Analysis of international approaches to regulating domestic energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation to inform Scottish Government policy development.
The background
The Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy outlines how it intends to decarbonise Scotland’s building stock in line with net zero ambitions. This includes minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings and a prohibition on Direct Emissions Heating Systems (DEHS), as well as a range of other policy levers.
The key question
The Scottish Government wanted to know what approaches had been taken in other countries to regulate energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation in homes that are comparable with their aims. Identifying these measures, how they were implemented, and their level of success would inform Scottish Government policy making in this area.
What was needed
ClimateXChange commissioned LCP Delta to undertake this assessment on behalf of the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government needed to know the range of approaches that had been taken internationally to improve energy efficiency levels in homes, promote the use of low carbon heat technologies and/or reduce the use of polluting heating systems. The Scottish Government needed a robust evidence base to inform their policy development in this area.
What we did
LCP Delta took a structured approach to identify a long list of relevant regulations and policies in the international arena. 78 were identified and assessed against Scottish Government powers to ensure relevance. We then grouped the policies into categories such as mandates and bans to provide an overview of approaches that had been taken internationally. Finally, we carried out in-depth desk-based research on a selected group of policies and regulations. This explored how the policies and regulations had been introduced and how successful they had been.
The LCP Delta difference
Our research uncovered a range of regulations, including bans and mandates, that had been successfully implemented in many countries. These key insights will help the Scottish Government to develop appropriate policy levers to decarbonise homes in Scotland. The research was shared with the Scottish Government through a presentation and report.
