There are many contributing factors to climate change and one large contributor is the energy used in our homes to produce heating and water, which currently accounts for 13 per cent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. With the constant clamour by politicians for more homes to be built in the UK (and the planned new developments over the coming years), without action, emissions from this source will only increase.
The two recent UK Government White Papers entitled The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan and The UK Renewable Energy Strategy 2009 have set the framework to reduce the UK’s impact on climate change and reducing emissions from our homes appears to be high on the Government’s agenda. The Government’s plan is to reduce emissions from our homes by 29 per cent on 2008 levels by around 2020 and to cut emissions to almost zero by 2050.
Although these deadlines are in the distant future, the Government’s aim to reduce these emissions to zero is encouraging. It shows that many steps can be taken by each household to have its own positive effect, with the Government aiming for “smart meters” in every home by the end of 2020 - to hopefully enable people to understand their energy use and maximise opportunities for energy savings. The Government has also increased the obligation on energy suppliers to help households reduce emissions and save energy, by enlarging the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target by 20 per cent between April 2008 and March 2011, to bring the total investment in this area to £3.2 billion.
New build homes appear to be a key part of the Government strategy and the Government will require all new homes to be built to high environmental standards, reaching “zero carbon homes” from 2016. The exact specification of these new homes has not been revealed, but with 80 per cent of energy use in homes coming from heating water and the home itself, the Government has stated the need to radically reduce demand for energy and decarbonise the energy we use in our homes almost totally by 2050. Low carbon sources such as ground and air-source heat pumps and solar power have been endorsed.
The need to modernise our homes is apparent, but the Government is keen to point out that change must also come through an adaptation of our habits. Educating people in energy consumption is seen as an easy way to start achieving this change. However, for all the encouragement, guidance and funding there may be, the Government accepts that these changes will come at a cost to people. Indeed the Government has predicted that all of its proposed measures will on average add 6 per cent to today’s household bills by 2020. Consideration has been given to the threat of “fuel poverty”, whereby the vulnerable in our society face the prospect of spending more than 10 per cent of their income on maintaining a satisfactory heating regime. With our energy costs increasingly linked to the prices of imports, the Government seems to have recognised the need to help the most vulnerable through a combination of social price support, grants and incentives.
It is fair to say that the transition to zero carbon homes will be a long process and that a blend of obligations, incentives, information and funding will be required to truly achieve the necessary changes in peoples’ habits. Despite the framework that the White Papers set, many planning laws and housing issues are managed by local authorities, along with the London Mayor. With affordable new homes demanded almost everyday, the authorities will have to strike a balance between building homes that people can afford, but which also satisfy the low carbon initiative. Whilst many people have the means and the desire to embrace this change, others may not find it so easy to, through no fault of their own. The Government will need to recognise these differences and provide for them. However, if zero carbon homes are achieved, the UK may well have gone a significant way to minimising its impact on climate change.
