'Make families insulate homes and hit drivers with congestion fees'

Published on Tuesday 1 December 2009 21:59

RADICAL changes to the Scottish Government's transport and home-energy efficiency policies are needed if ambitious climate change targets are to be met, an independent commission has warned.

The Sustainable Development Commission Scotland (SDCS) has called for a step change including car-free zones, fuel taxes, parking fees and congestion charging to force people out of their cars.

And it has argued that greater action is needed to improve the energy efficiency of homes, urging the Scottish Government to consider "requiring" people to insulate their houses, rather than leaving it up to individuals to decide.

In its annual review of progress towards sustainable development in Scotland, the commission concluded that although the SNP's intentions were good, action to bring about changes was lacking.

The commission, the government's independent adviser on sustainable development, highlighted that in particular the government's policy of new road building was encouraging car use, putting under threat attempts to limit carbon dioxide emissions.

It said this was a major obstacle to Scotland becoming a "successful low-carbon economy".

Ambitious targets have been set in the Climate Change Act that require greenhouse gas emissions to be slashed by 42 per cent compared with 1990 levels.

The commission said there must be a greater emphasis on encouraging walking and cycling, teleconferencing, working from home and internet shopping to cut down on the use of transport.

Professor Jan Bebbington, SDCS vice-chairwoman, said: "Transport policy is stuck in a system delivering more roads for more cars. It leads to health problems, pollution problems and a difficult work-life balance."

The report also called for current economic policy centred on growth to be replaced by a focus on wellbeing and wider sustainable outcomes.

Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland, who has previously suggested people should be fined if they do not insulate their homes, agreed more action was needed.

He said: "This in-depth analysis rightly praises Scotland's new climate law but clearly points out that, in crucial sectors like housing and transport, we are going to have to try much harder to meet our 2020 target of a 42 per cent reduction in emissions.

"On housing, we are going to need a massive retrofit programme to get Scotland's homes fit for the 21st century, reducing emissions and getting rid of fuel poverty.

"In transport, things are still going in the wrong direction. We need a major rethink on new roads and bridges, and action to halt the predicted growth in car use."

A Scottish Government spokesman said that he welcomed the report.

"It acknowledges our significant progress in many areas, notably on climate change, waste, planning, food, education and health," he said.

"We have mainstreamed sustainable development across our policies and will continue to pursue our ambitious agenda."