Government urged to act as Scotland goes wrong way on fuel poverty
The Scottish Government must re-commit to its Heat in Buildings Bill and focus on improving the energy efficiency of our homes and changing to clean heating systems, says Scottish Green Co-leader Patrick Harvie.
Mr Harvie’s comments come amidst speculation that the Bill, which was originally scheduled to be introduced last November, is to be watered down or dropped entirely. This follows a Ministerial statement on fuel poverty that showed Scotland is going in the wrong direction.
Mr Harvie said:
“The cost of living crisis hasn’t gone away, with the UK Government cutting social security and the Scottish Government approving rent hikes. This would have been a great time to show real leadership in cutting energy bills. But that leadership is sadly lacking.
“The Statement on fuel poverty shows that Scotland is moving in the wrong direction. The Minister recognises that the energy crisis of recent years and the rise in fuel poverty are directly driven by volatile fossil fuel prices.
“Yet this Statement is coming just two days before the SNP are expected to dilute, delay or even scrap the Heat in Buildings Bill, which is the only serious proposal they had to end Scotland’s over-reliance on gas for heating.
“The Greens have long tried to push the Government to go further and faster on fuel poverty and green heating. Even if they had taken the actions we called for back in 2009, when the budget fell because of their lack of ambition on energy efficiency, people would have been better protected from the recent price hikes.
“For a brief period, the SNP seemed to accept that failure on both fuel poverty and climate change meant they had to go further and faster. Now, they are admitting that fuel poverty is on the rise, but at the same time actually slowing down the action that’s needed.”