The Government has revealed its plans to reduce carbon emissions and cut energy bills with a £35 million package, as it pledges to make buildings across the country more energy efficient.
As it stands, around 18% of the country’s carbon emissions comes from commercial buildings, with the residential housing market accounting for 24% of all CO2 emissions in the UK.
On Tuesday, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced it was setting aside a pot of £35 million in the shape of its energy efficiency innovation technology fund. The fund forms part of the Government’s November 2010 Spending Review, which saw £200 million made available for low carbon technologies over a four year period.
There’s no word yet, on how the fund will work, but DECC’s new Energy Efficiency Deployment Office – which is currently being established – will more than likely be accountable for its spending. The fund will provide support to the Coalition’s policy agenda which sets out to make businesses and homes more energy efficient. The Green Deal, for example, due to launch in autumn 2012, aims to insulate a whopping 3.5 million homes over just two years, providing consumers with energy efficiency improvements ranging from cavity wall insulation to double glazing and loft insulation.
Speaking at the Liberal Democrat Party conference in Birmingham, energy secretary Chris Huhne said: “With energy saving, we can offset the effects of higher prices and end up with lower bills.”
Retrofitting existing homes and businesses in the UK remains high on the Government’s list of priorities.
energy efficiency improvements including energy efficient boiler replacement, cavity wall insulation, double glazing and loft insulation
