Govt ‘doing too little’ to help green switch
The government is failing to back up rhetoric on green principles with action, MPs have said.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee reported today the government is doing “too little” to help people adopt a greener lifestyle.
Although advice and grants are available to households seeking to reduce their own impact on the environment, the commons committee concluded there were frequently too complicated and inaccessible.
The report said the government is “doing little to help the many individuals and community groups keen to make an effort”.
It claimed much more should be done to improve energy efficiency in homes – identified as the single most cost effective way of reducing carbon emissions – and on helping people to generate their own ‘green’ power.
The government wants all new homes to be carbon neutral by 2016 but the committee said this target must be brought forward to be effective.
As an incentive for homeowners to improve their home’s energy efficiency, MPs suggested homeowners could claim a rebate on stamp duty if they made the necessary changes within a year.
MPs warned homeowners are also put off installing their own green energy generators, such as solar panels or micro turbines, because they are confused by planning regulations.
Problems in selling power back to the national grid also acts as a disincentive. With only one energy company buying back energy at the same price as it sells it, MPs said the government should consider a “feed-in-tariff” where all power companies buy back energy at a fixed price.
The report also pre-empted today’s Conservative policy review, by calling on the government to put pressure on manufacturers to phase out ‘stand by’ buttons, which are estimated to waste 3.1 million tonnes of CO2 a year.
Ministers must also increase the credibility of green taxes, rather than rebranding revenue raising taxes in a “green wrapper”.
Michael Jack, the Conservative chairman of the committee, called for the government to invoke wartime attitudes on food and spread the message that wasting energy is wrong.
He said: “Ministers need to make less speeches on climate change and do more to enable individuals, local authorities, house builders and power suppliers to maximise their contribution to emissions reduction as quickly as possible.”
Defra maintains it has already made it a priority to help consumers to do their own bit for the environment, pointing to its recent Act on CO2 campaign.
Environment minister Joan Rudock told the BBC: “We’re committed to harnessing that interest and doing more to help people make a difference.
“However we can always do more and efforts are already underway to improve co-ordination across government. We will of course look very carefully at all the suggestions made by the committee.”
