A detailed plan to help Glasgow become the UK's first net zero city has been published by ScottishPower ahead of the United Nations climate change summit in November.

The city will need more than 175,000 vehicle charging points and 244,000 heat pumps installed in homes if it hopes to meet its net zero targets by 2030, a report commissioned by the energy company has found.

The Zero Carbon Communities report details for the first time Glasgow's transport and home heating requirements.

The forecast notes that the city will need to install the more than 175,000 charging points between now and 2030 to reach Net Zero, including nearly 17,000 chargers in non-residential areas.

The cost of installing these is estimated to be £298 million, while converting Glasgow to electric heating will require around £1.4 billion for the installation of electric heat pumps in over 244,000 homes.

The report, undertaken by research consultancy Capital Economics, estimates that Glasgow's energy network will need substantial investment of around £648 million to support these changes by 2030. However, SP Energy Networks is confident there is potential to reduce these network costs by around 30 to 40%.

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As part of plans to modernise the city’s electrical network infrastructure, SP Energy Networks is investing £20m between now and 2022 to facilitate an increase in available network capacity and to support regeneration initiatives.

Keith Anderson, chief executive of ScottishPower, said: “With the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, is coming to Glasgow later this year, the city will be able to showcase its commitment to reaching Net Zero on a global stage.

“To reach Net Zero, we’ll all need to make changes as we move away from the fossil fuels that power our cars and heat our homes today. We’re committed to working with local communities to help them understand the best ways to decarbonise.

“We’re launching our Zero Carbon Communities campaign today to set out a road map for helping Glasgow in the drive to Net Zero. Upgrading heating systems and shifting to electric vehicles will require big changes, but they will have compelling social, economic and environmental benefits."

At the launch of Glasgow Zero Carbon Communities, ScottishPower announced a new partnership with nextbike to sponsor Glasgow’s first fleet of e-bikes, enhancing the city’s green transport offer, sponsoring 63 e-bikes and 21 charging points across the city.

Switching from a daily car journey to an e-bike can save an average 249g of CO2 for every 1km travelled. More than 6,600 journeys have already been made on the city’s e-bikes since their initial launch in October 2019.

Last year, Scotland’s first low-emission zone was introduced in Glasgow. This November, Glasgow will be the epicentre of international climate change dialogue when it hosts the globally renowned United Nations COP26 Climate Summit, which will bring together 200 world leaders and 30,000 influential delegates to debate climate change solutions.

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Michael Mathieson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, said: “This work is crucial, because we know that Scotland’s world-leading and legally binding net-zero target cannot be met by Government alone. This continued partnership approach between businesses, local authorities and communities is exactly what is required to respond to the climate emergency and improve the air quality in our cities.

“The Scottish Government is doing its part. We’ve already invested over £30 million since 2011 to establish our comprehensive ChargePlace Scotland charging network. Our public network is largest in the UK, outside London, which we have developed in support of our commitment to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032. We have also committed to investing over £500 million to support bus priority infrastructure measures and, in addition, we have maintained our record funding for walking and cycling which has helped support the public hire e-bike schemes here in Glasgow, in Edinburgh and across Forth Valley.

“It is encouraging that ScottishPower shares our view of the importance e-bikes can play in encouraging modal shift and reducing carbon emissions, and have committed to sponsoring the nextbike scheme.”

The Zero Carbon Communities initiative is also being rolled out across Liverpool, Edinburgh, Fife, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, Cheshire and Warrington, and the Isle of Anglesey.