WIREDGOV

Hundreds of homeowners across the country are being offered the chance to install energy saving technologies at no upfront cost in an initiative timed to mark the launch of the climate change conference in Copenhagen.

Homeowners in Birmingham, Sunderland, Stroud and the London Borough of Sutton will test out new ways to finance whole house energy makeovers under the Government's £4m Pay As You Save scheme.

The pilots will give households the opportunity to invest in energy efficiency and micro-generation technologies in their homes with no upfront cost. 

Householders will make repayments spread over a long enough period so that repayments are lower than their predicted energy bill savings, meaning financial and carbon savings are made from day one.

A total of around 500 homes across England will take part in the trial which will provide evidence of how to foot the bill for the Great British Refurb - the Government's plan to make the 22 million existing homes in the UK more energy efficient.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said: 'The next two weeks in Copenhagen are crunch time for the planet. The UK has taken a lead in putting solutions on the table throughout the process so far and I'll not rest until we have the most ambitious, effective and fair deal possible.'

He said the UK's ambition for a positive outcome in Copenhagen was based on the Government’s domestic policies including its statutory commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.

'Many British householders want to reduce their emissions, but are put off by the upfront cost of installing insulation, solar panels or ground source heat pumps. Pay As You Sa ve will trial different ways of paying for this work so it’s affordable,' he said.

'One quarter of the UK's total emissions come from homes, so householders have to be a part of the solution to climate change. Increasing the energy efficiency of homes not only helps reduce emissions, but will also help reduce fuel bills.'

Meanwhile the Energy Bill, which receives its Second Reading in the Commons today will:

• Protect vulnerable households by providing mandatory social price support, such as in the form of an electricity bill rebate;
• Make clear that Ofgem, the energy market regulator must include the reduction of carbon emissions and the delivery of secure energy supplies in their assessment of the interests of consumers; and
• Put UK at the forefront of developing CCS technology through the new CCS Incentive that will support the construction of up to four commercial-scale CCS demonstration projects in the UK.

Last week Prime Minister Gordon Brown told business leaders that the pre-Budget report on 9 December would lay out the Government's strategy to deliver a low carbon economy recovery.

He told the members of the Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group (CLG): 'In next week's pre-Budget report we will set out our strategy for securing economic recovery and investing in future jobs and growth, especially in those industries that will build the low carbon economy of the future.'

The CLG presented the Prime Minister with the Cambridge Communique signed by 850 companies that underlines that economic development will not be sustained unless the climate is stabilised, making it critical that we move beyond the global downturn in a way that lays the foundation for low-carbon growth.

Related links

Energy Bill, Department of Energy & Climate Change

Business leaders meet at Number 10

The Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change, University of Cambridge