Housing upgrades at heart of Labour’s environmental strategy

Making homes more energy efficient is one of the key points in Scottish Labour’s environmental strategy ahead of May’s election.

Unveiled on Thursday by leader Anas Sarwar, the strategy pledges to ensure all homes in Scotland boast an energy efficiency rating of at least C by 2030.

A national housing agency would be set up to co-ordinate the installation of renewable heat, double glazing, insulation and other methods of conserving energy.

Interest free loans of up to £18,000 would be made available to rural households or those in fuel poverty to fund renovations.

Matching the Scottish Government’s target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045, Labour says its housing initiatives would create up to 7,500 jobs.

Mr Sarwar said the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow in November presents a unique opportunity for Scotland to “lead by example”, and he called on other parties to focus on the environment instead of “the old arguments”.

He said: “Later this year, Glasgow will host Cop26 and the eyes of the world will be on Scotland, that is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead by example.

“I want Glasgow to be synonymous with world leading action on climate change – for history to look back at a world saved by an agreement struck in my home city.

“But the first step we must take is to ensure that we are doing as much as we can, here at home, to make our contribution.

“So we will put our climate – and the opportunities for our economy it presents – at the heart of our campaign.

“It means confronting the climate emergency, and the threat it poses to our very survival, head-on.

“But also ensuring that we create well paid jobs to ensure that the Scots see the benefits of going green in their wallets, as well as in our environment.”

The party also pledged to establish a “Just Transition Commission” which would chart the path away from the use of fossil fuels, while also creating a body to map the use of renewable energy and withholding approval for new offshore wind farms that do not meet requirements for jobs in Scotland.