With Scotland’s ambitious target to achieve a 75% reduction
in greenhouse emissions by 2030 appearing unachievable,
decarbonisation is pulled into focus.
First published in The Sunday Times’ The Business.
The headline on 19 March 2024 on BBC News confirmed what was
feared: “Scotland’s climate target unreachable says
watchdog“.
The ambitious target of 2030 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
by 75% was an announcement which was met with much fanfare and the
Scottish Government was lauded for leading the way in its ambition
to address climate change.
But – we’ve now had confirmation in the Climate Change
Committee (CCC) report of 20 March 2024 that the target is not
going to be met and a very frank assessment was delivered by the
CCC as to why – in summary, a failure to plan has resulted in
a plan to fail.
Since the target was set, Scotland has failed to meet more than
half of the annual emissions targets and there are significant
delays to the publication of the draft Climate Change Plan.
CCC’s view is that the acceleration required to reach the 2030
target is “beyond what is credible”. So where do we go
from here?
Enormous success has been achieved in renewable electricity
generation over the last couple of decades, particularly in
offshore wind, but the flip side of the coin (decarbonisation)
remains as elusive as ever.
The decarbonisation challenge has always been a more difficult
nut to crack (think decarbonisation in the context of buildings,
transport, agriculture, and waste, amongst others and you get a
sense of how varied, disaggregated and complex the issues are).
There is no single fix in relation to tackling emissions, which
are spread across multiple sectors, each requiring bespoke
solutions, and it perhaps gives some insight into why less progress
has been achieved.
However, with temperatures rising and no sign of climate change
disappearing we need some fast thinking and even faster deployment
to get back on track.
The light at the end of the tunnel is that we have a sector
known for its innovation and ambition and the advances made in
decarbonisation technology should provide cause for optimism. Add
to that the expertise across technical, legal and financial sectors
and you have the ingredients for making a real step change.
So what do we need from the Scottish Government to regain the
lost ground? The CCC provided a shopping list of recommendations
(15 in total) and it remains to be seen how quickly the Scottish
Government will react, the timing not helped by it being an
election year.
There are non-financial government levers which would accelerate
decarbonisation progress – expedited planning and streamlined
procurement would be a fantastic start, and perhaps a willingness
to recognise that partnering with industry can bring a huge raft of
benefits.
As a country known for innovation, ambition and world-class
teaching facilities we need to grab the decarbonisation
opportunity. That requires the Scottish Government and a variety of
sectors and businesses to work closely together to make the country
a destination of choice for investment and innovation.
New net zero solutions should be prioritised, supported and
deployed, creating export opportunities in technology, products and
skills as well as opportunities for jobs, investment, development
of a thriving supply chain and decarbonisation across multiple
sectors.
If the Scottish Government, industry, education and finance work
together, the possibility of becoming a global centre for
excellence in net zero solutions is within reach, and the
opportunity is enormous.
In light of the CCC report, collectively we must (quickly) make
bold decisions and take decisive action to address the
decarbonisation inertia of recent years.
Clare Foster is a confirmed speaker at All-Energy, the UK’s
largest renewable and low-carbon energy exhibition and conference,
taking place in Glasgow on 15-16 May. Visit our All-Energy hub.
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