CAFS2 Update | April 2022

Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 – Towards a Better Place for Everyone is Scotland’s second air quality strategy, setting out how the Scottish Government and its partner organisations propose to further reduce air pollution to protect human health and fulfil Scotland’s legal responsibilities over the period 2021-2026. Representatives from the domestic combustion sector regularly meet with the Scottish policy team to help in delivery of their short and long term goals. 

CAFS2 Delivery Plan

The CAFS2 Delivery Plan is structured around 10 priorities which reflect the 10 high level themes from the independently led review of Cleaner Air for Scotland completed in 2019: 

1. Health

2. Integrated Policy

3. Placemaking

4. Data

5. Behaviour Change

6. Industrial Emissions Regulation

7. Tackling Non Transport Emissions Sources

8. Transport

9. Governance, Accountability and Delivery

10. Further Progress Review

In total, 36 of the 40 actions set out in Cleaner Air for Scotland (CAFS) plan were fully completed, with the remainder being carried over into the CAFS2 plan.Domestic burning and agriculture are two sectors not addressed in detail in the original CAFS plan. The CAFS2 Plan has introduced a number of priorities, here we focus on Priority 7: Tackling Non Transport Emissions Sources.

For domestic household burning under Priority 7 there are a number of key outcomes identified, these are as follows:

• further develop and promote educational schemes that encourage burning cleaner fuels in efficient stoves.
• introduce controls on the most polluting domestic fuels to help improve air quality, prevent nuisance and protect health.
• review and update existing controls on domestic (household) burning.

From those outcomes a number of short, medium and long term actions have been created.

Key short term actions (to 2022)

• The Scottish Government will encourage uptake of Ecodesign stoves through Ecodesign Ready and other initiatives, along with consideration of how best to address widespread replacement of pre Ecodesign appliances.

• The Scottish Government will work with business and industry to support and further develop educational schemes such as Woodsure and Ready to Burn, including manufacturers, suppliers and users of both fuels and appliances.
• The Scottish Government will commission work to provide further evidence on the proportion of particulate matter (PM) emissions and other key pollutants attributable to domestic burning in Scotland, together with geographic and demographic distribution of domestic burning.
• The Scottish Government in developing policies and programmes to support households and businesses in transitioning to low-carbon heating solutions, will consider the needs of those affected by any controls on the supply of the most polluting domestic fuels. 

Key medium term actions (to 2024)

• The Scottish Government will work with local government and SEPA to consider revision of the Clean Air Act 1993.
• The Scottish Government with local authorities will consider what changes are needed to the current permitted development rights for flues for wood burning stoves and biomass boilers.

Key long term action (to 2026)

• The Scottish Government will take forward, working with businesses that may be affected and other interested parties, potential measures to control the supply of the most polluting domestic fuels – including a ban on house coal, restricting the sulphur content of smokeless fuels to 2%, prohibiting the sale of certain types of wet wood and introduction of a minimum renewables content for manufactured smokeless fuels. In taking forward this work, we are mindful that any new measures would require to be implemented over a period of time, such as a transitional period during which businesses could adapt to the new requirements without disproportionate costs.

A timeline of the CAFS2 delivery action plan and delivery organisations can be viewed here.

The Scottish Government with support from SEPA will initiate a review on progress with implementing Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 during 2024, with a view to having a further version of Scotland’s air quality strategy in place by the end of 2025.

Follow updates on the CAFS2 plan through our regular newsletters, website and social media channels.

Further Reading

Click here to view CAFS2 on the Scottish Government website.