The government has announced the members of the new Energy Efficiency Taskforce, which is chaired by Minister Lord Callanan and NatWest CEO Alison Rose.
The Energy Efficiency Taskforce was first announced by the Chancellor in last year’s Autumn Statement and has been established to support a reduction of energy demand through accelerated delivery of energy efficiency measures across the economy.
It will devise a plan to help reduce total UK energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030 across domestic and commercial buildings and industrial process. This will include accelerating household insulation and boiler upgrades.
Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said:
We have scoured the UK’s industry to amass a top team of the best and brightest, and I am excited to learn from the unique expertise that each member brings to the table.
We firmly believe the will of people and industry to drive down energy use is there, but we need to put in place the right mechanisms to channel this. That means smart investment, effective engagement, and building the right skills base – and this is precisely what the Taskforce will be focussing on.
Alison Rose, Energy Efficiency Taskforce co-chair and Chief Executive Officer of NatWest Group, said:
I am delighted to welcome experts from across industry, academia and government to the Energy Efficiency Taskforce. Addressing the climate crisis is a team sport, and building vital partnerships between the public and private sector is key to tackling this challenge. The Taskforce is bringing together a breadth of experience and expertise from a range of sectors and we will work together to deliver concrete proposals that help support the ambition of reducing total UK energy demand from 2021 levels by 15% by 2030.
Our focus on reducing energy use across homes, commercial buildings and industrial processes is important not only for cutting carbon emissions but also for delivering greater energy security and lower bills for people, families and businesses up and down the UK.
The Energy Efficiency Taskforce Steering Group:
Co-Chairs:
- Lord Callanan, Minister for Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
- Alison Rose DBE, Group Chief Executive Officer, NatWest Group
Additional Steering Group members:
- David Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Barratt Developments
- David Halpern, Chief Executive Officer, Behavioural Insights Team
- Graham Bell, Chief Executive Officer, B&Q
- Mitesh Dhanak, Chief Executive Officer, Cenergist
- Laura Sandys, Chair, Government’s Energy Digitalisation Taskforce
- Professor Will Swan, Director, Energy House Laboratories at University of Salford
- Emma Pinchbeck, Chief Executive Officer, Energy UK
- Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Green Finance Institute
- Michael Liebreich, Chairman and CEO, Liebreich Associates
- Stephen Phipson, Chief Executive of Make UK
- Adam Scorer, Chief Executive Officer, National Energy Action
- Sir John Armitt, Chair, National Infrastructure Commission
- Carl Ennis, Chief Executive, Siemens plc
- David Postings, Chief Executive Officer, UK Finance
- Simon McWhirter, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, UK Green Building Council
Responding to the announcement, Daniel Scott, Vice President, Danfoss Climate Solutions, Northern Europe Region, Danfoss, said:
It’s welcome news to see the UK government taking energy efficiency seriously by adding leading experts to the taskforce dedicated to improving energy efficiency in the UK. It’s crucial for the government and businesses to remember that energy efficiency can take us a third of the way to Net Zero by 2050, according to the IEA. This new taskforce is certainly a step in the right direction. However, we would like to see the scope of this taskforce expand significantly. Energy efficiency goes well beyond buildings. This taskforce’s primary focus will be on improving the energy efficiency of the nation’s homes and buildings. This is promising, but we’d like to see a wider remit that also covers the entire economy of the UK, including industry and transport.
For example, there are incredible opportunities to reduce our energy demand in our cities by reusing energy from industry, our data centres, our waste facilities and our supermarkets. We could also reuse heat on a large scale. London has approximately 650 eligible excess heat sources, including data centres, TFL stations, supermarkets, wastewater treatment plants, and food production facilities. The excess heat from those sources adds up to a massive 9.5 TWh per year, roughly the amount of heat required to heat 790,000 households. We hope this kind of energy recycling, a key part of energy efficiency, is acknowledged and utilised by the new taskforce, especially as the cost of living crisis continues to damage businesses and lower standards of living for consumers.
