LGA insulation action plan
Filed Under Country Curtain | Posted on March 10, 2008
Related ItemsBrent Council makes homes more energy efficient Elderly urged to apply for heating grants Aragon retirement scheme installs new heatingHerefordshire to cut fuel billsSlough offers free insulation for over 70’s Aragon installs 1000th heating systemFree heating for Lincoln homes An action plan to ensure every home in the country is insulated would drastically cut carbon emissions, lift half a million people out of fuel poverty and slash household energy bills, a new report published today has said.
The Local Government Association, a cross-party organisation representing councils in England and Wales, said the scheme would save around 10 million householders over %26pound;200 a year on their energy bills and cut household carbon emissions by more than 20 per cent.
The LGA proposes that energy suppliers would contribute the same as consumers currently do to ensure a national insulation programme was completed. This would be a straightforward, pound for pound match for what ordinary people currently pay, and the regulator OFGEM would ensure no additional costs were passed onto households.
The report - Switch off, Switched on - calls on the Government to adopt the proposals to combat climate change and fight fuel poverty. The LGA is also advocating a stronger role for local councils and local people in how the public%26#39;s money is spent to make homes more energy efficient.
Recently utility companies have racked up huge profits. Meanwhile, UK emissions of greenhouse gases fell by only 0.5 per cent in 2005-6 and carbon emissions stayed virtually the same. A quarter of all emissions come from households. Millions of householders are also unable to heat their homes adequately and 25,000 older people die because of the cold every year - one of the worst records in Europe.
Utility companies are currently obliged by the Government to achieve carbon savings by installing insulation and other measures in homes - the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT). Every household pays towards this scheme through an extra charge on its energy bills - regardless of whether it is insulated or not. However the LGA argues CERT has three fundamental flaws:
Thesea are:
* Energy suppliers spend huge amounts of money trying to market and advertise the scheme because nobody has heard of it
* Companies often abruptly end programmes as soon as targets have been met - regardless of local need
* There is little public understanding or scrutiny of the scheme - even though it is householders%26#39; money being spent
Cllr Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association Environment Board, said:
%26quot;Climate change is the most significant threat to our long-term prosperity and stability. A national insulation programme would dramatically reduce carbon emissions and harness the desire of householders to make their homes more energy efficient.
%26quot;The Government has indicated it is considering a voucher scheme to help people pay their energy bills, but this only tackles the symptoms of fuel poverty and does nothing to tackle global warming. Our proposals avoid trapping people in dependency on hand-outs, and will bring about permanent reductions in greenhouse gases.%26quot;
The proposals are due to be unveiled at the LGAs Sustainable Communities summit in Liverpool next week.
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