Britain must replace 12 million boilers
There are still over 12 million standard efficiency boilers installed in UK homes and these must all be replaced with high efficiency condensing models by 2022, according to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).
This committee was set up as an independent body to advise the Government on how to meet its climate change targets and set carbon budgets. It is due to report every year to Parliament on progress in reducing carbon emissions as part of the requirements of the Climate Change Act and its first report appeared last week.
As well as replacing boilers, the report stated that the country would have to insulate 10 million lofts and 7.5 million cavity walls by 2015 and carry out solid wall insulation on 2.3 million homes, also by 2022.
It also looked at non-residential buildings and has set a target for each of them to achieve a minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating of F or higher by 2020.
It acknowledged that such a massive programme of improvements would require serious financial incentives far more ambitious than the current Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) approach, which has led to energy companies meeting their obligations by sending out low energy light bulbs to homeowners.
Instead, we will need 'whole house' and 'street-by-street' approaches where a wide range of measures are applied simultaneously with local government and energy companies working together.
"With the carbon budgets in place, we now need to achieve a step change in the pace of emissions reduction," said the committee chairman Lord Turner. "The government needs to build on its Low Carbon Transition Plan and put in place a comprehensive delivery framework.
"What we have proposed is achievable and affordable, but action needs to be taken now if we are to make our contribution to combating climate change."