Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been urged to unveil a “generous and ambitious” £6 billion investment for energy efficiency measures and the deployment of heat pumps in the UK. BESA, an industry body, has called for more immediate action to decarbonise homes in the UK through heat pumps and better energy efficiency by 2025. Experts say this would address “three of the biggest challenges that the country faces today, namely energy security, cost of living and climate change. Last November, the Chancellor announced a £6billion pledge for such measures from 2025, provided the Tory party remains in power after the election.
He noted that this boost would almost double the government’s existing financial commitments that have been made to reduce energy demand in buildings.
He said: “We have set a new ambition for our country: by 2030, we want to reduce the energy consumption of buildings and industry by 15%. Such a reduction in demand represents, at today’s prices, a saving of £28 billion on our national energy bill, or £450 off the bill of the average household. »
However, BESA said it was adding its voice to the growing demand the government is facing to avoid any delays in increasing investment in energy efficiency measures.
They urged the British authorities to implement these energy efficiency financing plans, which are currently planned for the second half of the decade
BESA argued that this investment can help address immediate concerns about the cost of energy, while helping the government meet its low-carbon heating targets.
Graeme Fox, technical director of the industry body, warned that the government must make new financial commitments as soon as possible to maintain its climate change ambitions.
H&VNews reports: “The government seems determined to make residential and commercial buildings more energy efficient, but its funding schedule needs an urgent review.
“The country is not on track to meet its long-term goals and we are also missing a shorter-term opportunity to improve our energy security by not addressing the root causes of excessive fuel use. fossils for heating. »
BESA cited recent findings from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank, which called on the government to enact more immediate funding to improve the energy efficiency of homes and other large-scale buildings.
The UK Needs an Additional £3.4 Billion
The think tank also found that the UK needs an additional £3.4billion in grants to ensure the government meets its target of installing a minimum of 600,000 heat pumps each year from of 2028.
The report states: “However, while the announcements of an energy demand reduction target, additional investments after 2025 and an EEFT were well received, the action proposed by the government did not lived up to the rhetoric and does not come soon enough. »
They estimated that installing low-carbon heating systems, such as a heat pump, could help reduce the average household’s energy bills by around £500 once the price guarantee of the government’s £3,000 energy will be deployed in Paril.
Mr Fox argued that the construction sector was still hampered by decades of “discontinuous government policies” in areas such as improving home energy efficiency.
He said: “In addition to the obvious financial and climate benefits of accelerating investment in this area, the government should take into account the significant job creation opportunities and wider economic benefits it would bring. »
He believes that apart from the initial cost of the heat pump, another major challenge in accelerating its deployment is the general complexity of applying for subsidies that encourage the use of the heat pump.
He said: “Financial support must be more generous, more ambitious and easier to access. This would help the government address three of its biggest challenges simultaneously: The cost of living, climate change and energy security. »
This article is originally published on encause.fr