Opening the CBI’s Annual Net-Zero Conference, CBI Director-General, Tony Danker, has called on the Government to make “an all-out national effort” on energy efficiency.
He outlined a strategy to simultaneously reduce energy bills at a time of high inflation and spur economic growth.
Speaking to an audience of senior business leaders at the Science Museum in London, Tony said people must not be left “at the mercy of global oil and gas prices”.
The best solution is to give people the tools to manage their demand via energy efficiency measures like home insulation. Second, by being an “early mover” on new green growth opportunities as the UK has been with offshore wind. Calling out climate sceptics he added that “business and government must show decarbonisation is the solution, not the problem. We must show now how it delivers lower bills, better jobs, and brighter economic prospects”.
Research shows retrofitting UK properties to improve energy efficiency could save households around £500 (for those homes rated D or worse for energy performance to a C) and cut energy costs for small and medium sized businesses by up to a quarter.1 2
At the CBI event, sponsored by Bain & Company, Equinor and National Grid, he urged Government to scrap its “fits and start approach” to energy efficiency, and instead find a long-term solution.
The CBI recommends urgent Government action on three fronts:
- Legislate for the fourth ECO scheme before summer recess and commit £1bn annual funding for energy efficiency retrofits, creating a new ECO+ scheme which helps more households kickstart their plans to fit insulation immediately.
- Unblock delays to green infrastructure by publishing an accelerated planning regime for offshore wind projects, to cut delivery time in half. And reform the onshore wind planning regime to approve projects at speed.
- Back critical technologies that will support the world’s decarbonisation in the decades ahead. Confirm business models for hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage by 2023; alongside backing the deployment of two additional carbon capture clusters by 2030.
Tony Danker, CBI Director-General said: “The war in Ukraine has made the switch to clean energy more urgent – to guarantee global security, national security and the security of every family in our country. Inflation changes the game too.
“People feel powerless, some are at breaking point. Their lives at the mercy of global storms that they and even their own government have little ability to control. While the Government’s recent support package will help ease some of the pressure, they’re clear it’s a temporary solution.
“Energy prices are likely to be higher for longer than we imagined. Reimagining the supply side to reduce our fossil fuel use further will take years not months. This is a long-term crisis that needs a long-term solution, but people need a fix now.
“It’s driving something of a backlash against net zero, partly understandable in the circumstances. Yet coming most forcefully from long-time sceptics. Arguing net zero is a costly distraction. Better we stick with fossil fuels. Currently, the public don’t quite agree. Despite all the challenges, the surveys show continued commitment to tackling climate change.
“But we can’t be complacent. Business and government must take this seriously. We must show decarbonisation is the solution, not the problem, or we’ll lose that support. We must show now how it delivers lower bills, better jobs, and brighter economic prospects.”
