When it came around: A round-up of the Government’s Green Day

The Government has released over 2000 pages of policy and deluged campaigners with countless datasets covering everything from energy price statistics to greenhouse gas emissions. It had been dubbed “Green Day” by Ministers, although that was subsequently changed to “Energy Security Day.”

But in among the noise, what’s actually been done to lower energy bills and provide energy security?

On providing support to the millions of households living in fuel poverty, there was nothing concrete to report.

On creating warmer homes through insulation and energy efficiency, there was very little new apart from a rebrand of the Home Upgrade Scheme as the Great British Insulation Scheme and a clear signal that electricity is the future of home heating.

 

There is still a huge funding gap meaning millions of homes will remain cold and hard to keep warm this winter. Previous estimates revealed a £2.17bn spending chasm – based on the 2019 Conservative Manifesto promises.

Meanwhile, the Government has kicked the can down the road on bringing in minimum energy efficiency standards for privately rented homes, despite consultations on the issue having been run in 2020!

It was also hoped that there would be a much needed step change on renewables, especially on unlocking onshore wind, one of the cheapest, most popular forms of power generation.

 

Expanding offshore wind capacity is important as is supporting the roll out of solar power with a new task force to bring bills down and meet climate targets. There was silence around ending more oil and gas expansion plans, leaving some to question the point of “Energy Security Day” as it had also been billed.