Monday 31 March 2008

But a new report by WWF-UK shows that without a radical shift in Government policy the UK is set to miss out on the biggest opportunity to cut household energy bills, and reduce CO₂ emissions.

The first ever modelling of the country's entire housing stock shows that solid wall insulation and low and zero carbon technologies such as ground source heat pumps and solar water heating are key to greening our homes and getting the UK on track to meet its emission reduction targets for 2020.

Simon McWhirter, One Planet Future Campaign Manager at WWF-UK, said: "Our homes are the low hanging fruit in terms of achieving the deep cuts we need in carbon emissions but the Government is currently investing inadequate resources in inappropriate places. Its short term vision as to what energy efficiency measures should be applied to our existing stock is leading to significant missed opportunities."

Broader measures needed

Current Government policy is heavily reliant upon homeowners installing measures it defines as 'cost-effective'. These include cavity wall, loft, and hot water cylinder insulation, draught proofing, efficient boilers, and heating controls. Uptake of these measures has been historically poor in the UK and Alistair Darling's 2008 Budget notably omitted to include any financial incentives which could encourage their wider take up by homeowners. WWF's How Low? report shows that even if all homes did install these measures, household CO₂ emissions would be reduced by just 22%, failing to meet the Government's own 2020 climate change targets.

Colin Butfield, Head of Campaigns at WWF-UK said: "Given the urgency of the issue the Government needs to look beyond the short payback energy efficiency measures that feature in current policy and focus on a broader package of measures that will provide greater long term savings for homeowners. Channelling support and resources into low and zero carbon technology to facilitate their roll-out nationwide will not only enable the UK to surpass its 2020 emission reduction targets but will further set us on track to reduce CO₂ emissions by the necessary 80 per cent by 2050."

Nationwide installation of low and zero carbon technologies will require a significant programme of training, investment, and policy support by the Government but this will more than pay back, both in terms of increased efficiency of the housing stock, and a greater skilled workforce. In tandem with these support policies, it is vital that homeowners are provided financial support to help them afford the installation of technologies such as solar heating and ground source heat pumps.

Need for financial incentives

WWF-UK urges the Government to introduce a range of financial incentives that will motivate more homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. These could include low interest loans, council tax rebates or stamp duty relief tied to home energy efficiency refurbishments, and robust feed-in tariffs which reward homeowners who generate their own electricity from micro-renewables. Some of these schemes have already been successfully introduced elsewhere in Europe.

There should also be a revision of the obligations on energy suppliers to ensure they support the roll out of solid wall insulation and low and zero carbon technologies.

The How Low? report concludes that it is feasible for the UK to meet CO₂ emission reduction targets of 80% in the domestic housing sector by 2050. To achieve this would require a rapid and extensive roll out of micro-renewables, the decarbonisation of electricity supply by roll-out of large-scale renewable energy projects and, potentially, application of carbon capture and storage technology. It would also require an improvement in the energy efficiency of appliances, and more carbon-conscious behaviour in the home. While this does mean considerable extra investment now, it is minimal compared to the cost of doing nothing.