Further UK policy measures are needed to shift homes towards low carbon heating options, analysis by Cambridge Econometrics finds. Natural gas will still be used to heat UK homes for a “long time” to come, even with the government planning to ban the use of fossil fuel heating in new homes from 2025. That is the assessment of economists at policy consultancy Cambridge Econometrics, who alongside academics at Radboud University last week published an analysis of the planned Future Homes Standard, which was announced as part of the Chancellor’s recent Spring Statement. It calculated that banning fossil fuel heating systems in new homes from 2025 could lead to annual carbon emissions savings of around 13Mt of CO2 by 2050. The analysis also argued that providing a six-year lead time before the ban kicks in is “sensible” as it will allow companies the chance to become familiar with alternative technologies. However, it added that due to the long lifetime of existing homes heating systems and boilers, gas for heating “will still be around for a long time”. It also warned that the ban also risks discouraging some home owners from shifting to more efficient condensing gas boilers in the short term if they fear the technology is to be phased out from 2025.
Business Green 25th March 2019 read more »