The Committee on Climate Change wants to hear from you

The Climate Change Committee has long championed energy efficiency; its role is to analyse and make comment on the wider performance of government on all things related to climate change. It is made up of cross party MPs and it now enters a new committee with a new chair.

As Elmhurst has frequently referenced, the ‘Clean Growth Strategy’ was first published in 2017 and set out a strategy of how to improve the energy efficiency of all buildings in the UK. It had targets, such as all homes to be EPC rated ‘C’ by 2035 where cost effective, affordable and practical.

The committee stresses that “widespread deployment of energy efficiency measures across the UK’s building stock will be crucial to any credible and cost-effective strategy to meeting net zero. This includes improvements to around 6 million cavity walls, 6 million solid walls and 21,000 loft insulation measures. There are over 10 million owner occupied households below the EPC band C. This is the market where the largest carbon savings can be made yet there are no incentives for this market to grow.

“The former committee inquiry into energy efficiency found that major policy gaps still exist. “

The committee is inviting submissions on the Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes. Responders do not have to reply to all questions, and evidence need not be limited to these questions, but they ask that the responses are not more than 3,000 words, and that shorter submissions are welcomed and encouraged.

Are the Government’s targets on residential energy efficiency still appropriate to achieve its ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2050? What are the potential risks and opportunities of bringing forward the Government’s energy efficiency target? Should Government targets for energy efficiency be legislated for, and if so, what difference would this make? How effective is the EPC rating at measuring energy efficiency? Are there any alternative methodologies that could be used? What are the challenges for rural areas? How will lack of progress on residential energy efficiency impact the decarbonisation of heat and the associated costs of this? How can the Government frame a Covid-19 stimulus strategy around improved energy efficiency of homes? Is the £5 million Green Home Finance Innovation Fund enough to stimulate the market for and drive action from the banks to encourage owner occupiers to improve the energy efficiency of their homes? What policy and/or regulation could supplement it? Which models in other countries have been successful at stimulating demand for energy efficiency within this market? What additional policy interventions are needed for social housing, leaseholders, landlords and tenants? How should the proposed Home Upgrade Grant Scheme be delivered to help the fuel poor? Should the new grant scheme supplement ECO in its current form, or should ECO be redesigned? Are there examples of where energy efficiency policy has fallen between Government Departments? How could cross-departmental coordination be improved?

Stuart Fairlie Technical & Operations Director said “The committee plays a great role in ensuring that the current government stays on track. I have stated on many occasions that the strategic intent is set inside the Clean Growth Strategy, but we are lacking clear policy in some areas. There is good policy in rented buildings (both domestic and Non-Domestic) and Social housing has had many targets for decades. The part that has no real clear policy is the owner occupied sector, which is by far the largest sector. We are still waiting to see how our home and business are catered for in all the regions. We will as always discuss our opinion with our members, and ask that they respond. Our members have a wealth of knowledge and experience and can certainly help support the committee in pushing for better energy efficient buildings in the UK”

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Deadline for responses Monday 22^nd June 2020

For further information: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/309/energy-efficiency-of-existing-homes/

For details of how to respond: https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/148/energy-efficiency-of-existing-homes/

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_{Article published: 02/06/2020}