Nesta Scotland has urged the Scottish Government to accelerate home electrification policies following the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) stark assessment that Scotland is set to miss its 2030 climate targets by up to six years.
Responding to the CCC’s newly published advice on Scotland’s four carbon budgets for the period 2026 to 2045, the innovation foundation said faster progress on heat decarbonisation was essential to deliver lower emissions and reduced household energy bills.
“Electrification Is Critical”
Angela Mitchell, Head of Nesta Scotland, said the government must act swiftly to back up its net-zero ambitions with tangible policy changes.
“Electrification is the critical change that can reduce emissions from homes and reduce energy bills for households in Scotland,” Mitchell said in a statement. “The Scottish Government should use its powers to make these changes happen faster.”
Her comments follow the CCC’s warning that Scotland is now on course to miss its 2045 net zero target by 20 million tonnes of CO2, unless ministers significantly step up policy action across transport, energy, agriculture and buildings.
Heat in Buildings Bill Under Scrutiny
The CCC highlighted the lagging progress of the proposed Heat in Buildings Bill, noting that the window for introducing effective regulation—such as point-of-sale mandates for low-carbon heating—is closing rapidly.
Nesta echoed those concerns, warning that delays could undermine critical opportunities for innovation in the housing sector. The charity previously submitted its recommendations to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the bill in April 2024, advocating for bold steps to support uptake of heat pumps and district heating systems.
“With this advice in hand, the Scottish Government should look to deliver the policies that match its ambition,” Mitchell said. “Introducing legislation sooner rather than later that grows the number of homes using heat pumps and other low-carbon heating systems is essential.”
Pressure Mounts Across Policy Landscape
Nesta’s intervention adds to growing calls from opposition parties, think tanks, and environmental campaigners for the Scottish Government to abandon its “rhetoric-first” approach and deliver credible policies aligned with net-zero goals.
The CCC’s report singled out home heating, transport, and land use as the sectors most in need of urgent action, recommending a 57% emissions cut by 2030, scaling to 94% by 2045. Scotland’s existing annual emissions targets—repeatedly missed—will now be replaced by five-year carbon budgets, aligning the country with the rest of the UK.
Opportunity for Innovation
Nesta Scotland, part of the wider UK-based innovation charity, has focused its Scottish programme on sustainable futures, including net-zero innovation and household energy reform. It argues that innovation-led policy, if supported with adequate funding and regulation, could deliver economic, social, and environmental dividends.
The organisation has also been exploring the use of behavioural insights and data to identify scalable, people-focused solutions to decarbonise homes and neighbourhoods.
