An extraordinary collapse in work to tackle the UK’s energy-leaking buildings over the last decade has been revealed, as the crucial Cop27 climate summit continues.
Some 2.3 million measures were installed each year through government-backed schemes when the Conservatives came to power – but that tally plummeted to fewer than 100,000 in 2021.
The figures are revealed in a highly-critical letter from the independent climate watchdog, which calls the government’s record “particularly poor”.
“Heating UK buildings contributed more than a fifth of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021,” Lord Deben, the chair of the Climate Change Committee has written.
“Building emissions have stagnated over the past decade, in large part due to under-investment in energy efficiency.”
The letter, to the chancellor Jeremy Hunt, will be seen as an attempt to put tackling the climate crisis through better energy efficiency on the agenda for next week’s autumn statement.
“Regrettably, it is too late to introduce new policies to achieve widespread improvements to the fabric of buildings for this winter,” the committee says.
But it adds: “Government can lead by example by investing in the energy efficiency of the public estate, demonstrating national and local government efforts to reduce energy demand.”
The watchdog says it would cost “less than £1,100” to give more than six in ten households “levels of energy efficiency that are compatible with Net Zero”.
The criticism comes after Rishi Sunak came under fire for a “vacuum of leadership” over the climate crisis and a claim that the UK is “at the forefront” of global efforts to avert disaster.
The prime minister initially refused to attend Cop27 and the UK was criticised for being among 165 countries that have failed to beef-up promises to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The UK’s plans to expand North Sea oil and gas production dramatically are in the firing line, with Joe Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, warning against new licences.
The government, under Liz Truss, also resisted the sort of energy-saving drive introduced by the EU, in reaction to soaring gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The committee urges Mr Hunt to “make energy efficiency a core part of the government’s exit strategy from expensive energy bill subsidies”.
“With higher prevailing energy prices, investments in energy efficiency measures are recouped faster through savings on energy bills, even as inflation increases some construction costs,” the letter states.
“The next two years should be a period for a concerted push to improve rates of loft and cavity wall insulation, draught-proofing and installing modern tools to manage energy use (such as smart thermostats, thermostatic radiator controls and smart meters).”
