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Discussions
What do you think?

Background

The Problem

In Britain, we can’t go on using energy in future as we have done in the past.

• We need secure energy – The UK is increasingly reliant on imports of oil and gas in a world where energy demand is growing.  Much of the remaining energy is in far-away places where the supply is unstable.  To help meet these challenges we need to use our energy more efficiently and increase our use of alternative energy supplies.
• We need affordable energy – In 2006, some 3.5million households were in fuel poverty, an increase of 1million since 2005. This increase has been caused by increases in consumer energy prices. A household is said to be in fuel poverty if it needs to spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain an adequate level of warmth.
• We need cleaner energy – Climate change threatens the stability of the world’s climate, economy and population.  More than two thirds of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions come from the way we produce and use energy.  So we need to change the way we use energy if we are to tackle climate change – that means using energy more efficiently and increasing our use of low carbon and renewable energy sources for electricity, heating and transport.
• We have agreed to meet legally binding carbon-saving targets - The UK has introduced the world’s first long term legally binding framework to tackle climate change and is aiming for an 80 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, compared to 1990 levels. Meeting a target of this scale will mean virtually eliminating emissions from our homes. To help us get there, we plan to increase our energy from renewable energy sources (like wind and solar energy) to 15% by 2020. 

How it affects us

Housing is responsible for around 27% of UK carbon emissions. Of this, around 60% is used to heat the home, 20% to heat water and 20% by cooking, lighting and appliances.

The bad news is that most of this comes from burning fossil fuels – not only will these eventually run out but they will also become much more expensive What’s more, a lot of the heat has a nasty habit of escaping out the door, windows, floors, walls and roof, so we’re wasting a lot of energy too.

If we are to deal with these challenges, there will need to be a big shift in the way we insulate, heat and power our homes.  The shift will impact on every home and business in the UK.

For example, people will need to accept and – in some cases – take up new measures, – such as installing insulation in the home or accepting wind turbines in their area.

This is the big energy shift.

But at the moment, we’re a long way away from this – so we all need to work together to think about the best ways of getting individuals, communities and the whole country moving towards the big shift.

What’s the role of Government?

The Government has a role to play in encouraging people to take action – through legislation, funding, advice, and in other ways too.

But the Government needs to understand people’s views in order to create policies which help the big energy shift happen. Government has drawn up a series of draft plans – on renewable energy, measures for heating homes and businesses, and energy efficiency - and is consulting with people on these plans.

How does this project fit in to the wider consultation?

Many of the ideas in the draft plans will directly impact on households and communities. So the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland Executive all need to have a good understanding of what the public thinks.

Ipsos MORI is an independent research agency which has been asked to arrange nine citizens’ forums. These forums are designed to discuss the various measures; separately from the consultation on heat and energy. The forums will allow members of the public to get a really good insight in to the challenges we face and learn about some of the other alternative options that are either out there already, or will be very shortly.

Government is also engaging directly with businesses via Business in the Community and the Small Business Consortium, and with the public sector – such as schools, hospitals, prisons, local and central government – via the Sustainable Development Commission.

The findings from the citizens forums, and from the work with businesses, the public sector, and from the formal consultations, will be used to inform Government’s final plans, which will be published in the spring/summer of 2009.

Take a look at the technologies we are studying at Event 1 by clicking here (Powerpoint presentation - please right click and 'Save As' to download.

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