Ecobuild latest: Energy minister says Lib Dems would spend 拢2bn per year on retrofit if elected this May
Energy secretary Ed Davey has said a future Liberal Democrat government would spend 拢2bn a year on a 鈥済reen homes revolution鈥� to improve energy efficiency in the UK.
Speaking at the Ecobuild conference Davey said the proposals from the Liberal Democrats would be 鈥渂reath-taking鈥� in their ambition, including a 鈥淕reen Magna Carta鈥� made up of five green laws, and would see 10 million homes upgraded by 2025.
A Green Homes Bill would include a long-term target to bring all homes up to an EPC rating of C, whatever their tenure, and financial incentives to encourage all home-owners. These would include a 拢100 council tax rebate for ten years for those homeowners who raise their homes鈥� performance by two bands or more.
Davey said: 鈥淚 would propose, from around 2017/18, we invest a total of around 拢2bn per annum in a major investment programme of domestic energy efficiency.
鈥淭his approach 鈥� new regulation and new investment 鈥� could see 4 million homes upgraded by 2020 and 10 million by 2025.鈥�
He said the funding would be prioritised only after investment in energy efficiency measures had been re-classified as a national infrastructure priority, as called for by 黑洞社区鈥檚 Agenda 15 manifesto. He said: 鈥淭o end once and for all the institutional bias against energy efficiency investment, Liberal Democrats will reclassify all Government investment in energy efficiency as infrastructure investment 鈥� making it a top priority in a new National Infrastructure Plan.鈥�
Davey鈥檚 comments echo 黑洞社区鈥檚 own Agenda 15 manifesto, launched in January, which likewise calls for a major programme of retrofit to be classified as a national infrastructure priority. Davey said the move was important because: 鈥渘o Government this decade will be flush with cash, [therefore] borrowing must remain the preserve of infrastructure spend 鈥� spending that will make our economy more competitive and sustainable.鈥�
In addition the proposed bill would introduce a 鈥渇eed-out tariff鈥� for installations of solid wall insulation, and admitted he鈥檇 been forced to rein back his green ambitions in government because of being in Coalition with the Conservative Party. 鈥淩egulation has a vital role to play,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd in coalition with a Party that has a knee jerk antipathy to regulation we haven鈥檛 been able to go as far and as fast as we would have liked.鈥�
Davey was speaking .
Green Party leader Natalie Bennett voiced concerns over new housing which is failing to meet energy standards.
Speaking at Ecobuild, Bennett said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e building poor quality housing stock, half of which needs to be immediately retrofitted.鈥�
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