Why we all need better support to help us make the shift to green energy

Dear Sue:

I am concerned about recent backsliding on our net zero commitments. Given recent extreme weather events, shouldn’t the Government be doing all it can to help us meet our sustainability goals?

Name and address supplied

Sue Says: You diligently recycle, even taking soft plastics to your local supermarket. You walk or cycle as much as you can. You offset your carbon emissions when travelling by plane and you are even thinking of taking the plunge and ditching your car for a new electric vehicle.

Such lifestyle changes, once considered alternative, have become more mainstream. Necessarily so. As recent wildfires in Rhodes and Hawaii have reminded us – as if reminders were even needed – man-made climate change is ravaging local communities.

The results are not just abandoned holidays, but lives lost, family homes destroyed and businesses – so often dependent on tourism for survival – closed.

But consumers and businesses behaving more sustainably will not be enough unless they are given the support they need to make big changes. That’s down in part to the mismatch between what consumers think will have the most impact (such as limiting our use of single-use plastics, for example) and what the experts say will be the most beneficial (such as changing the way you heat your home, for instance).

However, it is also because living more sustainably includes more complex – and costly – choices.

Take low-carbon heating in our homes. Home heating accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions and reducing the use of gas and oil won’t just have a positive impact on the environment, but it will also mean less consumer reliance on increasingly volatile international fossil fuel markets.

But as anybody who has installed a heat pump will attest, it’s easier said than done. Heat pumps may be the most talked about environmentally friendly appliance right now, but they hardly come cheap.

The Climate Change Committee, an independent public body, estimates the average price of energy efficiency upgrades and heat pump installations is just under £10,000. Consider the fact that one quarter of Britons say that they have no savings whatsoever, and it becomes clear it is simply not an option for millions of households.

The Government’s boiler upgrade scheme offers grants of up to £5,000 and the aim is to reduce the costs of installing a heat pump by 25 to 50 per cent within the next two years. That work will be vital in encouraging greater take-up. For many homes, step one is to reduce the amount of energy required to heat your home by improving insulation.

However, options available vary considerably depending on the household’s income, their property and whether they are a homeowner or a tenant.

While tenants can apply for grants to improve insulation or pay for the improvements themselves, persuading landlords to stump up the money for more involved changes might be an uphill battle.

Householders need much better information and advice services to find their way through this maze.

The Government’s Simple Energy Advice service, which enables consumers to enter some details about their property and receive recommendations, is a start but could be easily expanded by signposting householders to other reputable providers.

Our research has also found that consumers looking for a new trader find it hard to trust the information they are provided with.

With money increasingly tight for millions amid the worst cost of living crisis in decades, a fear of being let down or ripped off after spending hard-earned cash is a significant factor in delaying home improvements.

The fear is not misplaced. Nearly seven million UK consumers fell victim to rogue traders in 2021. The vast array of search platforms, schemes and codes that are available in the home improvements sector also makes it much more difficult to make an informed decision.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is in charge of regulating competition and consumer protection, is looking into how consumer trust in green heating can be improved.

The CMA’s recommendation is for the Government to review the certification schemes to see how they can be simplified and improved, and consider introducing mandatory alternative dispute resolution to help householders and installers resolve issues should anything go wrong.

More needs to be done to help consumers make meaningful changes and it will be up to the government to lead from the front.

Sue Davies is the head of consumer protection policy at Which?  To have your question featured on this page, email [email protected].