Meeting climate change targets could cost Scotland £10 billion

Scotland has made good progress in cutting its greenhouse gas emissions, with a fall of more than a quarter since 1990. However, the country has very ambitious targets for further emissions reductions, which could cost about £10-11 billion to achieve.

An Audit Scotland report published today, Reducing Scottish greenhouse gas emissions, looks at the Scottish Government’s plans to reduce emissions by 42 per cent by 2020, compared with 1990. This target is far more ambitious than UK and European Union goals, and the Scottish Government is dependent on action by others to achieve it.

The government’s plans include action to reduce emissions from vehicles, improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings, and increase the rate of tree planting. In some cases, the plans will require changes in the attitudes and behaviour of the public. Others require action by the EU and the UK government, as only around a third of planned reductions come from policies solely under the Scottish Government’s control.

Auditor General for Scotland Robert Black said:

“The Scottish Parliament has set ambitious targets to reduce Scottish greenhouse gas emissions. To meet the 2020 target new policies will need to be delivered successfully, especially in transport. The challenges will be that much greater over the next few years when the pressures on Scotland’s public sector finances are likely to increase.”

The report says it is difficult to calculate the cost of reducing emissions, but estimates the total cost to be about £10-11 billion by 2020. The Scottish Government has not yet established how much of the cost would be met by the public sector.