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Government ‘lacks clear net zero strategy’ As it gears up to host the international climate summit COP26 a few months from now the UK Government lacks a plan for how it will achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 despite setting the target - in law almost two years ago, according to the Public Accounts Committee. Government “intends to publish a plethora of strategies this year” setting out how it will reduce emissions in different sectors ranging from transport to the heating of buildings, but at present, there is no coordinated plan with clear milestones towards achieving the target, the Committee says. Departments across Government are not yet sufficiently considering the impact on net zero when taking forward projects and programmes. The Treasury has changed the guidance on policy appraisal to ensure departments place greater emphasis on the environmental impacts, but also hasn’t set out how this will work in practice. Government is not yet ensuring its activities to reduce UK emissions are not simply transferring emissions overseas, which would undermine global efforts to tackle climate change. As much as 62 per cent of the future reduction in emissions will rely on individual behaviour including day-to-day choices to one-off purchases such as replacing boilers or buying an electric vehicle.
FUNDING GAP ON HOMES EFFICIENCY
Time called on Green Homes Grant Having slashed £1bn from its funding the government has now called time on the Green Homes Grant scheme. It closed to new applications at the end of March and the £300m previously allocated for the GHG will now go into a programme administered by local authorities, targeted at lower income households. The government said many households were reluctant to apply for the grants - up to £10,000 because they feared catching Covid from contractors coming into their homes. However, in some parts of the country installers were actually overwhelmed with demand. Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng emphasised the transfer of cash to the local authority fund, rather than the scrapping of the GHG. “Upgrading the country’s homes with energy efficiency measures means we can cut emissions and save people money on their energy bills,” he said. “Today’s funding boost will
Bristol receives cash as it heads towards net zero Bristol’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 has been further enhanced after the city was awarded £6.9m to help reduce emissions from its public buildings. The central government funding will be used to extend the Bristol Heat Network to nine sites. The money will be used to improve existing connections the heat network and to fund the replacement of existing gas boilers with low or zero carbon heat sources, allowing rapid growth in the numbers of buildings connected to Bristol’s Heat Network.
mean even more households across England are able to access these vital grants through their local authority. “This latest announcement takes our total energy efficiency spending to over £1.3bn in the next financial year, giving installers the certainty they need to plan ahead, create new jobs and train the next generation of builders, plumbers
and tradespeople.” Matthew Pennycook, the shadow minister for climate change, said: “The funding announced doesn’t even come close to plugging the investment gap created by the government’s decision to slash more than £1bn from its Green Homes Grant scheme and then scrap it altogether.” Julie Hirigoyen, chief executive at UK Green Building Council, said: “Slashing more than £1bn in funding for energy efficiency is an absolute travesty, for households wanting to take action and for businesses trying to plan ahead, and has created yet another roadblock for decarbonising the country’s 29m homes. We have been left speechless by this news, which comes just days after the Environmental Audit Committee sent a clear message to government that if we are to meet our legally binding target to be net zero carbon by 2050, urgent action is needed to improve energy efficiency of homes this decade.”
Italy to offer ‘exemplar programme’ for efficiency The new Italian Government is offering a grant worth 110 per cent of the total sum spent improving the energy efficiency of any home. Householders can install measures drawn from a long list of eligible measures, covering structural improvements that reduce energy consumption. This includes all types of insulation, glazing, heating and cooling systems, photovoltaics, lighting systems, and electric car recharging points. It is already being billed as an exemplar programme for other EU countries as part of the European Green Deal initiative, leading to net zero carbon by 2050. Prime Minister Mario Draghi, former president of the European Investment Bank, has introduced several options covering the extra financial compensation. For renovations originally costing the householder €100,000, the beneficiary can reduce the amount of tax paid by €22,000 over each of the next five years- effectively providing the householder with an annual reward of €2,000 for participating in the scheme. Those not paying taxes can receive the sum
either directly or via the contractor employed to oversee the work. In contrast, the now-defunct Green Homes Grant offered just 65 per cent of total householder costs, up to a maximum of £5,000. It also had a very limited and prescriptive list of qualifying items, excluding lighting, boilers or electric car recharging points. But there is one way in which the
2021 UK Budget announcements do reflect the same concept of extra rewards for those who make investments that the Government wish to encourage. Chancellor Sunak has announced his intention to provide 130 per cent tax relief upon first year capital allowances for companies - which can certainly include major electrical and lighting retrofits.
06 | ENERGY IN BUILDINGS & INDUSTRY | APRIL 2021
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