Govt urged to tackle domestic energy efficiency

Wednesday, 12 March 2008 12:00 AM

Environmental campaign organisation Friends of the Earth (FoE) is calling on the government to massively expand its efforts to increase levels of energy efficiency in the homes of the fuel poor.

The group argues present efforts to boost the income or lower the bills of the fuel poor will provide neither a permanent solution to fuel poverty costs nor a solution to climate change.

In response FoE is calling for a £5 billion windfall tax on energy companies' excessive profits to be levied in the Budget later today.

"The government's strategy on fuel poverty has comprehensively failed," said FoE's low carbon homes campaigner, Ed Matthew.

"Not only have the most vulnerable in society not been protected, a key opportunity to reduce the UK's household carbon emissions has been lost. Capping the bills of the fuel poor isn't enough.

"The only permanent solution to fuel poverty is high levels of energy efficiency."

Under the proposals money from taxation would be used to kick-start a programme of low carbon home zones across the UK to provide super insulation and low or zero carbon energy for all households in fuel poverty.

Fuel poverty occurs when a household has to spend more than ten per cent of income on heat and electricity.

There are presently over four million households suffering from fuel poverty in the UK, doubling from two million in 2004, according to FoE.

This comes despite government pledges - under the Fuel Poverty Strategy (FPS) - to eliminate fuel poverty in England in vulnerable groups by 2010 and in all households by 2016.

The government tackles energy efficiency in residential property under numerous schemes, including Warm Front, the Energy Efficiency Commitment and Decent Homes.

Calls from FoE mirror those made by Energy Action Scotland (EAS) which is calling for extra VAT revenue generated by domestic energy price rises to boost funding for ending fuel poverty.

The campaign group reasons recent fuel price increase could secure the Treasury an additional £175 million through VAT, and argues this should be used exclusively to tackle fuel poverty in the four UK nations.

"With energy prices rising, it is essential programmes to improve the energy efficiency of our homes are well-funded and well-targeted," said Norman Kerr, EAS director.

"By making our homes as energy efficient as possible, people will have more protection from falling into fuel poverty when energy prices rise."

Chancellor Alistair Darling's first Budget begins at 12:30 today.

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