Introduction
The First Minister declared a Global Climate Emergency in April 2019 and, following advice contained in a Committee on Climate Change report, announced that Scotland will be carbon neutral by 2040 and will emit net zero emissions by 2045. The Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan update (CCPu), published in December 2020, set out the pathway to meet Scotland’s statutory greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by 2032.
With the transport sector being the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in Scotland, accounting for 29% of all emissions in 2019, and road transport making up the majority of those emissions at 66% (Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics), we have committed to decarbonising transport in Scotland. The National Transport Strategy 2 sets out the strategic vision for Scotland’s transport system and the Mission Zero for transport commitment – to reduce our emissions by 75% by 2030 and to net-zero by 2045 - underlines our ambition to deliver a healthier, cleaner and greener Scotland for current and future generations.
As part of this, we are fully committed to phasing out the need for petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030. The transition to Electric Vehicles (EV) will contribute significantly to these goals and, with demand growing rapidly, we want people to have access to convenient and reliable EV charging infrastructure at home, at work and when out and about.
Therefore, on 26 July 2021, the Scottish Government launched a consultation: Building regulations - energy standards and associated topics - proposed changes. Section 7 of the consultation sought views on the requirements we proposed to set out in legislation for the installation of EV charge points and enabling infrastructure in a number of different building types with parking spaces (Table 1). The consultation closed on 28 November and analysis of those responses was undertaken by Harlow Consulting.
In addition, Transport Scotland hosted four Q&A webinars in August and September 2021 on the policy proposals for EV charge points. A number of stakeholders participated, including representatives from the public sector, building developers and the transport sector. These webinars were open to all and advertised on the consultation website.
This publication will briefly summarise the key responses that were received regarding those policy proposals, and set out the Scottish Government’s next steps.