Ministers confirm heat pump targets as climate plan unveiled

The Scottish government has confirmed that it intends to wait 10 years before significantly ramping up the installation of heat pumps.

Its targets for replacing gas and oil-fired boilers are contained in its newly-published climate change plan for the next 15 years.

The timescale on heat pumps was criticised last month by the independent Climate Change Committee, which said it was too slow and carried "significant risk".

Ministers say heating will be decarbonised by 2045 and that their plan will create jobs, lower bills and leave people less exposed to volatile fossil fuel prices - but figures show that the bulk of reductions to heating emissions will still be delivered after 2035.

Campaigners say 110,000 heat pumps will need to be installed over the next five years to keep Scotland's climate targets on track but that proposals set out in the climate change plan fall short.

The climate change plan was drawn up after the Scottish government replaced its annual targets for reducing planet warming greenhouse gas emissions with five-yearly carbon budgets.

This brings Scotland into line with how other UK governments measure emissions, allows for annual fluctuations such as higher gas demand for home heating during colder winters.

The Scottish government says its climate change plan will bring £42.3bn in financial benefits and cost savings between now and 2040.

Actions include phasing out the need for petrol and diesel cars by 2030, delivering 18,000 hectares of new woodland annually and increasing peatland restoration.

The announcement came after the UK government confirmed that developers in England will be required to install solar panels and heat pumps in all new homes.

It also said plug-in panels that homeowners can self-install on balconies would be available in supermarkets in the coming months.

These small versions of the green tech are already deployed across Europe but are not currently sold in the UK due to safety regulations.

In Scotland, the installation of gas and oil-based heating in new build homes was banned two years ago.

The New Build Heat Standard requires "climate-friendly" heating systems to be installed, which can include wood burners as well as heat pumps or district heating.

Scotland is already ahead of the rest of the UK on the roll out of heat pumps, with an 18% increase in installations between 2023 and 2024.

Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin said the climate change plan was "a routemap to realising economic and social gains for people across Scotland as part of a fair and just transition.

"It highlights the potential of growth areas ranging from renewables to heat networks to the circular economy, and sets out our commitment to increase investment in areas that will simultaneously decarbonise Scotland and improve our lives."

Environmental campaigners have called for faster action and urged all political parties to set out their climate commitments.

Scottish Greens net zero spokesperson Patrick Harvie said it was "extraordinary" that the government had "made no meaningful change to any actual climate policy, after the draft plan was widely dismissed as lacklustre".

However, Scottish Conservative energy spokesman Douglas Lumsden described it as "another uncosted SNP plan which will make hard-pressed Scots poorer".

Scottish Labour's net zero and energy spokeswoman Sarah Boyack said: "It is crucial that the next Scottish government has strong leadership and focuses on delivery."