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The Scottish Government is committed to building resilience to the impacts of climate change as part of Scotland's just transition to a net-zero economy and society.

Alongside continuing to deliver over 170 policies and proposals in the current Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme, the Scottish Government is also now developing the next programme. Public consultation is anticipated for the start of 2024 with the aim of publishing a final statutory programme in Autumn 2024.

This third five-year Adaptation Programme will respond to the full range of current and future climate risks for Scotland, as independently identified by the Climate Change Committee in its evidence base for the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2022. The Scottish Government is also looking for additional, early actions we can take to address the highest priority risk areas identified by the Climate Change Committee.

While progress is being made, we acknowledge that more needs to be done. Adaptation to the locked in impacts of climate change is a global challenge and we are not alone in needing to accelerate progress.

Scotland's ambitious emissions reduction targets, including targets for reducing emissions every year until reaching net zero by 2045, are set under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. The level of these targets are kept under regular review to ensure they are in line with the latest climate science and advice from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), our independent statutory advisers. We have recently laid draft regulations to modify annual targets for 2021-2029 for technical reasons, to reflect updates to international standards for carbon accounting and in line with the latest advice received from the CCC.

The Scottish Government has promised a laser like focus on delivery, and we will ensure this happens, by directing energy and resources towards achieving the three missions and supporting the outcomes set out in Equality, opportunity, community: New leadership - A fresh start . Our ambition for an improving, consistent and transparent focus on performance and delivery is shared by Ministers and the Executive Team.

The Scottish Government has promised a laser like focus on delivery, and we will ensure this happens, by directing energy and resources towards achieving the three missions and supporting the outcomes set out in Equality, opportunity, community: New leadership - A fresh start . Our ambition for an improving, consistent and transparent focus on performance and delivery is shared by Ministers and the Executive Team and work is in hand to strengthen the existing, evidence-based approach to delivery, performance and assurance that currently exists across the organisation.

The Scottish Government is engaged with COSLA regarding the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 on multiple fronts.

A paper on heat networks regulations was presented to the COSLA Environment and Economy policy board on 3 March 2023 to update the board on progress in developing the duties contained in the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 and make members aware of potential impacts of this work on local authorities.

COSLA are also represented on our Stakeholder Engagement Groups, which advise on the implementation of the Act and have so far covered Building Assessment Reports and Heat Network Zones. The groups are now advising on the secondary legislation relating to Heat Network Zone Permits and a Local Authority Cost Strategy.

More widely, in our Heat in Buildings Strategy the Scottish Government committed to “work with COSLA to strengthen and integrate governance arrangements on heat and energy efficiency, to ensure effective delivery over the long term.” A liaison role was created in 2022 to provide capacity within COSLA to engage across the Heat in Buildings programme and embed a partnership approach. This resulted in the establishment of the Heat in Buildings Local Government Oversight group, which meets on a regular basis to provide a forum for dialog between relevant Scottish Government and COSLA officials on the Heat in Buildings programme and wider heat transition. The first meeting of this group was held on 6 March 2023 and included discussion on the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 and the regulatory framework that is being introduced as a result. COSLA also sit on the Independent Strategic Board for Heat and Energy Efficiency Scotland, which last met on 18 April 2023.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Scottish House Condition Survey, 2019 is the latest year for which we have National Statistics for this. From Table 5 of the latest Scottish House Condition Survey (published 1 December 2020), there were 312,000 domestic properties using low or zero greenhouse gas emissions heating systems.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a Net Zero, Wellbeing economy and a highly skilled workforce is critical to this ambition. Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation is clear that we must adapt our education and skills system to become more responsive and agile so that it can deliver on our key priorities.

Published in 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) provides a framework for green skills planning and investment across priority sectors that will be critical to the transition to net zero: Energy, Construction, Transport, Manufacturing and Agriculture and land-use.

Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council are progressing Pathfinder projects to identify the skills requirements necessary to support the priority sectors identified in CESAP including in heat decarbonisation. The Pathfinders are operating in Glasgow City and Shetland Islands and the findings will strengthen the green skills evidence base and inform further action to address green skills gaps.

Other examples of work in the energy sector include the development of an Energy Skills Passport, to support workers as we move towards the just transition. Additionally, the upcoming Onshore Wind Sector Deal, which will enable the delivery of 20GW of installed onshore wind by 2030, will have a specific theme on Skills, Supply Chain and Circular Economy.

Ministers will continue to meet COSLA and individual local authorities on a regular basis to cover a range of issues, including adaptation to the impact of climate change.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with COSLA and SOLACE to agree a New Deal for Local Government in Scotland with the aim of providing greater flexibility over local funding, with clear accountability for delivery on shared priorities and outcomes, such as climate change.

In February, I wrote to COSLA setting out my view that tackling flooding remains a top priority for the Scottish Government and developing a level of resilience to our future flood exposure is one of our greatest climate challenges. The Scottish Government remains committed to improving flood resilience in Scotland, and it is imperative that we make best use of the resources already allocated for this. I have also encouraged COSLA to play an active part in consultation on new a flooding strategy for Scotland recognising how we can build community flood resilience and engage a broader range of delivery partners to deliver more diverse flood management actions faster. A joint Scottish Government/COSLA Flood Risk Management Working Group is considering funding arrangements for flood risk management actions going forward. Managing our exposure to floods and their impacts is a significant and growing challenge as climate change brings more severe and frequent flood events.

We are in discussion with COSLA and the Scottish Cities Alliance about the development of a framework between national and local government to agree shared actions and approaches to delivering climate change action, enabling better alignment between national and local targets and to jointly address the challenges and barriers to delivery.

According to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme’s publicly-accessible MCS Data Dashboard, there were 5,326 MCS certified small-scale low-carbon heating system installations in 2022.

The MCS figures come with the following caveats:

• For the purposes of answering this question, “low-carbon heating systems” comprise (i) Air Source Heat Pumps, (ii) Biomass, (iii) Ground/Water Source Heat Pumps, (iv) Micro CHP, (v) Other Heat Pump Types, and (vi) Solar Thermal.
• MCS certification is not a mandatory requirement, so MCS data does not capture all small-scale renewable energy installations in Scotland. However, as MCS is often a route to government incentives, it is likely to represent a significant proportion of deployment.
• Most installations registered with MCS are in the retrofit market. However, MCS may capture some new-build installations if contractors have chosen to register their installations with MCS.

As set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy (published in October 2021), the vast majority of the 170,000 off-gas homes and at least 1 million homes currently using mains gas, must convert to zero emissions heating by 2030 in order to meet our interim climate targets. We will therefore consult during 2023 on a Heat in Buildings Bill to phase out fossil fuel boilers in Scotland’s homes and buildings and move to clean heating systems.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) is the main source for the number of domestic properties with low or zero emissions heating systems. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, fieldwork for the 2020 SHCS was suspended and the methodology for the 2021 SHCS was also impacted. Future SHCS publications will provide more information to measure progress towards the heat transition.