The IPPR think tank is calling for an ambitious and credible home insulation and clean heating strategy that enables everyone to benefit from warmer homes and cheaper energy bills, as new analysis shows the Government is installing fewer than 6 per cent of the heat pumps needed to decarbonise nation’s homes.
The think tank lays bare the scale of the challenge as it outlines the gap between the number of energy efficiency and heat pump upgrades currently being installed, and the number that will be needed annually by 2028, as set out by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) to reach Net Zero.
IPPR’s analysis shows that the UK is only installing:
- 6 per cent of the heat pumps needed
- 9 per cent of the cavity wall insulation needed
- 3 per cent of the loft insulation needed
- 2 per cent of the solid wall insulation needed
IPPR describes decarbonising homes and buildings as ‘one of the most difficult’ parts of the drive to Net Zero, but the researchers are clear that the challenge is far from insurmountable.
The new analysis warns that while public concern over climate change is at an historic high, support for action is not unconditional. Focus groups held by IPPR over the summer with homeowners and landlords revealed concerns around affordability, disruption and trust issues that the government’s forthcoming heat and buildings strategy will need to address if it is to be successful.
The think tank proposes that the government build a big and bold programme to shift the dial on home heating – the GreenGo Scheme. GreenGO would provide a unifying, and well-advertised, brand under which financial support from government for green measures and high-quality advice can be marketed to and accessed by the public.
The scheme would deliver:
- Cash – Grants and zero-interest loans for home retrofits. The government should directly fund an average investment of £6 billion a year into the scheme between now and 2030, which would help an average of approximately 650,000 households per year install insulation and heat pumps. The government should also slash VAT on retrofits to 5 per cent.
- Comms – A well-advertised source of accessible, comprehensive information with physical outlets on high streets across the country as well as a dedicated website and phone lines. People can’t and won’t make the clean heat switch unless they are aware of the support available.
- Skills – A street by street, area by area retrofit plan will drive job creation. IPPR estimates 300,000 good green jobs could be created to carry out the installations. To ensure the workforce has the necessary skills, the government should establish skills academies and a Green Training Fund.
- Standards – Targets for phasing out polluting heating systems will spur innovations in clean heat, and minimum standards for energy efficiency will boost the quality of old and new homes. IPPR calls for all new homes to be built to ultra-high energy efficiency by 2023, all oil heating systems to be eliminated by 2028 and gas heating systems removed by 2033.
Luke Murphy, head of the IPPR Environmental Justice Commission, said:
“The UK has a long way to go to reduce the pollution created by the way we heat our homes, but ensuring everyone has an affordable, clean and warm home is eminently achievable with the right policy action. The government must not repeat the mistakes of previous green home schemes, and instead go big with a scheme that truly flips the dial on home decarbonisation.
“In its forthcoming heat and buildings strategy the government must stump up the cash, set robust standards, support skills development, and communicate, communicate, communicate, if the UK is to be successful on the home front on the climate crisis.”
