Friday 24 Oct 2014 @ 11:40
Wired-GOV Newswire (news from other organisations)
Wired-GOV Newswire (news from other organisations)
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WWF calls for warm homes, not just warm words to tackle climate change
WWF’s latest energy report ‘Warm homes, not warm words’ highlights how the opportunity to create warm, affordable low-carbon homes and workplaces is at risk unless the Government takes action to tackle the carbon emissions from heating our homes and businesses.
Currently just 2% of UK heating demand is met by low-carbon sources and the Government is “very far” from the 25% goal to be achieved by 2030 outlined in the fourth carbon budget according to the Committee on Climate Change [1].
Heating accounts for 32% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and 44% of our energy use. Failure to address its contribution to carbon emissions will seriously undermine our efforts to meet our climate change targets.
Zoe Leader, WWF-UK’s Climate and Energy Specialist said: “The Government’s support for renewable heat is making slow but steady progress, but at the current rate will fail to meet our climate change goals. In the next 15 years, the UK needs to insulate 8 million lofts, install nearly 4 million heat pumps and quadruple the number of homes connected to heat networks. That’s not going to happen without stronger Government support. The prize at the end will be many more warmer, healthier homes that are cheaper to run.
“WWF’s report shows that there is real opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint from heating. It is clear that strong Government policies can address the barriers to large scale deployment, help reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels while supporting enterprise and innovation in a new industry.”
To deliver sustainable and affordable low-carbon heat, the Government must:
• Take the lead in highlighting the long-term economic, energy security and environmental benefits of low-carbon heat. The Government should provide a balance of regulation and incentives to increase uptake of renewable heat technologies including extending the Renewable Heat Incentive to provide certainty to industry.
• Drive action on energy efficiency. This includes making energy efficiency a national infrastructure priority and legislation that sets a timeline for regulating improvements in energy efficiency and low-carbon heating
• Elevate the roll-out of low-carbon heat networks to a national infrastructure priority.
While acknowledging the scale of the challenge, WWF’s report demonstrates that the scenario set out by the Committee on Climate Change can be achieved with the right policies and support. Low carbon heat is one area that can help deliver the step-change in reducing carbon emissions necessary to meet the carbon budgets.
Editor’s notes
A pdf version of the report, a summary of the report and infographics will be available at wwf.org.uk/warmhomes
Modelling undertaken on behalf of WWF-UK using the CCC’s central scenario on low-carbon heat showed that by 2030:
• 4 million heat pumps need to be installed in homes across the country. This is up from 406,000 currently installed and requiring an installation rate much greater than the current 20,000 per year currently installed in both homes and businesses.
• 1 million homes need to be connected to heat networks, up from the current 25,000 that have been installed over the last 13 years.
• 300,000 homes will need to have biomass boilers.
Energy efficiency measures are needed to reduce the level of heat demand and CCC scenario includes the following measures that this report endorses:
• All remaining 4.5 million cavity walls to be insulated;
• All remaining 10.3 million lofts to be insulated;
• 3.5 million solid walls to be insulated (approximately 40% of the UK’s solid wall housing stock); and
• Comprehensive installation of heating controls (includes controls for central heating systems, water heating controls, thermostats, TRVs and widespread adoption of 1 degree reduction in heating temperature)
Despite implementing a Renewable Heat Incentive to support delivery of heat pumps uptake has been very low and unlikely to meet the Government's own economy-wide target of 12% low-carbon heat penetration by 2020.
Recent figures show that between 2012/13 and 2013/14 the number of installations of cavity wall insulation have fallen by 46%, loft insulation by 87% and solid wall by 30%.
The report was produced for WWF-UK by Verco.
WWF is one of the world’s largest independent conservation organisations, with more than five million supporters and a global network active in more than one hundred countries. Through our engagement with the public, businesses and government, we focus on safeguarding the natural world, creating solutions to the most serious environmental issues facing our planet, so that people and nature thrive. Find out more about our work, past and present at wwf.org.uk.
For further information, please contact:
Mike Eames, tel 07917 052948, email: TempMEames@wwf.org.uk
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