Energy Bill 'must be more ambitious'
Friday, 1 April 2011 1:29 PM
The government's Energy Bill must be more ambitious if it is to encourage households to be more energy efficient, it has been claimed.
A joint statement from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and World Wildlife Federation (WWF) said the government needs to "define its ambition" for the Green Deal, which is central to the Bill.
FMB director general Richard Diment said: "The fact that 42 per cent of the UK's carbon emissions come from our buildings means that the Green Deal has enormous potential to help ensure the UK meets the requirements set out in the Climate Change Act of reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050."
He claimed that the government is running out of time if it is to succeed in its goal to upgrade 14 million homes over the next nine years.
"To do this, the retrofit work would need to be completed at the rate of 1.5 million homes per annum, which equates to almost 30,000 homes per week – or, put another way, nearly 4, 274 homes every day," he commented.
Diment added that incentives also need to be introduced, such as a reduction in VAT for energy-efficient work and a council tax discount for retrofitted homes.
Want to be the first to know when we break a story? Follow @AboutProperty on Twitter.
