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The UK Government is still trying to work out how to make the Green Deal successful, but shadow climate change minister Luciana Berger is saying that the Green Deal doesn’t go far enough and she is urging other ministers to support the Warm Homes Amendment in order to achieve success for the Green Deal.
There is broad support for the objective of the Green Deal, which is to establish a pay-as-you-save scheme to encourage homeowners to adopt energy efficiency improvements.
But there is concern that the Green Deal may fail before it starts. That’s because the current form of the bill lacks clarity, benchmarking methods, and clear targets, diminishing the impact the Green Deal could potentially make.
The Warm Homes Amendment is an amendment to the energy bill which requires the Government to publish a plan for energy savings from the building stock which is strong enough to meet its legal duties to cut carbon (under the Climate Change Act 2008) and end fuel poverty (under the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000).
The amendment has received wide support from over 70 organisations, including NGOs, businesses (including large retailers like M&S, ASDA and B&Q), trade unions, trade associations, and more. The public has also been in favour of the proposal – 54 pct want their MPs to support the amendment.
But without the proposed link, business confidence may diminish, squashing hopes that the Green Deal would be a success. We’ll be watching closely as government moves ahead with plans for the Green Deal and hope they will plan wisely for long-term, lasting change.
