MINISTERS have been accused of "empty promises" over the nation's green credentials as it plans to slash nearly £133m off this year's budget for energy efficiency schemes.

The proposed cuts come as large parts of Scotland will see their dual fuel bills soar by 140% in a year - with costs at nearly £2000 more than the UK Government's frozen cap of £2500.

It comes just a year after COP26 and just days before COP27 begins.

Hit are a series of schemes set up as ministers set out measures to meet Scotland's target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 - including the decarbonisation of heat in buildings.

The cuts hit the Scottish Government's aim to cut emissions and improve energy efficiency in homes and workplaces which account for around a fifth of Scotland’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

The package of cuts include slashing £1.75m in a year from the £5m set aside by the Scottish Government for a two-year scheme to convert C02, the biggest contributer to climate change emissions, and use it to produce valuable products such as synthetic fuels and proteins used in aquaculture.

The C02 Utilisation Challenge Fund, was launched with a fanfare by net zero and energy secretary Michael Matheson in April who said: “Promising early work around potential uses for captured CO2 shows that CO2 utilisation has real potential to help develop a circular economy while providing opportunities for our workforces and economic benefits for a range of different sectors.

The Herald:

“Whilst the UK Government have so far failed to sufficiently back carbon capture and storage in Scotland, the launch of this £5 million fund underlines our commitment to making sure Scotland is at the forefront of new industrial opportunities that will result from a future with carbon capture, utilisation and storage deployment.”

Ministers also plan to cut £10m off the budget for Funding For More Homes, for the installation of zero emission heating systems.

And £2.4m is set to be shaved from the budget for local government heat and energy efficiency strategies Some £91.83m of the proposed cuts for this financial year to April, 2023 are to net zero grant schemes that the Scottish Government say was the result of uptake being lower than originally forecast.

The biggest cut is to the Heat in Buildings capital grants which aims to transform the nation's buildings and the systems that supply their heat ensuring a transition to net zero emissions and addressing fuel poverty commitments.

Some £45m has been cut from the scheme which aims to get a million homes and the equivalent of 50,000 non-domestic buildings to convert to zero emissions heat by 2030.

Last year, the Scottish Government said it was committing £1.8bn of investment into the scheme during the course of the Parliament - which usually runs for four or five years.

The Scottish Government's energy efficiency capital grants scheme for local authorities is set to be cut by £37.659m. Also an energy industries division capital grants scheme for the private sector is expected to be reduced by £9.125m.

Scottish Labour has called the cuts “shameful” at a time when soaring energy bills are piling pressure on households, and called on the SNP to open up these schemes to boost take-up instead of clawing the money back.

Scottish Labour net zero, energy and transport spokesman Colin Smyth said: “A year ago Nicola Sturgeon promised to make Scotland a world-leader in the green revolution, but these empty promises are in tatters.

“The cost of living crisis and the climate emergency are two of the urgent challenges our country faces, but the SNP-Green government have decided to raid the funds that can help us tackle both.

“Energy bills are soaring and people are choosing between heating and eating – but instead of helping more people insulate their homes, the SNP-Green government are gutting support schemes.

“Making these damaging cuts as COP27 gets underway lays bare the rank hypocrisy hiding behind this government’s environmental rhetoric, as well as their failure to use the powers they have to help with the cost of living crisis."

It has already been claimed that a government target to retrofit almost a million homes in Scotland to improve energy efficiency is desperately behind schedule.

MSPs said ministers appeared “complacent” on the issue, despite Nicola Sturgeon’s pledge that Scotland would lead the fight against the climate crisis, as it emerged that only 3,000 homes were upgraded in 2020 with zero or near-zero emissions heating systems, such as heat pumps and biomass boilers.

It means that 124,000 homes will need to be upgraded every year between now and 2030 year to help the Scottish government meet a target of reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions by 75%. It is estimated that homes account for around 13% of such emissions.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are committed to tackling fuel poverty – not least by delivering on our Fuel Poverty and Heat in Buildings strategies, which will help make homes warmer, greener and cheaper to run. The Spending Review earlier this year confirmed our commitment to allocate at least £1.8 billion over the course of this parliament to insulate and to install modern climate-friendly heating in homes and other buildings.

“The Emergency Budget Review reviewed all devolved spending planned for 2022-23. As part of this, revisions were made to budget allocations for some demand-led grant schemes within the heat and energy efficiency portfolio – as a result of lower than forecasted uptake.

“We remain committed to our current plans, which show a 27% increase across energy programmes next year. We will continue to deliver a range of measures to tackle fuel poverty and deliver exciting new green heat and energy efficiency projects, including key initiatives such as our Area Based Schemes and Warmer Homes Scotland.”