THE government has to get an urgent grip on the UK's huge waste of
energy if it is to limit the country's contribution to climate change,
according to a highly critical new report from the House of Lords.
At present there is a "complete lack of coherent policy" on energy
efficiency, with too many departments, agencies and strategies pulling
in opposite directions, the House of Lords' all- party science and
technology committee stated.
Baroness Perry of Southwark, who chaired the inquiry, said that
without immediate reform of the policies and government schemes to
promote energy efficiency, targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
will be missed by a wide margin.
Worryingly, many of the rules and protocols which have to be observed
in order for councils and developers to obtain grants and funding for
more efficient buildings are actually a hindrance rather than a help.
Baroness Perry condemned the current red tape which surrounds such
initiatives as "a disgrace", adding that the government were "very
accomplished at talking the talk, and all the strategies sound
wonderful, but it's just lip service".
However, the inquiry comes just a week after the Lords' economic
affairs committee issued a report casting serious doubts over the
doomsday scenario outlined by the majority of climate scientists. That
committee said money was being wasted on futile attempts to limit
emissions, and it would be better spent adapting to inevitable changes
in the weather with flood defences and water conservation, and
developing carbon-free energy sources.
Among recommendations the new inquiry put forward was a single energy
minister with responsibility for both the energy supply industry and
energy efficiency. The number of agencies in the field should also be
trimmed by merging the Carbon Trust and the Energy Saving Trust, it
said.
Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland,
welcomed the report.
"The mish-mash of agencies hides the lack of money to address energy
efficiency, and results in applications for grants and help being
bounced from pillar to post," he said. "This report shows that a target
for energy efficiency needs financial and organisational commitment
behind it if it is going to get anywhere near delivery."