy Saving Trust and Ofgem. During 2008, regulation-making functions were transferred from the UK Government to Scottish Ministers which will enable Scotland to implement fully European Community obligations concerning energy efficiency at industrial plants.
3.8. We will continue to work with the UK Government in such areas and encourage them to consider what additional energy efficiency measures could be adopted across the UK to cost effectively reduce carbon emissions. For example, an accelerated roll out of advanced displays and metering technologies, and more accurate billing in homes, could help to raise public awareness of what activities use the most energy and what changes in behaviour produce the greatest reduction in energy consumption.
3.9 The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum was reconvened in May to advise Ministers on the best way to take forward fuel poverty programmes in future. They will report to Ministers shortly, and ministers will consider and implement their recommendations as soon as possible. Energy companies have agreed to work with the Government on providing a package of insulation measures, funded under CERT, to fuel poor households, and we anticipate that this may form part of any future fuel poverty programme.
3.10 Going forward we want to ensure that we have the right incentives in place to encourage energy efficiency and micro-generation - we are committed to continually reviewing, improving, simplifying and streamlining programme delivery to ensure that support is effectively targeted.
3.11. We also want to ensure that we create the right conditions to support the developing low carbon technology industry so as to build consumer confidence and transform the market from early adopters into widespread take-up. The newly established Scottish Construction Industry Low Carbon Steering Group brings together a range of partners including the building trades, academic researchers, enterprise networks, skills and training organisations, architects and Government. Its main focus is to identify the action needed by Government and others to take advantage of our strengths and drive a flourishing low carbon buildings industry in Scotland.
3.12. The Scottish Government will set out how it is translating key objectives into action through an Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Action Plan. This will take into account responses to the previous administrations' consultation on a draft Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Strategy which ran during 2007. An analysis of the responses to this consultation, and a separate Scottish Government response to the issues raised during this consultation, were published in June 2008. Action will also reflect the results of the independent review of energy efficiency and micro-generation support in Scotland undertaken by Halcrow and published in June 2008, and the consultation on the Scottish Climate Change Bill which seeks views on further incentives to encourage energy efficiency.
3.13. We also need to change the way we treat waste heat, making sure it can be treated as a resource and used efficiently whenever possible Whether it be from power stations or computer/office air conditioning or process plant we should always try to capture, store and reuse it where economic to do so. The Scottish Government is preparing guidance separately for thermal applications for s36 consents for electricity generation, and this will include guidance on heat matters.
Sustainable Transport
3.14. In the transport sector, we are encouraging energy efficiency by working with UK Government on economic measures, such as the introduction of new bandings of Vehicle Excise that will reward vehicles with low emissions and set new higher bands for the worst polluting cars. Regulatory measures include a mandatory European approach to new car CO2 emission standards, where a target of 130gmCO 2/km is currently being negotiated for 2012. In developing a longer term target for emissions reduction, the UK have called for a longer-term target of 100g/km by 2020.
3.15. To encourage behavioural change in the transport sector, Scottish Government support for bus services is considerable, amounting to some £280 million per year. This substantial investment is intended to help the industry drive down fare costs, encourage more routes and enable more older and disabled people to use these important services. This complements communication programmes to promote more efficient and environmentally aware driving being developed by the Energy Saving Trust. The Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving campaign encourages efficient operating practices in the haulage industry, which helps reduce fuel consumption. The continued support and promotion of Traveline Scotland is further supported by development of new guidance and resources for Travel Planning via www.chooseanotherway.com, which provides advice to organisation to encourage staff and visitors to use more active and sustainable modes of travel on the commute to work as well as business travel.
3.16. The Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme supports demonstration projects in towns and cities to illustrate what can be achieved through a concentrated programme of walking and cycling infrastructure improvement alongside measures such as travel plans for workplaces, schools and individuals, personal travel marketing and promotion of active travel and public transport.
3.17. A Cycling Action Plan for Scotland ( CAPS) will be developed in 2008-09 through consultation event with the people of Scotland and stakeholders, with the goal of getting more people to cycle more often. This grass routes approach to cycling policy development will help to shape an action plan that will be meaningful to everyone. It will be helpful to local authorities in developing their single outcome agreements and local transport strategies, and also to central government in shaping policy around the Government's Economic Strategy and the National Performance Framework.
Conclusion
3.18. Our commitment to develop renewable energy is part of our overall commitment to a more sustainable use of energy, of which energy efficiency as well as sustainable transport form part. We are taking forward proposals in these areas through a number of different initiatives and will seek to ensure that our policies across these separate but related areas work in the same direction towards shared goals. We will consider the forthcoming report of the Fuel Poverty Forum on redesigning our fuel poverty programmes, to ensure they provide maximum help to those struggling with high fuel bills