Emission Impossible

NEW RESEARCH: FOUR IN TEN BRITS PREDICT UK WILL HAVE CARBON POLICE BY 2050

--- And a quarter think worst environmental offenders will be forced to go to "energy rehab" and take "energy addiction classes"---

New research unveiled today (Wednesday 25 June) paints a bleak picture of the UK in 2050 if action is not taken now to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

The research, commissioned by the Energy Saving Trust, the UK's leading organisation set up to help people fight climate change, finds that more than four in ten Brits (41%) think the UK will need its own Carbon Police Force.

A quarter of Brits also believes the worst environmental offenders will be forced to go to energy rehab and take energy addiction classes while 62 per cent think that by 2050 the Government will enforce tough laws to make Brits reach environmental targets.

The survey of 2159 people across the UK was commissioned as part of the Energy Saving Trust's report Emission Impossible? A vision for a low carbon lifestyle by 2050, launched today.

In it, the independent environmental organisation outlines the major steps that need to be taken for the UK to reduce its carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent by 2050. The report shows that if we take simple actions now we can meet long term carbon reduction targets without damaging our quality of life.

These include carbon-cutting measures which address: the way our homes are built; the source of energy we use; the product choices we make; how we travel; our day-to-day behaviour; our use of water; how we use resources and deal with waste.

Chief executive Philip Sellwood said: "The UK's perception is that by 2050 we could have the sort of draconian infringements on our civil liberties that have been highlighted in our research. This need not be the case.

"The carbon emissions we all produce from our homes and travel amount to over 40 per cent (43%) of the UK's total emissions so we all have a part to play."

"Our report outlines the Energy Saving Trust's vision for achieving a low-carbon lifestyle by 2050 where we meet our 80 per cent reduction targets without adopting austere lifestyles or making unpleasant personal sacrifices."

Emission Impossible? suggests a range of measures that must be taken by 2020 if the UK is to meet its 2050 targets. These include:

• More domestic renewables - 10 MtCO2/year. With the right policies in place, up to 10 million microgeneration units, ranging from solar panels to ground source heat pumps, can be installed by 2020, saving up to ten million tonnes of carbon dioxide (10 MtCO2), the equivalent to taking around 3.5 million cars off Britain's roads.
• Roll out smart meters and smart controls -7.4 MtCO2/year. All the technology is available now to help people to see how their energy is being used, what it is costing them and how to change their energy use.
• Stop inefficient appliances coming to market -2 MtCO2/year. This could include voluntary agreements, prices fixed by the Government or outright bans of energy wasting technology. If everybody bought the most efficient appliances available such as fridges, freezers and washing machines, by looking for the Energy Saving Recommended (ESR) label, we would save four MtCo2 per year.
• Make good energy performance a prerequisite for selling a house - 19 MtCO2/year. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) now tell us how energy-efficient a house is. We should use EPCs to decide whether houses need upgrading before they are sold. Reducing council tax in return for improving a house's energy performance would provide further incentive to householders to undertake energy-saving measures. This sort of policy could bring about savings of around 19 MtCO2 per year, the same amount of CO2 as that produced every year by all households in London.
• Give industry no choice but to produce high quality low/no-emission vehicles. Vehicle manufacturers need strong signals from government if they are to be confident there will be a long-term market for more energy-efficient vehicles. Manufacturers have an opportunity to change the market so that the least polluting models are the most desirable and aspirational choices.
• Make water valuable and visible. For a householder, putting a monetary value on water and waste is the first step in reducing their carbon footprint. A rollout of water metering will encourage basic water-conservation measures, with estimated savings of ten per cent per year: if only half of this is hot water we would save 1.75 MtCO2 per year.
• Ditch the disposables. Reusing, rather than binning, unwanted goods is an important part of a low carbon lifestyle. Reusing products saves carbon by avoiding the waste of their "embodied" carbon and the carbon cost of landfill. For example, donating clothes to charity shops would save the average household almost as much CO2 as turning down the thermostat by one degree Centigrade.

Sellwood added: "A low-carbon lifestyle will improve the quality of all of our lives. We could have warm, affordable, comfortable homes and better travel choices at the same time as protecting our environment."

"Although it often seems that only expensive or far-off technological breakthroughs can make a difference, a low-carbon future can be achieved with a combination of existing technology, bold policy decisions and the right personal choices."

"It is clear not only from our research but also from the tens of thousands of calls that come in to our advice centres every year, that there is growing concern about the long-term effects of our energy use on the environment. More and more people are looking to the future and realising that they need to act now to prevent unwelcome climate change.

"This year we expect the UK government to announce new and ambitious targets for carbon reduction, which will rely on all of us doing our bit. The Energy Saving Trust will be using this new report to decide how best it can continue to help people live a low carbon lifestyle. If, like us, you want to start taking action now, then the Energy Saving Trust is here to help."

The Energy Saving Trust's study of 2159 people across the UK also found:

• Almost half of Brits (46%) hope that by 2050 wasting energy will be the most socially unacceptable of behaviours.
• By 2020, more than two thirds of Brits (69%) believe they will have replaced all their current white appliances such as fridges and freezers with Energy Saving Recommended ones. This increases to 72% by 2050.
• By 2020 62 per cent of Brits would like a home where it is only necessary to heat for a few days in the year due to the high standard of insulation used. This applies no matter what type of home you have
• By 2020 44 per cent of respondents believe that being energy-efficient will be as important to them as their family?s health and a healthy diet
• By 2020 more than one in three (39%) of people in the UK believe they will have a smart meter to manage their fuel use.

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