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UK government ‘failing’ to cut carbon emissions from home heating
(The Guardian, 3 Feb 2022) Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee sees lack of direction on how to end reliance on gas.
The government is failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions from heating the UK’s homes, an influential committee of MPs has warned, with little sign of a clear plan for ending reliance on increasingly expensive gas.
Home heating is responsible for about 14% of the UK’s carbon emissions, and must be tackled urgently if the government is to meet its carbon reduction targets. Last year, ministers announced a heat and buildings strategy, with the intention of weaning the UK away from gas – which makes up about 80% of domestic heating – and on to lower carbon alternatives, such as heat pumps.
But the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) select committee found that the strategy did not set out how the changes would be achieved, that government “lacked clear direction” on the issue, and that current policies were inadequate to the scale of the problem.
The warning comes amid soaring gas prices around the world, which are also likely to result in a sharp rise in the energy price cap, to be announced on Thursday, and expected to hit lower income households hardest.
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The Guardian, 3 Feb 2022: UK government ‘failing’ to cut carbon emissions from home heating
