The NIA is calling on all political parties to recognise that home energy efficiency needs to be defined as a National Infrastructure Priority to combat fuel poverty.
The National Insulation Association (NIA) is advising that energy efficiency interventions provide the best long term solution to reduce energy bills and tackle fuel poverty. They are also the most cost effective way to reduce carbon emissions. Neil Marshall, Chief Executive at the National Insulation Association said: “Following the significant reduction in insulation activity under the Energy Company Obligation and the closure of the SWI funding in the 2nd phase of the Green Deal Home improvement Fund, the government has to rethink its stop start schemes and incentives. It really needs to put in place a long term plan and funding mechanism if we are to insulate the UK housing stock in a timely manner. With over 7 million homes having inadequate loft insulation, over 5 million that require cavity call insulation and almost 8 million homes that need solid wall insulation, we need to significantly strengthen energy efficiency policies and programmes.”
Make Energy Efficiency retrofit an Infrastructure Priority
The Energy Bill Revolution Campaign which the NIA supports is calling for 2 million low income homes to be brought up to EPC Band C by 2020, and 6 million low income UK homes up to EPC Band C by 2025. To achieve these targets energy efficiency needs to be made a UK infrastructure investment priority on a par with energy generation and transport etc.
To meet the 2020 target requires increasing annual investment to £2bn per year. This could be achieved by supplementing the ECO with either half of the £2bn annual proceeds of carbon revenue from the Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme and Carbon Floor Price projected for 2015 to 2020, or by using a small percentage of the UK infrastructure budget. An extra £1bn of government investment each year only represents 2% of the annual £45bn government infrastructure budget. Investment in retrofitting homes to make them energy efficient not only provides the best way to cut energy bills, reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty, it also represents one of the best economic investments the government can make in terms of growth, jobs created, value for money and tax revenue. The government’s infrastructure programme and budget should be prioritised accordingly.
Marshall added: “The NIA is calling on all political parties to recognise that home energy efficiency needs to be defined as a National Infrastructure Priority with public investment to support the most vulnerable households and to create the confidence for the industry to scale up investment over the long term.”
National Insulation Association (NIA)
Tel: 08451 636363
