The ‘war effort’ of energy efficiency is essential to lower bills and emissions | Energy efficiency

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A national energy efficiency “war effort” is needed to lower energy bills, reduce greenhouse emissions and ensure energy security, according to a multi-party committee of MPs.

The report from the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said boosting efficiency in homes and businesses is the fastest way to cut energy use, but the government missed a “critical opportunity” last summer. An energy bills crisis was triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, while political turmoil in the United Kingdom led to three prime ministers in office between July and October.

The report called for onshore wind farms to be rolled out urgently, solar panels in new buildings to be required, and for the government to set a date to end licensing of new oil and gas fields. The EAC said the UK’s dependence on imported fossil fuels made it vulnerable to price shocks and that the report’s recommendations would accelerate the transition to clean energy.

MPs said the government’s current energy strategy is mainly focused on supply only. While they welcomed the government’s promise of £6 billion in future efficiency financing to cut demand, they said: “Those who are fuel poor cannot afford three winters of delays. It is a false economy to give that money back at a time when households are struggling and the taxpayer is forced to spending billions to subsidize energy bills.”

The report said some windfall taxes on energy companies’ profits should be used to advance efficiency financing and meet the government’s 2019 commitment to invest £9 billion in energy efficiency: “a ‘national war effort’ is required to save energy and efficiency.”

The number of energy efficiency installations in the UK, such as insulated lofts and hollow walls, peaked in 2012 at 2.3 million. Then the prime minister, David Cameron, slashed efficiency programs amid claims he wanted to get rid of “green bullshit” from energy bills. By 2021, annual installations will be 96% lower, less than 100,000. The EAC has called for at least 1 million installations per year by 2025 and a goal of 2.5 million by 2030.

“Bold action is now needed,” said EAC Chairman Philip Dunn. “We must fix our leaking housing stock, which mainly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and wastes our hard-earned money. The government could have gone further and faster.” Ministers were divided over a public information campaign on energy efficiency, which finally got underway in December.

“The UK has huge potential in renewable energy and sectors such as offshore wind are booming,” said Dunn. “But more needs to be done to harness the opportunities presented by wind, tidal and solar technologies.” Renewables will provide 40% of the UK’s electricity in 2022 and are much cheaper than power generated by flaring gas.

“With fossil fuel prices a major driver of the cost-of-living crisis, many of these recommendations are a no-brainer,” said Jess Ralston, chief energy officer at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.

“There are also costs to not following the EAC’s recommendations,” she said. Our analysis suggests that if the UK had adopted net zero technologies more quickly in the past, households could have saved around £1,750. [each] on energy bills last year. And with the gas crisis dragging on until the end of this year and possibly longer, the billions spent paying the bills make the transition away from fossil fuels even more urgent.”

Juliette Phillips, of the E3G think tank, said: “MPs have correctly identified that accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels is the only permanent solution to resolving the intertwined climate and energy crises.”

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The EAC report indicated that fossil fuels still provide 78% of the energy used in buildings, vehicles and industries in the UK. But some witnesses examined by MPs questioned whether licensing new oil and gas projects was consistent with global efforts to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the Paris Agreement.

The committee said the UK could show its climate leadership by setting a date “before 2050” after which no new projects will be approved. Denmark terminated its oil and gas exploration license in 2020.

The EAC also said companies should not be allowed to flaring gas: “The routine flaring of unwanted fossil gas should be completely banned, as Norway has done since 1971.”

A government spokeswoman said it had set aside £6.6 billion for this parliament and another £6 billion until 2028 to make buildings more energy efficient. “With Russia weaponizing energy across Europe, it is imperative that we boost domestic energy supplies,” she said.

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