Energy efficiency

The wasteful use of energy, especially when it has come from burning fossil fuels, is causing serious damage to the environment. It is estimated that home energy use is responsible for 28% of all UK carbon emissions, a figure which has increased by 8% since 1999.

Since 1970, improvements in UK homes have resulted in the doubling of energy efficiency with consumers benefiting by saving £10 billion and reducing carbon emissions by 28MtC per year. This is 3 times the savings made by the entire nuclear industry and almost as much as the combined emissions from all coal-fired power stations in the UK.

However, in order for the UK government to deliver its target of reducing carbon emissions by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050 much more must be done.

Government targets

In November 2008, the UK government passed the Climate Change Act, which sets legally binding targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide by 80% based on 1990 levels.

In November 2012, the government published the energy efficiency strategy (pdf, 30 page(s), 1.26 MB) setting out plans and policies to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions across all sectors.

On 16 December 2013, the government published an update to the 2012 strategy (pdf, 50 page(s), 543.24 KB) to highlight the significant progress made over the last 12 months on energy efficiency.

Local authority responsibilities

Under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (HECA), every energy conservation authority is required to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and to report its progress to the Secretary of State.

How you can help

Please make sure that you use energy and resources sparingly and try to reduce your personal 'carbon footprint'. By following the advice provided by the Energy Saving Trust and making only small adjustments to your way of life you can easily save both energy and money.