Action in the UK - Tackling household carbon emissions
This page contains information about Government policies and programmes to reduce carbon emissions in the household sector.
The ACT ON CO2 advice line provides people with comprehensive advice on how to reduce their carbon footprint. You can get tailored, free, impartial advice from the Energy Saving Trust, covering energy efficiency, microgeneration and renewable energy, water efficiency and waste reduction. Connect with offers from energy companies who are now required to provide practical help to reduce your energy use at home - including subsidies for energy saving measures. Call 0800 512 012 (Mon-Fri 9am – 5pm), or go to www.est.org.uk. See also Benn takes the fight against climate change Into homes and communities (Defra news release, 2 April 2008)
The DirectGov website also provides advice and information on reducing energy consumption in the home.
Grants are available for vulnerable private sector households to install energy efficiency measures, including central heating and insulation, under the Government's Warm Front Scheme. See our fuel poverty information.
Key Government Policies
Government has a comprehensive package of policies designed to tackle carbon emissions from households. Through these policies, household emissions are projected to fall from around 40 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) today to around 36 MtC in 2010, and 30 MtC by 2020. Key policies include:
- obligations on energy suppliers to encourage household energy efficiency (and a commitment to maintain a supplier obligation, in some form, until at least 2020)
- better building standards;
- improved product standards;
- fiscal instruments including reduced VAT rates on energy efficiency materials and technologies;
- The Warm Front programme– bringing warmer, healthier homes to people living in fuel poverty. Defra is also responsible for developing the UK Fuel Poverty Strategy.
- Local government energy efficiency activity (including the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995).
- Individual and community action to tackle climate change
- Promotion of microgeneration technologies.
Government targets for household energy efficiency
The Government has a statutory aim (as required by the Sustainable Energy Act 2003), to save 3.5 million tonnes of carbon from residential properties in England through energy efficiency measures by 2010. A further target was set in the Housing Act 2004, which requires the Secretary of State to take reasonable steps to improve residential energy efficiency by at least 20 per cent by 2010 from a year 2000 baseline.
Although they use different metrics, both of these targets reflect a similar outcome in terms of the required improvement to the energy standards of housing.
Page last modified: 2 April 2008
Page published: 23 May 2007