59% want government to make homes greener
Tuesday, 10 May 2011 9:54 AM
A YouGov poll has found that 59 per cent of the British public wants the government to do more to improve energy efficiency in homes.
In the poll, 59 per cent stated that the government wasn’t doing enough to make residential property greener, and 65 per cent thought it should be easier and cheaper to make energy-efficiency-related home improvements.
Meanwhile, 54 per cent wanted their MPs to vote for improvements to the Energy Bill that would help the UK to meet current carbon emission reduction targets. The Energy Bill is being debated in the House of Commons today (Tuesday May 10 2011).
The research was commissioned by Stop Climate Chaos (SCC), a coalition of over 100 environmental and development charities. SCC believes that the Energy Bill currently being passed through Parliament is not ambitious enough to allow the UK to meet its legally binding carbon reduction targets of 34 per cent by 2020, 60 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2050.
As a result of the research, 60 organisations, including SCC, large corporations such as Marks & Spencer, environmental pressure groups and major trade associations including the British Retail Consortium, are urging David Cameron to prove that he was serious when he said that he wanted this to be the 'greenest government ever'.
Richard Diment, director general of the Federation of Master Builders, said: "The Energy Bill could have the potential to make significant energy efficiency improvements to our homes and help lower greenhouse gas emissions, but the government must be much clearer about exactly what the Green Deal should achieve if it is to succeed.
"Without a clear ambition and delivery plan the government risks having no Green Deal in 2012. It would be a huge mistake to miss this opportunity to transform our homes and offices by making them greener and more energy-efficient.”
Key issues to be debated when the Energy Bill is discussed at Westminster today include domestic fuel increases, carbon emissions and the tens of thousands of new 'green' jobs that would need to be created if the carbon reduction targets are to be met in time.
SCC is keen for the government to accept the Warm Homes Amendment to the Bill, which would ensure that energy efficiency improvements met targets in the Climate Change Act and reduce fuel poverty.
Colin Butfield, of SCC member WWF UK, said: "If we are to secure our future energy supplies, reduce home energy bills, create the 100,000 promised new green jobs by 2015 and tackle climate change we need a strong Energy Bill. But currently what we have is a weak bill and a missed opportunity.
Butfield added, "Homes are responsible for 26 per cent of all our carbon emissions and a programme to retrofit them could bring huge benefits to the UK economy. But the government has not defined the scale of ambition of this policy or the size of market it will create, making it impossible to imagine how business will make the upfront investment decisions needed to deliver it.
"Government must urgently define what they want this bill and policy to achieve.”
Today has also seen the publication of an open letter to David Cameron from business leaders who are urging the Prime Minister to deliver on promises to cut carbon emissions from the commercial property sector.
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