Hansard

I thank the clerks to the committee and my fellow committee members for what is a very good report—I agree with the convener about that. It is a considerable piece of work. We spent all of 12 months on it, took written evidence from 63 stakeholders and went on four council visits.

We heard that local government and its cross-sectoral partners will play a fundamental role in Scotland’s transition to net zero. Indeed, they are doing that already. For example, on our visits, we saw the Aberdeen hydrogen hub, which is a partnership between Aberdeen Council and BP, and Aberdeen Community Energy, with residents of a local housing development pioneering an urban hydro power scheme—I declare my interest as a shareholder. We also saw Dundee Council’s partnership with business to provide EV charging points that are sustainably powered by solar panels and batteries, and Orkney Council’s fabric first approach in affordable new-build housing. Just yesterday, Jackie Dunbar and I visited the NESS energy-from-waste plant, which is being funded and progressed innovatively by Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils.

That innovation and further development require the Scottish Government to step up. To that end, the committee made various recommendations, and perhaps the key, overarching one is to offer strategic plans and clarity of direction of travel, which councils have been crying out for. Indeed, in its response, Aberdeenshire Council told us:

“A major barrier is understanding what various paths to net zero would look like in practice”.

That is why the committee was absolutely right to call on the Scottish Government to produce a comprehensive and detailed road map for the delivery of net zero—a call that has been echoed today in a submission by COSLA. That road map should give councils certainty about their role and the additional resources and powers that are required to deliver what the Government asks them to deliver. It should also allow them to assess the cost and operational implications of options and what ultimately represents the most sustainable, optimal strategy or course of action. With such a road map, councils will be able to assess the expertise and experience that are required to carry out the strategic planning and data gathering, and to source the leadership that is needed to promote and embed best practice in order to mainstream net zero planning into council decision making, which the committee also recommended.

That strategic planning is not easy. Stirling Council said:

“we need help with strategic planning so that we can understand our priorities. Then we need help to develop the resource and skills to be able to deliver programmes.”

The road map would allow strategic hires and planning. However, the Scottish Government should also carry out another committee recommendation: the creation of a local government-facing climate intelligence unit to provide specialist help where a local authority might not retain that itself or be able to afford it. I was very pleased to hear the cabinet secretary’s remarks about that and to hear that there are advanced discussions with COSLA.

The road map would also have a positive impact on skills. With clarity about the work available and the timescales involved, businesses would have the confidence to invest in the new skills and training that are required to meet Scotland’s targets, and colleges would know which courses to scale and would be better able to work with business to support apprenticeships or assist in transitions.

All of that must be financed, and a much more informed and strategic approach to financing must be taken. For example, we were originally told that the Scottish Government’s heat in buildings strategy would cost £33 billion to deliver. When I asked the minister, Patrick Harvie, what the figure was—adjusted for things such as inflation—18 months later, he was unable to tell me. He will not have a revised estimate until after the consultation on the planned heat in buildings bill. Given the tight timescales that we are working to, that is ridiculous.

Although all of that money cannot come from public funds, an element must come from the Scottish Government. WWF Scotland suggests that

“Capital investment by the Scottish Government would need to increase to between £2bn and £3bn per year from 2025 to 2030”.

That is worrying, as we know that this Government promised only £1.8 billion over this session of Parliament, and that, by January this year, it had spent only £155 million, which is less than 10 per cent of what was promised.

The committee has asked the Scottish Government to be smarter with funding. COSLA’s Gail Macgregor said:

“To empower local government, councils need not just increased funding, but also larger, fewer and more flexible funding streams”.

In that regard, it is notable the UK Energy Research Centre found that a £1 million investment in each of the 32 local authorities in Scotland to provide technical assistance for energy efficiency and renewable energy investments could produce investment finance, on affordable terms, of around £1.2 billion.

The Scottish Government also needs to get better at leveraging private finance. The University of Strathclyde told us that there is

“a reluctance to engage private funding bodies on leveraging the appropriate scale of private sector finance to supplement available public funds.”

That looks set to continue, with the Scottish National Investment Bank saying the right things about working with local councils to support the transition to net zero, yet telling the committee that

“The Bank has been established to invest on commercial terms, and it is unlikely to be suitable for the needs and requirements of local authorities funding”.

That is why the comments of the likes of the Association of British Insurers are so interesting. It told us that the insurance and pensions sector wants to invest in net zero initiatives and has the capital to do so, but needs consistency in how those opportunities are structured and a long-term business case. In short, the sector needs the very road map and proper expert resourcing to give investors confidence that the committee called for as its key recommendation and that I highlighted at the start of my speech.

The committee found that a lot of good work is going on at local authority level, despite the serious challenges that we will no doubt hear about as the debate develops. By taking extensive evidence, the committee has been able to set out some really practical steps that the Scottish Government could take now to help local authorities and communities to deliver on our net zero ambitions. That is why it is so disappointing that the Government has failed to respond to the report, despite the urgency of the subject matter, the report’s publication on 23 January and all the representations that have been made to us since.

The committee has done its job in looking at the role of local government and its cross-sectoral partners in financing and delivering a net zero Scotland. I hope that, in response to the report, the Scottish Government will do the same.