Thread by @MartynMcL

EXCL: Environmental groups have condemned emissions at the COP26 summit venues, which exceed 6,600 tonnes of CO2 a year. Two venues have the second lowest possible energy efficiency rating, with legally binding improvements yet to be carried out. Thread 👇scotsman.com/news/politics/…

The UK Govt, which holds the COP26 presidency, describe the SEC buildings as “state of the art” - a characterisation energy assessors would struggle to recognise. The SEC conference centre and the Armadillo scored F on a sliding scale of A to G.

The annual CO2 emissions of the SEC conference centre alone - the oldest and largest of the COP26 venues on Glasgow’s waterfront - exceed 3,400 tonnes. Nine years ago, assessors advised its owners to consider investigating the use of low zero carbon technologies.

But in the year the UK's hosting COP26 and trying to convince the wider world to avert a climate catastrophe, none of the summit venues - not even the eight-year old SSE Hydro - have renewable energy sources installed, despite being urged to do so by efficiency professionals.

In the case of the SEC Armadillo auditorium, a series of legally binding efficiency improvements, known as a Section 63 action plan, was compiled in October 2019 to try and curb the building's annual CO2 emissions by around a quarter. The work has not been carried out.

Another COP26 venue, the Glasgow Science Centre, has an energy efficiency rating of D, although thanks to a pot of Scottish Enterprise funding, it is currently embarking on a series of works to reduce its emissions which, it hopes, will help it become net zero by 2030.

The UK Govt declined to answer my Qs about the venues, but their efficiency record sits ill at ease with the UN Climate Change secretariat’s guidance for COP hosts, which states that the venue “should be an energy-efficient building" or have energy reduction measures in place.

The UK Govt said the summit will have “sustainability at its core,” and that it would be offsetting all carbon emissions associated with the event. But at a time when tackling the climate crisis will depend on major cultural shifts and leading by example, is that good enough?

.@GreenpeaceUK certainly doesn’t think so. It told me that COP26 “must be the first climate summit where it’s the rooms themselves that are one of the elephants in the room.”

.@Richard_Dixon from @FoEScot said it was an "embarrassment" that the venues were such poor examples, adding: “It is shocking that so much energy is being wasted ... all of them clearly need a major energy efficiency overhaul."

SEC Ltd, the company behind the campus venues, said it is in the advanced stages of developing a sustainability and energy strategy. It told me: “We continuously work to make our buildings more energy efficient and are committed to improving our environmental performance.”

Scrutiny of SEC Ltd's COP26 venues seems particularly important, given 90.86% per cent of its shares are held by Glasgow City Council. The ownership arrangement of the venues is complex, and involves various leases, subsidiaries, and an arms-length external organisation.

A major expansion of the SEC, including a purpose-built energy centre, is part of the council’s green investment portfolio, but it will take around £200m and several years to achieve, particularly in a post-pandemic economy.

The issue of priorities, of course, is familiar to climate campaigners. As @WWFScotland told me: “All too often these opportunities get overlooked as too expensive or difficult ... improving the energy efficiency of our old buildings is the low hanging fruit of climate action.”

But back to leading by example in the year of COP26? What about the UK govt? It says it is making progress in reducing the carbon footprint of its civil estate, but I found out that heating-related CO2 emissions at Downing Street have increased for two years running.

The main building of the Cabinet Office, which is running the show on COP26, has an EPC rating of C, and a display energy certificate (DEC) rating of F. Its electricity-related emissions stood at 1669 tonnes of CO2 per year as of June, up from 1457 tonnes two years previously.

Few of the Scottish Govt’s flagship properties could be described as exemplars. Saughton House and Bute House, the FM’s official residence, have EPC ratings of D, with assessors highlighting poor insulation across both properties.

Here's a list of some prominent UK and Scottish gov buildings and their emissions, along with the COP26 venues, produced using publicly available EPC/DEC certificate data.

Tackling this is not easy, and certainly not cheap, especially when it comes to older properties, but CO2 from non-domestic buildings is a significant source of global annual emissions. The figure in Scotland is around six per cent; the UK-wide equivalent is around double that.

There are around 220,000 non-domestic buildings in Scotland. Remarkably - to me, at least, some 42 per cent of those buildings premises have an EPC rating of G, or ‘very poor’. The Scottish Govt hopes to address the issue with its draft heat in buildings strategy.

How it does that is still under discussion, but it is expected to include SME loan cashback schemes and the use of the non-domestic rates system to encourage owners to use local heat networks and meet upfront transition costs.

Experts say sticks matter as much as carrots. Rohinton Emmanuel, prof in sustainable design and construction at Glasgow Caledonian University, pointed out that there are no regulatory mechanisms to ensure compliance with efficiency standards. “This will need to change,” he said

Will these kinds of major issues be resolved before, or during COP26? Let’s wait and see. But if you’re a delegate hoping to be inspired by your surroundings, it may be wise to temper your expectations.

Thanks for reading. Do you have a story or info about COP26 you think I should look into? DMs open, or email mmclaughlin at scotsman dot com.