Climate Change Committee progress report “slams the ‘shocking gap’ in policy for home insulation, particularly given soaring energy bills.”
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The UK Climate Change Committee has just published its annual report:
2022 Progress Report to Parliament – Climate Change Committee
And it is not impressed with what the government is doing:
As the UK prepares for a winter of extraordinary fuel bills, the Government has recommitted to Net Zero. The urgency of moving away from fossil fuels, securing energy supplies and cutting carbon emissions has never been clearer, but a new Progress Report by the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) finds major failures in delivery programmes towards the achievement of the UK’s climate goals.
Current programmes will not deliver Net Zero – Climate Change Committee
This is being reported across the board.
Here’s the take from the Natural History Museum:
The UK could miss its net zero targets without urgent action to bring the country back on track. Policies to improve energy efficiency are among the steps that have been recommended to reduce emissions while also saving households hundreds of pounds.
The UK is on track to cut just 40% of the emissions required to reach net zero, the country’s top climate body has warned. Comprised of policy experts and scientists, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) is an independent body which advises and monitors the UK government on climate change. In its latest update to Parliament, it found that while the UK was one of the world leaders in cutting carbon dioxide, urgent action is needed to match the promises the government has made.
Climate change report lays out what the UK must do to achieve net zero | Natural History Museum
And most of the reporting is focussing on the lack of insulation:
‘Shocking’ gap in insulation action in face of high bills – climate advisers | The Independent
‘Shocking’ lack of insulation action in face of high bills – climate advisers – Cheshire Live
Today’s Express gives a summary:
Reacting to the study, Prof Richard Green of the Sustainable Energy Business at Imperial College Business School, said: “The Committee’s calculations show that households’ energy bills could have been a billion pounds lower this year if the Government had not cut spending on energy efficiency after 2012. The energy you don’t have to use is the cheapest and the most secure source of all.”
The authors of the report slammed the “shocking gap” in policy for home insulation, particularly given the soaring energy bills. In the press release, CCC wrote: “Government promised significant public spending in 2019 and committed to new policies last year, neither has yet occurred. The UK continues to have some of the leakiest homes in Europe and installations of insulation remain at rock bottom –the average annual energy bill for UK households is around £40 higher than if insulation rates from pre-2012 had continued for the last decade. Much now rests on the promised energy advice service, which must be a major undertaking that reaches millions of households and supports them through implementation of options to cut their bills and emissions.”
The report was not all negative, as the authors praised the Government for the successful implementation of policies around renewable energy deployment and electric cars. They found that in the past decade, emissions from electricity generation had fallen by nearly 70 percent.
CCC Chairman, Lord Deben, said: “The UK is a champion in setting new climate goals, now we must be world-beaters in delivering them.
This message has been repeated many times over:
And it’s not that complicated:
