1. Ministerial Foreword
Scotland is on a journey to make our homes and buildings warmer, greener, and more affordable to heat. It is imperative that we invest now, and in the years to come, in retrofitting energy efficiency measures and clean heating systems This investment is critical not only to ensure we reduce emissions, but to also ensure people live in comfortable and secure homes that are affordable to heat so that we can end the scourge of fuel poverty.
This is a big challenge – one that will take time and teamwork over the next 20 years. The investment needed in buildings will be significant and will be determined by the exact measures installed in each and every home and building in Scotland. The public sector cannot shoulder the full cost of this investment alone. We need to grow private finance options and make it easier for homeowners and businesses to access the support they need. That’s why we set up the independent Green Heat Finance Taskforce to provide expert advice on innovative financial solutions to help owners invest in energy efficiency measures and make the switch to clean heating.
The Scottish Government agrees with the Taskforce’s headline conclusions that we must foster growing demand for both energy efficiency and clean heat, and with the need to accelerate and support the development of an investible pipeline of projects. These are key to unlocking the flow of finance. The Taskforce also told us that government can help by giving long-term certainty and clear rules – and we’ve started doing that.
Our draft Climate Change Plan commits to decarbonising heat by 2045 so far as reasonably practical. Last month we published a draft Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill setting out our plans to legislate and will introduce the Bill as early as we can in the next parliamentary session, subject to the outcome of the 2026 election. The draft Bill includes provisions that should help underpin the development of heat networks and give industry greater confidence to invest, further fostering the strong pipeline of projects being built by our Heat Network Support Unit.
The Taskforce also highlighted something else which is important: the cost of electricity compared to gas. If electricity were cheaper, more people would switch to clean heating and it would help reduce fuel poverty. That’s why we continue to urge the UK Government to act quickly on this issue.
This response sets out what we’ve already done – like raising awareness of green mortgages – and what we’ll focus on next. Some recommendations will take longer and will be for the next Scottish administration to decide after the 2026 election. And we know we can’t do this alone. The UK Government, lenders, installers, and many others all have a role to play.
This Taskforce response provides an opportunity for everyone to work together constructively to further develop approaches explored by the Taskforce. I encourage all interested parties to work with us on this over the coming months to help inform development of a new Heat in Buildings Delivery Plan, which we will publish next year.
Finally, I would like to thank the Taskforce members for their time, expertise and insights over the past few years, and in particular Sara Thiam for chairing the group and ensuring the production of two valuable reports. Their work has deepened our understanding of clean heat financing and highlighted both the barriers and opportunities in fostering a diverse set of financing solutions.