The Green Economy in Bristol and the West of ... - Miguel Mendonça
The Green Economy in Bristol and the West of ... - Miguel Mendonça
The Green Economy in Bristol and the West of ... - Miguel Mendonça
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22<br />
Section 2: Policy<br />
Deal <strong>and</strong> ECO are to be ‘marketled.’<br />
<strong>The</strong> proposals set out eight po<strong>in</strong>ts on <strong>the</strong> mechanism,<br />
with applicable laws <strong>and</strong> st<strong>and</strong>ards:<br />
1. <strong>The</strong> expected f<strong>in</strong>ancial sav<strong>in</strong>gs must be equal to or<br />
greater than <strong>the</strong> costs attached to <strong>the</strong> energy bill,<br />
known as ‘<strong>the</strong> golden rule’ <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Green</strong> Deal.<br />
2. <strong>The</strong> measures must be approved <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> claimed<br />
bill sav<strong>in</strong>gs must be those accredited through this<br />
process.<br />
3. <strong>The</strong> measures <strong>in</strong>stalled must have been<br />
recommended for that property by an accredited,<br />
objective adviser who has carried out an assessment.<br />
4. <strong>The</strong> measures must be <strong>in</strong>stalled by an accredited<br />
<strong>in</strong>staller.<br />
5. For householders, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Green</strong> Deal provider must<br />
give appropriate advice with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Consumer Credit Act <strong>and</strong> take account <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong>dividual circumstances <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> applicant.<br />
6. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Green</strong> Deal provider must have consent from<br />
<strong>the</strong> relevant parties, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> express consent <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> current energy billpayer.<br />
7. <strong>The</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> a <strong>Green</strong> Deal must be properly<br />
disclosed to subsequent billpayers (e.g. new owners<br />
or tenants) alongside energy performance<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation.<br />
8. Energy suppliers must collect <strong>the</strong> <strong>Green</strong> Deal<br />
charge <strong>and</strong> pass it on with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> exist<strong>in</strong>g regulatory<br />
safeguards for collect<strong>in</strong>g energy bill payments –<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g protections for vulnerable consumers. 40<br />
<strong>The</strong> ECO is also be<strong>in</strong>g designed at present to work<br />
with <strong>the</strong> <strong>Green</strong> Deal. <strong>The</strong> ECO is an obligation on<br />
“big energy suppliers” to provide targeted support for<br />
‘hard to treat’ homes <strong>and</strong> low <strong>in</strong>come <strong>and</strong> vulnerable<br />
households. <strong>The</strong>se two elements are dealt with by<br />
<strong>the</strong> Carbon Sav<strong>in</strong>g Obligation (CSO) <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Affordable Warmth Obligation (AWO) respectively.<br />
<strong>The</strong> CSO supports homes which do not satisfy <strong>the</strong><br />
‘golden rule’, most likely those packages which<br />
<strong>in</strong>clude solid wall <strong>in</strong>sulation. <strong>The</strong> AWO will be<br />
available to those households which are both <strong>in</strong><br />
private tenures <strong>and</strong> which currently fall under <strong>the</strong><br />
CERT Super Priority Group. 41<br />
<strong>The</strong> consultation document describes <strong>the</strong> vision for a<br />
successful <strong>Green</strong> Deal: “By 2020, we will have seen a<br />
revolution <strong>in</strong> British property. Millions <strong>of</strong> us will live<br />
<strong>and</strong> work <strong>in</strong> greater comfort, through upgraded <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong>sulated properties which do not cost <strong>the</strong> earth to<br />
heat, with smarter controls <strong>and</strong> meters help<strong>in</strong>g us<br />
manage our energy use, <strong>and</strong> generat<strong>in</strong>g our own heat<br />
or electricity. Fewer <strong>of</strong> us will struggle with our fuel<br />
bills, unable to reach basic st<strong>and</strong>ards without<br />
spend<strong>in</strong>g a huge proportion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> weekly budget.<br />
And for many people this will mean a more attractive<br />
home – modern measures like external solid wall<br />
<strong>in</strong>sulation can transform a tired pebble dash terrace<br />
<strong>in</strong>to a tidy, smart façade; <strong>in</strong>ternal measures can be<br />
<strong>the</strong> catalyst for new render or repa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g; replac<strong>in</strong>g<br />
an <strong>in</strong>efficient boiler can be done easily whilst<br />
renovat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> kitchen.” 42<br />
In late November 2011, DECC <strong>of</strong>ficials announced<br />
£200m <strong>of</strong> new <strong>and</strong> additional Government fund<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
provide a special timelimited ‘<strong>in</strong>troductory’ <strong>of</strong>fer to<br />
boost <strong>the</strong> early take up <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Green</strong> Deal. Energy<br />
<strong>and</strong> Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said:<br />
“This big <strong>in</strong>jection <strong>of</strong> Government fund<strong>in</strong>g delivers on<br />
our promise to ensure <strong>the</strong> <strong>Green</strong> Deal hits <strong>the</strong><br />
ground runn<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> make it as attractive as<br />
possible so that people start to benefit from day one.”<br />
He made <strong>the</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t that <strong>the</strong> sooner people take up <strong>the</strong><br />
scheme, or “<strong>Green</strong> Deal” <strong>the</strong>ir home, <strong>the</strong> sooner <strong>the</strong>y<br />
would see <strong>the</strong> benefit. Additional anticipated benefits<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> policy <strong>in</strong>clude private sector <strong>in</strong>vestment <strong>of</strong><br />
around £14 billion over <strong>the</strong> next decade, <strong>and</strong> at least<br />
65,000 <strong>in</strong>sulation <strong>and</strong> construction jobs by 2015. 43<br />
However, <strong>the</strong> policy has already been heavily<br />
criticised by <strong>the</strong> Committee on Climate Change<br />
(CCC). In an open letter <strong>of</strong> December 2011 to Chris<br />
Huhne, this group <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> government’s own climate<br />
advisers stated that <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir view, <strong>the</strong> scheme was<br />
fundamentally flawed. It has been reported that <strong>the</strong>y<br />
expect <strong>the</strong> scheme to reach just 23 million homes,<br />
ra<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong> 14 million it is <strong>in</strong>tended to reach.<br />
One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> contestations is that <strong>the</strong> current<br />
CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target) scheme,<br />
which places an obligation on energy suppliers to<br />
save carbon through efficiency retr<strong>of</strong>its <strong>and</strong><br />
renewables generation, works better than <strong>the</strong><br />
proposed marketled <strong>Green</strong> Deal <strong>and</strong> ECO<br />
mechanisms are likely to. 44 It rema<strong>in</strong>s to be seen<br />
whe<strong>the</strong>r government will respond to this<br />
fundamental po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>of</strong> criticism from such an<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluential <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>formed group.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Green</strong> <strong>Economy</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bristol</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong> <strong>of</strong> Engl<strong>and</strong>