NEWS All the latest news from around the building industry
ATTACK ON ‘MIXED’ GREEN
MESSAGES The government has been accused of sending mixed messages on its ambitions to cut carbon emissions. Chancellor George Osborne
told the recent Conservative Party annual conference that he agreed ‘climate change is a man-made disaster’ and insisted ‘we must have investment in greener energy’. But he added: ‘Britain makes
up less than 2% of the world’s carbon emissions, to China and America’s 40%. We are not going to save the planet by putting our country out of business. ‘So let’s at the very least
resolve that we’re going to cut our carbon emissions no slower – but no faster – than our fellow countries in Europe.’ Neil Bentley, the deputy
director general of business lobby group the CBI, said: ’Despite our green ambitions, economic and political realities bite. We find ourselves not ahead of the pack, but out on a limb. ‘We’ve got no international
deal, no global carbon price, no meaningful EU price and the UK tying itself in costly green policy knots. The UK is in danger of straining to hit its targets but missing the point: that we need an economy that’s low carbon and competitive.’
Industry highlights green gaps in new Energy Act
l Failure to roll out DECs is a huge disappointment, says CIBSE
Ministers have pledged to ‘revolutionise’ the energy efficiency of Britain’s homes and businesses, in the wake of the Energy Act becoming law. The Act sets out plans for the government’s Green
Deal, which is due to come into effect in a year’s time. But CIBSE has criticised the government for failing
to use the legislation to extend mandatory Display Energy Certificates (DECs) to commercial buildings. Andy Ford, president of CIBSE, said: ‘ At a time
when the UK faces rapidly rising energy bills, increasing capacity constraints and a huge cost to renew the UK’s generating capacity, the decision not to include the public display of energy use in large commercial buildings in the Act is incomprehensible and hugely disappointing, especially from a government that markets itself as being “green” and business friendly. ‘The government has ignored both the
success of its own campaign to reduce energy use across its own estate and a plea from a wide cross-section of industry to include this critical enabling measure. What a waste.’ The National Insulation Association called on the
‘ Ministers have ignored their own green
successes’
government to develop a plan ‘to insulate the housing stock and support the transition from lower-cost cavity wall and loft insulation to higher cost solid wall insulation (SWI). This will need to include support and
funding for skills and training for SWI,’ it said. Measures in the Act include allowing property improvements to be repaid via a charge on the energy bill, setting a ‘quality mark’ for contractors, and setting an energy-efficiency threshold for privately- rented homes. The Department for Energy and Climate Change has also published a ‘Housing Energy Fact File’, which it says highlights that more than half of homes in Britain don’t have sufficient insulation. Separately, the government has launched a consultation on its plans to review the
Renewables Oligation (RO) scheme, which provides funding for major green electricity-generation projects. It is seeking comments on proposals for the levels of banded support to be made available.
For more information visit:
www.decc.gov.uk www.cibse.org
6
CIBSE Journal November 2011
www.cibsejournal.com
Slavo Valigursky/
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