Scottish government delays plan to phase out gas boilers

The Scottish government has pushed back its plan to start phasing out fossil fuel boilers by at least three years.

Zero Carbon Buildings Minister Patrick Harvie confirmed the change as the government published a consultation for a new heating bill.

He said the delay made the proposals "fairer and clearer".

Opposition MSPs have raised doubts about how the decarbonisation plan, estimated to cost £33bn, would be paid for.

The first of the government's new heating standards come into effect from April, with gas boilers banned from new-build homes and other buildings seeking a building warrant.

Under its original energy efficiency strategy, the government aimed to phase out the need to install new or replacement fossil fuel boilers in off-grid properties from 2025, and from homes connected to the gas mains from 2030.

A "backstop" date of 2045 was set for all homes to use zero direct emissions heating systems.

The targets formed part of the 2021 Bute House Agreement, the power-sharing deal between the Greens and the SNP.

Mr Harvie said the government aimed to pass legislation laying the groundwork for these plans in 2025, with secondary legislation required beyond the term of this parliament, due to end in 2026.

"This means that it might be 2028 at the earliest before the first home or building owners are required to act under the terms of those regulations to ensure that we are fair just and proportionate," the Green minister told MSPs in a statement.

He said a single target date of 2028 for both on and off-grid properties was "fairer and clearer".

"We'll still be taking account of the different contexts in urban and rural areas but through our delivery programmes, our funding and our use of exemptions, rather than primary legislation," Mr Harvie said.

He added that a target for more than a million homes to be decarbonised by 2030 was no longer possible.

The minister said Scotland still had "by far the most ambitious" decarbonisation plan in the UK.

A target for privately rented homes to meet a minimum energy standard has been set at 2028, and by 2033 for owner-occupied homes.

Mr Harvie said the government wanted to introduce higher energy standards for homes in the social-rented sector between 2033 and 2040, and for all homes to move to clean heat by 2045, with a third of demand to be met via heat networks. The cut off point for public buildings would be 2038.

The minister said there would be "staging posts along the way to avoid a bottle neck" ahead of the deadlines.

He added that people buying homes or non-domestic properties before 2045 would be expected to end the use of polluting heating systems within a "reasonable" period after purchase, with exemptions allowed in some circumstances. The consultation proposed a grace period of between two and five years.

Ministers are aiming to reform Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings, meaning homes with gas boilers would be downgraded compared to those with climate-friendly systems such as heat pumps.

The government has proposed that all residential homes will meet band C in energy performance certificate standards by 2033, "where technically and legally feasible and cost-effective".

Such requirements could potentially be enforced at certain trigger points, such as when houses are bought and sold, though the government is yet to set out the legal framework for its rules.

Scottish Conservative housing spokesperson Miles Briggs said the plans sparked a "10-year timebomb" for more than half of Scotland's homeowners.

He said rural properties may need £30,000 of upgrades to meet efficiency standards.

Scottish Labour net zero spokesperson Sarah Boyack pointed to the £33bn figure and asked where the money was coming from.

"People don't need warm words, they need warm homes," she told MSPs.

Mr Harvie said the government had committed more than £1.8bn over the course of this parliament and the government would "continue to build on that track record".

About a fifth of greenhouse gases in Scotland come from heating buildings. The government wants to cut emissions by replacing fossil fuel boilers with electric heat humps and in some cases hydrogen-powered devices, as well as making use of greener heat networks.

Typically, it costs about £10,000 to buy and install an air source heat pump - the type best suited to most UK homes - although costs vary.

The Scottish government currently offers a grant of £7,500 towards the cost of a heat pump, plus interest-free loans to cover the remainder of the installation.