Millions Of Brits Told Not To Heat Homes At Night As Part Of 'Net Zero' Climate Goals
Britain's Climate Change Committee (CCC) has urged millions of Britons to not heat their homes in the evening to help the government hit its net zero target.
No, they aren't urging elites to ditch their private jets for commercial, or not to burn 1,000 of fuel taking the yacht out for a jaunt. Chris Stark, head of the CCC, wants ordinary citizens to turn off their electric heaters (heat pumps) at night as part of a wider drive to deliver "emissions savings," which includes a shift away from gas boilers - which Chris, a hypocrite, still has.
Contained in a document on "behavior change," the CCC recommended that Britons instead "pre-heat" their houses in the afternoons when electricity use is lower, and would theoretically save families money.
"There is significant potential to deliver emissions savings, just by changing the way we use our homes," reads the CCC's sixth "carbon budget" paper, which lays out how the UK should reduce its emissions between 2033-37.
"Where homes are sufficiently well insulated, it is possible to pre-heat ahead of peak times, enabling access to cheaper tariffs which reflect the reduced costs associated with running networks and producing power during off-peak times."
Critics boil
"The grid is already creaking and daft ideas like this show just how much worse it will become," Andrew Montford, the director of Net Zero Watch, told The Telegraph. "It's clear that renewables are a disaster in the making. We now need political leaders with the courage to admit it."
And according to Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, head of his party's Net Zero Scrutiny group, "It is becoming clear that adherence to judicable Carbon Budgets and edicts coming from the CCC are developing into farce."
"The Climate Change Act 2008 will require amendment to free us from madcap and impractical targets foisted upon the population by long departed politicians.
"This latest advice to freeze ourselves on cold evenings merely shows the truth that the dream of plentiful and cheap renewable energy is a sham.
"I came into politics to improve all aspects of my constituents’ lives, not make them colder and poorer," he told The Telegraph.
Lower bills?
The CCC insists that following the advice means "homes will still be warm, but bills can be lowered," adding "This is a demonstration of homeowners benefiting from periods of the day when electricity is cheaper."
"Using electricity to heat a home opens the prospect of choosing a time when prices are lower, something that’s not possible with a gas boiler," he continued, adding "Smart heating of homes like this also makes the best possible use of the grid and supports greater use of cheap renewable generation."
The advice follows a furore over Government plans to ban the installation of new oil powered boilers from 2026and force homes into adopting heat pumps.
Downing Street has hinted it is now set to U-turn amid warnings the move would increase rural fuel poverty and put more strain on the struggling electricity grid.
The CCC is an independent body set up by ministers in 2008 to advise the Government on how to hit its climate targets.
In its latest report, the committee criticises No 10 over its “worryingly slow” action on climate.
It states that Downing Street’s support for new oil and coal exploration and the expansion of airports meant Britain was no longer a global green leader. -The Telegraph
Last month Stark, the head of the CCC, admitted that he still has a gas boiler at home instead of an electric heat pump (gasp!). And he's not alone.
"I have a gas boiler. I wish I didn’t, but I live in a flat and heat pumps are a very difficult thing to put in there," he told the Commons environmental audit committee. "The gas boiler guy who comes round and fixes my gas boiler – it breaks very often – tells me they will never work."
Do as Chris says, not as Chris does.
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