UK Govt’s long awaited energy strategy is hailed as a “major misjudgement” as energy efficiency, home insulation and onshore wind is apparently bypassed. What are we left with?
The Guardian reports:
Analysis: betting big on nuclear, hydrogen, oil and gas while passing over energy saving measures, Johnson’s plan is a huge missed opportunity
It continues:
Government industrial strategies are often derided as attempts to pick winners. The UK’s Conservative government has taken a different approach with its new energy strategy. In terms of dealing with the energy bill and climate crises, it’s picking losers.
It is crystal clear that transforming the energy efficiency of the nation’s draughty homes should be the No 1 priority. After all, the cheapest, cleanest energy is the energy you no longer use and nothing can be installed faster than insulation.
There are huge opportunities – for example, just 40% of UK homes have sufficient loft insulation. But there is nothing new in the strategy beyond an advice website. Former Tory energy minister Charles Hendry calls this a “major misjudgment” that will “force large numbers of very vulnerable people to be cold next winter when they need not be”.
The discussion continues. You can read the full article here, and further analysis here.
Carbon Brief carries this, too, from The Big Issue:
UK: Climate advisers find ‘multiple’ risks of failure in government’s green homes plan
The UK government’s plans for decarbonising buildings contain “multiple” risks of failure, according to an independent assessment from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the Big Issue reports. It says the government’s official climate advisers warn the heat and buildings strategy is ambitious but lacking the firm policy needed to deliver its goals. The publication adds: “Decarbonising housing stock will protect millions from spikes in energy prices, but progress is moving too slowly, the CCC has warned.” BusinessGreen reports: “The government must act now to fill significant policy and funding gaps in its headline strategy for decarbonising heat and buildings, the CCC has warned.” A CCC blog from lead analyst on residential buildings Marcus Shepheard sets out the committee’s findings. The Daily Telegraph leads its coverage of the CCC report with the headline: “£450m heat pump subsidy scheme could end up funding those who would have bought them anyway.” The Daily Express takes a similar line.