UK Climate Change Programme 2006 - JNCC - Defra

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Scotland
carried out around 600 on-site energy audits in
Scotland, identifying potential carbon savings of
0.07 MtC, representing financial savings of
around £16m. Up to March 2005, it had also
reached 34 partnership agreements with
organisations in both the public and private sector
producing an estimated 0.02 MtC of carbon
savings and financial savings of around £8m.
19. Loan Action Scotland provides interest free loans
from £5,000 to £50,000 to Scottish Small and
Medium Sized enterprises (SMEs) for investments
that reduce energy consumption. These loans are
repayable over a maximum of five years. As well
as reducing energy consumption and carbon
emissions, the scheme directly increases the
profitability of Scottish SMEs by reducing their
energy bills.
Green jobs strategy
20. Resource efficiency is devolved and the Executive
published Going for green growth: a green
jobs strategy for Scotland 5 in June 2005. The
Strategy highlights the wealth of business and
employment opportunities arising from the global
shift towards a sustainable future, especially
in sectors specialising in renewable energy
and cleaner technologies, including carbon
sequestration, waste management and recycling.
Waste management
21. Waste policy in Scotland is generally a devolved
matter although taxation, including the landfill tax,
is reserved. The National Waste Plan (NWP) and 11
constituent Area Waste Plans were published in
February 2003 and established the direction of the
Executive’s policies for sustainable waste
management to 2020. The aim of the plans is to
minimise the impact of waste on the environment,
both locally and globally, and improve resource
efficiency in Scotland. Targets include recycling and
composting 25 per cent of municipal waste by
2006, 30 per cent by 2008 and 55 per cent by
2020. A Strategic Waste Fund was established in
2001 to assist local authorities in meeting these
targets. Implementation of the NWP will lead to a
significant reduction in landfill of municipal waste,
from around 90 per cent to 30 per cent and
subsequent reduction in methane gas emissions.
Transport
22. The National Transport Strategy (NTS) will be
launched in 2006. Over the coming year the
Strategy will provide the opportunity for the
Executive to consider its transport policies and
their alignment with its climate change and
sustainable development goals. The NTS will be
based on the Executive’s aim for transport as set
out in the 2004 White Paper, Scotland’s Transport
Future, for example to promote economic
growth, social inclusion, health and protection of
the environment through a safe, integrated and
effective transport system. The Executive’s
environmental objective for transport is to
“protect our environment and improve health by
building and investing in public transport and
other types of efficient and sustainable transport
which minimise emissions and consumption of
resources and energy”.
23. The NTS will offer the opportunity to start a
wider debate on environmental issues and
provide an ideal forum to seek the views of
stakeholders on targets and indicators. In the
meantime the Executive is addressing the issue
of transport impacts on the environment and
transport emissions in a number of ways ranging
from initiatives aimed at promoting modal shift
such as the funding of StepChange 6 location
specific pilot projects, School Travel Co-ordinators
and CyclingScotland 7 , to its Partnership
Agreement 8 commitment to introducing Green
Travel Plans and directing 70 per cent of
investment to public transport over the period
of the Executive’s long-term investment plan.
5 Going for green growth: A green jobs strategy for Scotland: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/06/1693437/34386
6 www.stepchangescotland.org/
7 www.cyclingscotland.org/
8 www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/government/pfbs-00.asp