Home Truths on carbon cuts for UK households

Carbon emissions from UK homes could be cut by 80 per cent by 2050, according to a new report published today (27 November) by Dr Brenda Boardman at the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute [1].

The report, Home Truths, assesses the Government’s record and sets out a blue print for delivering huge carbon cuts from UK homes while eradicating fuel poverty, creating jobs; cutting energy bills; and increasing fuel security [2]. The report was commissioned by Friends of the Earth and The Co-operative Bank as part of The Big Ask Campaign for a strong climate change law. Parliament will begin debating the Government's Climate Change Bill today [3].

Carbon dioxide emissions from the housing sector have risen by more than five per cent nationally since 1997 and account for 27 per cent of the UK's carbon footprint. In London the main source of carbon dioxide emissions is energy use in existing homes. It makes up 38 per cent of the total emissions produced by the city every year. The Home Truths report praises plans being developed by the Mayor to cut the capitals emissions.

Home Truths outlines a comprehensive policy framework at local and national level, for cutting carbon emissions from new and existing homes. It shows how initial Government spending of £12.9 billion a year for approximately ten years can deliver 80 per cent cuts in carbon emissions, the elimination of fuel poverty and provide permanent energy savings from UK homes worth £12.3 billion a year. The average household could see their energy bills cut by at least 66 per cent, equivalent to a £425 annual saving at today’s prices.

Key recommendations include:

* Introducing a package of financial incentives

Financial incentives will make it cheaper for householders to cut their energy use and produce their own green energy. This package will include grants, low interest loans, stamp duty rebates and a reduction in VAT on energy efficiency measures to five per cent.

* Reforming the energy market

A feed-in-tariff system is introduced which rewards households that fit low or zero carbon technology (LZC), such as solar panels, with a guaranteed premium price for any electricity they sell back to the grid. It is complemented by a renewable heat obligation, which requires a proportion of household heat to come from LZC sources, and a green gas tariff which encourages the use of waste gas as a fuel.

The aim is to fit every home in the UK with at least one LZC by 2050. UK households would be net exporters of electricity, generating up to ten percent more then they require.

* Eradicating Fuel Poverty

Low-carbon Zones will be created, initially in areas where there is a concentration of fuel poor households. Local authorities would implement a street by street programme of improvements aimed at upgrading the walls, windows and roofs of homes in each zone by, for example, insulating solid walls. The report estimates that this approach would eliminate fuel poverty at a cost of £3.3 billion a year for the next nine years - treating 444,000 houses a year at an average cost of £7,500 per house.

* Introducing and enforcing minimum standards for homes

All homes in the UK will be issued with an Energy Performance Certificate grading them from G (very inefficient) to A (very efficient and almost carbon zero). Minimum standards for energy performance will then be introduced and tightened over successive years. Anyone who buys or rents out a house or flat that does not meet the minimum standard will not be allowed to sell or re-let it until it has been upgraded. By 2050 three million homes, which are so cold they are officially a health hazard, will have been upgraded, and the rate of heat loss in the average house will be halved.

Friends of the Earth's Big Ask Campaign and The Co-operative Bank are campaigning for a strong climate change law that will commit the UK to cutting its emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. Home Truths demonstrates that the UK housing sector can deliver this level of cuts in an equitable way.

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said:

“This report shows that there is huge potential to reduce harmful carbon emissions by making our homes more energy efficient. In London, homes are the biggest source of emissions, and the average London household could save £300 per year if they take up offers like our cut-price loft and cavity wall insulation. We can make significant cuts quickly and cheaply, but as this report rightly points out, to achieve the really big emissions cuts that are now necessary we also need the Government to change energy regulations to enable households to sell back low or zero emission energy generated in their homes at a fair price.”

Friends of the Earths Low-carbon Homes Campaigner, Ed Matthew said:

“It is neither cheap nor easy for a householder to make their home low-carbon. This is the Government’s fault and they must radically change their approach. The investment required is significant but the economic costs of not tackling combat climate change would be catastrophic.”

The report author, Dr Brenda Boardman, said:

“This report sets out a win-win scenario. It shows that we can make huge cuts in emissions from UK housing and that we can do this in a way which wipes out fuel poverty and ensures everyone has a warm, comfortable, low-carbon home. The Government needs to drive this transformation. It needs to provide the political commitment and financial support to turn this report into reality.”

Director of Corporate Affairs and Social Goals at The Co-operative Bank, Simon Williams, said:

“As a business we have reduced our own emissions by 90 per cent since 1997, so we welcome this report showing an 80 per cent cut in household emissions is achievable. However, in order to realise the vision of the homes of the future set out in the report, significant Government intervention is required urgently, starting with a robust Climate Change Bill. It’s time for the UK to get its house in order.”