“Energy saving advice line - received 775 energy related enquiries from members of the public last year alone.
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Jhow can reduce its energy demands? by DEPUTY ROB DUHAMEL
will recall the bedtime sprint, hot water bottle in hand, from the warmth of the coal fire-heated sitting room to an unheated bedroom.
A
Step forward forty years and in many modern, relatively well-off family homes in the middle of winter, the occupants move comfortably from heated room to heated room, often just in t-shirts. Perhaps their home is exceptionally well-insulated – in which case, I wish them well. But after years of relatively cheap energy, most people have just got used to whacking up the thermostat.
No-one would advocate a return to the chilly seventies, but we are faced with a body of credible evidence that there’s a heavy price to pay for these warm homes – emissions that contribute
nyone reading this growing up in the seventies or before
to the acceleration of climate change.Furthermore, it’s clear that the supply of cheap and reliable energy is less certain. Most of Jersey’s primary energy is imported, but the global energy market remains unpredictable and Jersey is vulnerable to price shocks and physical failures in supply.
As fuel prices continue to rise, there is also the prospect of many less well-off people in the Island suffering fuel poverty – with an accompanying reduced standard of living and possible related health problems.
Jersey recognised the possible scale of the problem some time ago and in line with the majority of developed economies, we signed the 2005 Kyoto Protocol and made an international commitment to reduce our carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
We’re not anywhere near that figure yet, and without significant action to change our current patterns of energy use, demand will continue to grow and Jersey will miss the emissions reduction target. It’s not just me and my team at the Department of the Environment who think we need to do more. Nearly half of those who responded to the Jersey Annual Social Survey 2012 said they didn’t think the States was doing enough to address climate change.
So what are we doing? The Department of the Environment published an energy plan for Jersey earlier this year. Pathway 2050: An Energy Plan for Jersey raises a number of challenges that arise from tackling the interrelated issues of ensuring secure energy supply into the future whilst ensuring that all members of the community have access to affordable warmth and
ersey Page 4 20/20 Habitat - The Environment
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