Scottish Government provides funding to reduce carbon footprint

On 17 May 2022, the Scottish Government announced £100 million of new funding to help public bodies improve energy efficiency and install low and zero carbon heat systems in buildings across Scotland. The funding will be provided through the Scottish Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant scheme during the current parliamentary session, with the first £15 million provided to eligible public bodies during 2022 to 2023. 

The funding launch coincides with the publication of the latest analysis of public bodies’ emissions, which shows a 5.8% reduction in reported emissions in 2020 to 2021 compared to the previous period, with public bodies’ reported emissions having now fallen by a third since reporting began six years ago. Over the same period, emissions generated by electricity use have more than halved across public bodies. 

There has been a 64% cut in NHS buildings emissions since 1990, with the £10 billion, ten-year NHS capital programme supporting its net zero commitment. Scotland’s first net-zero hospital, NHS Balfour Hospital, opened in 2019. Furthermore, carbon emissions across Scottish Government operations have fallen by 45% between the 2009 to 2010 and 2019 to 2020 periods, with the Scottish Government being the first in the world to hold the Carbon Trust Triple Standard. 

Source: Scottish Government, 17 May 2022