Green Heat Finance Taskforce: report - part 2
Transforming how buildings are heated can deliver multiple economic, health and environmental benefits. This second report by the independent Green Heat Finance Taskforce focuses on clean heat and energy efficiency financing options for place-based delivery, heat networks and social housing retrofit.
Footnotes
1 861,000 households (34% of all Scottish households), Scottish House Condition Survey: 2023 Key Findings, Scottish Government, January 2025.
2 Britain’s housing stock offers worst value for money of any advanced economy, Resolution Foundation, March 2024.
3 During the winter of 2018/2019, Scotland reported 2,060 excess winter deaths. Factors such as low income, inefficient heating systems, and poor housing conditions contribute to this elevated mortality rate Increased Winter Mortality - EAS.
4 Fuel Poverty, Cold Homes and Health Inequalities in the UK, Institute of Health Equity, August 2022.
5 The Seventh Carbon Budget (2038 to 2042), Climate Change Committee, February 2025.
6 Ibid. Page 172.
7 The overarching target is that in the year 2040, as far as reasonably practicable, no household in Scotland is in fuel poverty and, in any event, no more than 5% of households are fuel poor, no more than 1% are in extreme fuel poverty and the fuel poverty gap is no more than £250 (in 2015 prices). The legislation sets interim targets within this for 2030 and 2035. Tackling fuel poverty in Scotland: a strategic approach, Scottish Government, December 2021.
8 Net Zero Review: Analysis exploring the key issues, HM Treasury, October 2021.
9 Accelerating Net Zero Delivery: Unlocking the benefits of climate action in UK city-regions, Innovate UK, March 2022.
10 Planning Works: Local Energy Planning to Accelerate Net Zero, UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) 2024.
11 Jointly commissioned by UK, Scottish and Welsh governments to NESO in October 2024.
12 Policy, politics and materiality across scales: a framework for understanding local government sustainable energy capacity applied in England, C. Kuzemko, J. Britton, April 2020.
13 The Association of British Insurers (ABI) established an Investment Delivery Forum in 2023 to act as a catalyst and facilitator for driving investment of £100 billion into projects focusing on green infrastructure and housing over the next 10 years. Solvency UK: Cross-sector co-operation to drive £100bn investment into UK projects | ABI (July 2023). In its Final Report (July 2024) the Forum also noted 3Ci’s Net Zero Neighbourhoods as a key area it wishes to explore further.
14 Mobilising pension capital for net zero: a policy blueprint for the UK, IFM Investors, October 2024.
15 Local Partnerships is a not-for-profit entity jointly owned by HM Treasury, the Local Government Association and the Welsh Government. It is dedicated to working with UK Central Government, Welsh Government, Councils, Combined Authorities and other public sector organisations to deliver value for public money including though place-based initiatives and in tackling climate change. Taskforce member GFI is working with Local Partnerships on this.
16 Green Neighbourhoods as a Service
17 Net Zero Neighbourhoods: an opportunity to sweeten the deal for investors - 3ci, June 2023.
18 Clean heat: coordinating the switch street by street, Nesta, June 2024.
19 More information on HaaS models can be found at Box 1 on page 44.
20 Investor Panel: Mobilising international capital to finance the transition to Net Zero (First Minister’s Investment Panel) November 2023.
21 Given the forermost’s work establishing similar structures with a range of national and local authorities.
22 National Retrofit Plan, Department of the Environment, Climate & Communication [this Plan was originally published as Chapter 14 of its Climate Action Plan 2021], Government of Ireland | Rialtas na hÉireann, November 2021.
23 Insulation Nation: The roadmap to a future of affordable energy bills, Citizens Advice, September 2022.
24 The impact of Fuel Poverty on Children, Policy Briefing, commissioned by ‘Save the Children’, written by Professor Christine Liddell, Dec. 2008; and Building the Future: The economic and fiscal impacts of making homes energy efficient, Cambridge Econometrics, Oct. 2014.
25 UKGBC, Our work, home retrofit.
26 Evidence on the health impacts of increasing home energy efficiency and/or winter heating, James Milner & Paul Wilkinson, both of LSHTM (2016).
27 The Scottish Episcopal Church has committed £6.524 million over seven years on its Net Zero project. This includes an addition to existing funds allocated for buildings and the church’s rectory green fund, as well as co-funding of a Heritage Energy Expert. Individual congregations contribute to Eco-Congregation Scotland.
28 Scottish Government Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Onshore Renewable Energy Developments, Scottish Government, November 2018.
29 Community benefits from onshore renewable energy developments: Guidance on good practice principles for communities, businesses, local authorities and others, Scottish Government, May 2019.
30 The Cost of Living: Impact on Rural Communities in Scotland, RSE Advice Paper, April 2023.
31 Heat networks - Renewable and low carbon energy - gov.scot
32 Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 (Part 8).
33 Heat Networks Delivery Plan: review report 2024, Scottish Government, March 2024.
34 Heat networks, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, 18 July 2016.
35 Heat Networks Delivery Models, Scottish Futures Trust, 20 February 2024.
36 Heat Networks: The Battery Alternative, EnergiRaven, November 2024.
37 Getting to Net Zero - The potential for heat networks in our communities (burges-salmon.com).
38 Mobilising Green Investment - 2023 Green Finance Strategy.
39 Without Foundation: A critique of the essay Foundations by Bowman, Southwood and Hughes, Energy Networks - Arthur Downing’s Substack, December 2024.
40 Financing zero carbon heat: turning up the dial on investment, A report by the Green Finance Institute’s Coalition for the Energy Efficiency of Buildings, December 2020.
41 Heat Networks Delivery Models, Scottish Futures Trust, 20 February 2024.
42 ClimateXChange identified almost 2TWh of waste heat across approximately 932 sites in Scotland in 2020.
43 National Heat Networks: A Vision for Scotland, Scottish Renewables, November 2024.
44 Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Statistics: Scottish Local Authority Housing Income and Expenditure 2023-24 (near actuals) and 2024-25 (estimates), Scottish Government, November 2024.
45 Energy Efficiency, Scottish House Condition Survey: 2022 Key Findings, Scottish Government, February 2024.
46 Key Attributes of the Scottish Housing Stock, Scottish House Condition Survey: 2022 Key Findings, Scottish Government, February 2024.
47 launched in March 2014, replacing the energy efficiency elements of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS).
48 Energy Efficiency in Social Housing, Scottish Government, 2024.
49 Achieving net zero in social housing: Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report - gov.scot.
50 Scottish Government response to: Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce report, June 2022.
51 Charitable Bonds housing investment reaches half a billion, Scottish Government, March 2025.
53 Through ClimateXChange (CXC) with study carried out by LCP Delta and Changeworks.
54 Heat pumps on subscription, Scottish Government, August 2023.
55 National innovation strategy 2023 to 2033, Scottish Government, June 2023.
56 The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
57 EU Mission: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, the European Commission.
58 Chris Stark to lead Mission Control to deliver clean power by 2030, UK Government, July 2024.
59 Make Britain a clean energy superpower, Labour Party Manifesto, June 2024.
60 Help to save households money and deliver cleaner heat to homes - GOV.UK, UKG, Nov. 2024.
61 The cost of gas being set by international markets and affected directly, in recent years, by war in Europe.
62 The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
63 What was previously the UK Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).
64 Financing and funding the decarbonisation of Scotland’s social housing, Scottish Futures Trust, March 2025.
65 Policy solutions: Rebalancing bills in an affordable way, UK Energy, July 2025.
66 Industrial Strategy green paper, Invest 2035: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, UK Government, October 2024.
67 the collective of local government in Greater London. It is a cross-party organisation that represents London's 32 borough councils and the City of London.