Climate policies can cut bills and drive growth across UK, WWF report finds

Climate policies can cut bills, lift people out of fuel poverty, and drive growth across UK, WWF report finds

A new report from WWF finds that climate and nature action can reduce household bills, boost local economies, and help tackle climate change while being affordable for the UK Government. 

Power to the Regions: Climate Policy for the Cost-of-Living Crisis shows how a package of cost-effective policies can deliver clear economic benefits for households and farmers, while helping reduce the UK’s reliance on expensive fossil fuels and deliver growth in every postcode.

With wildfires burning across the UK, households continuing to feel the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis, and farmers grappling with droughts and floods leading to growing financial uncertainty, there are increasing calls for government to take bold action. 

WWF argue that well-designed climate policies can address these challenges directly, lowering bills, increasing economic resilience, and ensuring the benefits of the transition are felt by households in towns, cities, and rural communities across the UK.

Rick Parfett, Head of Climate Policy at WWF said: “The climate crisis is hitting every household in the UK both physically and financially. The policy recommendations in this report can boost living standards, strengthen local economies, and put pounds back in the pockets of farmers and households.

“Climate action can deliver for every part of the country, helping families worrying about their energy bill, supporting farmers facing rising costs and extreme weather, and bringing investment to regions that have too often been overlooked by national policymaking. 

“It is vital that the UK Government tackles the climate and cost of living crises together, delivering direct benefits for households and farmers.”

Among the report's recommendations are proposals to remove policy levies from electricity bills, introduce a simple automatic social energy tariff, expand access to cheaper clean energy for renters, support home energy upgrades, and strengthen incentives for sustainable farming.

The report finds that:

• Removing legacy policy levies from electricity bills could cut typical household bills by around £175 a year, while reducing exposure to future fossil fuel price shocks. 
• An automatic Social Energy Tariff could save eligible households around 25% on their energy bills and lift over 500,000 households out of fuel poverty across the four regions analysed alone.
• A Renters' Energy Dividend could provide cheap solar power to low-income renters, saving them around £120 a year with no upfront cost.
• Households would benefit from a stamp duty rebate of up to £3,750 for making energy upgrades within five years of purchase, delivering cheaper-to-run, warmer homes and boosting local economies.
• Farm resilience partnerships could unlock hundreds of millions of private investment into sustainable agriculture, helping farmers reduce costs, diversify income streams and improve resilience to climate impacts.
• Farmers could also benefit from incentives to reduce reliance on fossil fuel-based fertilisers, cutting costs by up to £60 per hectare while reducing emissions, and streamlined planning for nature-friendly farming infrastructure like ponds, wetlands and horticulture.

The report highlights that the benefits would be felt particularly strongly in regions facing some of the UK's highest levels of fuel poverty. Much of the money saved by households would be spent in local businesses, while investment in clean energy and home upgrades could revitalise communities across the country.

In an increasingly volatile world, implementing these policies would enable the UK Government to boost living standards, cut costs for households, and tackle climate breakdown and nature loss, creating the conditions for shared prosperity, now and in the future.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The report is available at: Power to the Regions: Climate policy for the cost-of-living crisis 

The report sets out the national and regional impacts of climate and nature policies designed to reduce living costs, improve energy security, and support sustainable agriculture.

Regional analysis focused on the North-East, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, and West Midlands.

The report combines policy modelling with public opinion research conducted through focus groups.