UK Plan to Cut Carbon in Home Heating Falls Short, Lawmakers Say
(Bloomberg) -- The UK is failing to deliver on its plans to decarbonize home heating as Britain lags the rest of Europe in cutting one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions.
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That’s the key finding in a letter from the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee, which said the UK’s program to upgrade household boilers is on track to use just half of its budget due to a low uptake of grants.
It also said hydrogen isn’t a serious option to decarbonize home heating in the short term, adding that misleading messages from government are slowing the shift to more efficient electric options.
“The transition to low-carbon heat is fundamental in the path to net zero, given that 17% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions come from our homes,” said Kathryn Jane Parminter, the committee’s chair. She called on the government to quickly address the panel’s concerns so that the nation can meet its climate goals.
The boiler program is one of the key ways for government to boost the use of electric heat pumps and curb natural gas in home heating. The UK seeks to install 600,000 of the devices annually by 2028, but the country last year had the lowest uptake among 16 major economies in the region tracked by the European Heat Pump Association.
Britain in 2021 unveiled a hydrogen strategy that focused on the use of the fuel in industrial processes in the short term, with the potential for it to be used to heat homes in the future. While some in the industry have touted hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas, critics say it’s less efficient and more expensive than electric heat and may prove challenging to pump into homes safely at scale.
The committee called on the government to “provide greater clarity to industry and consumers on feasible options for low-carbon home heating through a consistent policy framework, public communications and householder advice.”
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