The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) welcomes the publication of the draft Scottish Energy Strategy by the Scottish Government. However, the SFHA has called for the strategy to include greater emphasis on increasing the energy efficiency of homes as it says this is the most effective method of reducing carbon emissions.
David Stewart, SFHA policy lead, said: “The SFHA welcomes the publication of the draft Scottish Energy Strategy and its ambition to provide a coherent roadmap to a low carbon energy system in Scotland by 2050. We are also pleased to see the commitment to increase the use of renewable energy to meet domestic supply needs.
“However, we would like the Energy Strategy to acknowledge that the most effective method of reducing carbon emissions is by reducing the need for energy use in the first instance — and this can be done by increasing the energy efficiency of homes. We therefore call on the Scottish Government to put this at the heart of the strategy — not only is increasing home energy efficiency the most cost-effective way to lower carbon emissions, but it reduces fuel poverty and creates jobs and training through insulating and retrofitting our existing homes.
“With an ambition to move from fossil fuels to renewable sources, it is vital that we invest in energy efficiency to insulate households against the effects of likely increased prices as we move from gas to renewable heat. We believe that this should be achieved through a long-term investment programme and by setting minimum energy efficiency standards for all of Scotland’s homes.”
