News analysis with BESA
You’ve done it before and you can do it again
The building services industry has been central to major social change before and should be able to cope with the changes needed to deliver Net Zero, according to the former government minister who signed the UK Net Zero pledge into law
F
ormer energy minister Chris Skidmore OBE, who chaired the government’s independent review of Net Zero, told the latest BESA podcast that adapting buildings will deliver economic growth and better quality of life for UK citizens. He was a guest on the BESA podcast ‘Mission Zero with Chris Skidmore’ alongside the Association’s chief executive David Frise and two representatives from heat pump manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric - head of sustainability Martin Fahey and Net Zero design manager Chris Newman. Skidmore pointed out that, in the four years since
the UK’s pledge became law, more than 90% of global GDP had been committed to Net Zero work. “There are tremendous economic opportunities
[from delivering Net Zero] so we should be doing this whether there was a climate crisis or not,” he told the
podcast. “There could be a trillion pounds worth of inward investment into the UK by 2030 if we put the right measures in place.” He cited the adoption of central heating that
transformed qualify of life in the 60s and 70s as an example of how the building engineering sector had driven major change in the past. “This is not about making the country colder and
poorer…we want to make people warmer and richer,” said Skidmore. “We need to make sure we do not damage profi t margins, but if you don’t get the basics right around investment and skills – then it will be other countries that make the running.”
Competitive He said the government should be focused on what
was needed to give the UK a competitive edge and create policy certainty for businesses, so they make the right investment decisions. His ‘Mission Zero’ review, which was published in
January, made 129 recommendations for delivering a prosperous UK ‘green economy’. These included speeding up decisions around low carbon heating, the role of energy effi ciency in buildings, and accelerating the process for connecting renewable power generation to the country’s electricity grid. Skidmore admitted there was a lot of complexity
involved in the decarbonisation of buildings, but said the key was to have an overall net zero target. “I don’t relish anyone having to get to grips with that, but there’s a core message about Net Zero [that can drive the work] …and the challenge is we have to work with existing structures while reforming them.”
8
June 2023
DOWNLOAD THE HVR APP NOW
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
