CBI and Green Alliance cautious over Green Deal

Charlotte Reid writes how yet more voices have been added to the concerns over the effectiveness of the Government’s Green Deal, a flagship energy efficiency scheme.

The CBI, a business lobbying organisation, and the think-tank Green Alliance have expressed concern over new environmental legislation, the Green Deal. They warn that changes will need to be made to the proposed plans if they are to be as effective as promised.

These statements coincided with the end of the Government’s consultation period on the proposals.

This comes after the Government’s own research revealed that the Green Deal could fail. When the proposals are introduced in October, a significant drop in the number of people taking up energy efficient measures is predicted.

Under current Government schemes that help with subsidising the cost of insulation, 1m homes a year have had their lofts insulated. But the data from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) predicts that once the Green Deal has been introduced, this figure will drop to 70,000 homes a year. The figure should be around 2m a year to meet the climate targets.

This drop in interest is also predicted in cavity wall insulation and solid wall insulation.

But as Rhian Kelly, CBI director for business environment says, “Without demand we haven’t got a Green Deal”.

She said, “The Green Deal has the potential to play a key part in the UK’s transition to a low carbon economy. If successful, the Green Deal will be a win-win policy, delivering cost effective emissions reductions and driving private sector growth”.

The think tank, Green Alliance, released a report looking into how the Green Deal is likely to be applied.

The report, called Getting a good deal from the Green Deal, concluded that there are a number of barriers that could affect the scheme. But it did notice that there was a lot of support for the proposals at community level. Only this week the DECC announced a £4million boost for 82 local energy schemes.

The Government are keen to roll out this new approach to sustainable homes. Greg Barker, minister for climate change said in the Guardian, that, “The time has come for a radical new approach to home energy improvement, moving away from pepper potting individual measures to whole house or property solutions“.

He added, “Rather than write off the green deal before it has even started I am keen to hear from those who have concerns to ensure this is the success it needs to be.

“This is an exciting time in the world of energy efficiency, and we are on the brink of a revolution to make homes across the country cheaper to run, cosier to live in and ultimately fit for the future.”

If you want to start saving more energy then start to consider using home grown energy from Good Energy instead of relying upon fossil fuels and carbon to power your home.

Photo: Ell Brown