Green Deal fails to cut domestic carbon emissions
The good news is that the UK is on track to meet its renewable energy goals, with wind power substituting for gas and coal use and driving down greenhouse gas emissions, according to new government analyses. However, the actions of the next government are likely to be crucial in deciding whether the legally binding targets can be met. Emissions from transport remain high, while the shift to renewables has led to a reduction of 70 millions tonnes of CO2 equivalent since 1990. This puts the UK about halfway towards its commitments, because the overall energy target includes transport and heating, as well as electricity generation. For the UK to meet its EU goals, electricity generation from renewable sources is likely to have to increase to above 30% by 2020.
You can read the full Guardian report here...
The same emissions target could be reached by drastically cutting demand for domestic energy. Unfortunately, the failure of the Coalition Government's 'Green Deal' retrofitting progamme that was supposed to lift thousands of families out of fuel poverty and reduce domestic/ residential carbon emissions, is clearly evident in the graph below:
The Energy Company Obligation that was supposed to fund retrofitting of solid wall insulation in 'hard-to-treat' homes, was cut in 2013, after David Cameron described it as 'green crap'...
Download the Department for Energy and Climate Change's UK Energy in Brief 2014 to read the full report.