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.

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”

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/

_{Article published: 02/06/2020}