CPRE push for a cut in emissions to save the countryside
By Western Morning News | Posted: April 17, 2015
Politicians must invest more in energy efficiency if the UK is to cut emissions without losing huge swathes of countryside to wind turbines and solar panels, rural campaigners have warned.
Members of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) have said future governments must take a “bolder” approach to energy conservation or risk seeing the rural landscape overrun with renewable developments.
They have also argued that without a drive for greater efficiency, the country stands little chance of meeting international targets by 2050.
CPRE push for a cut in emissions to save the countryside | Western Morning News
Which was also a big story in today's Telegraph:
England will be covered by turbines, warn campaigners
Agency 6:00AM BST 17 Apr 2015
Half of England will be covered by wind turbines, solar panels and fuel crops unless there is huge investment in energy efficiency, it has been claimed
Politicians must invest more in energy efficiency if the UK is to cut emissions without losing huge swathes of countryside to wind turbines and solar panels, rural campaigners have warned.
Members of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) have said future governments must take a “bolder” approach to energy conservation or risk seeing the rural landscape overrun with renewable developments.
They have also argued that without a drive for greater efficiency, the country stands little chance of meeting international targets by 2050.
The comments come as the organisation publishes its new report on tackling climate change. According to the study, even “fairly ambitious” measures to cut emissions – including plans to make improvements to more than 65,000 homes a year – would not be enough to achieve the goal of an 88% reduction.
In one scenario, the report suggests 3,500 new wind turbines and 8,000 hectares of new solar panels would be needed, while half of England would also need to be planted with crops that can be used to produce energy, in order to meet demand and stay within greenhouse gas targets.
Nick Clack, senior energy campaigner at the CPRE, said: the findings highlighted the need to introduce a “bolder national programme” to reduce energy use.
“Unless there is effective government support for this work, we risk seeing large areas of the countryside lost to avoidable new energy infrastructure and even higher energy bills,” he said. “Much of the focus of the current debate is on supply: on whether to frack or where to put wind turbines. If we are to close the big energy gap, we need to make huge progress on reducing our need for energy from today.”
The group is also calling for better funding for rural communities to help them cut fuel bills. It said that while almost a fifth of the UK population lived in the countryside, such areas received less than 1% of funding for energy efficiency home improvements.
The call to action will be welcomed by campaigners in the South West, where fuel poverty is prevalent in rural communities. The region has also seen fierce opposition to the growing number of large scale wind and solar developments.
Merlin Hyman, chief executive of Regen South West, said he supported the appeal for more investment in energy efficiency measures. However, he said the country would always need to use large amounts of energy, and this would have to come from “a whole range” of renewable sources.
“We need to be more efficient, but however efficient we become we are always going to need energy,” he said. “This will require developments of different scales, which is why we are supportive of both smaller, community-based developments and gigawatt offshore farms.”
CPRE push for a cut in emissions to save the countryside | Western Morning News
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A report by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) says there is a need for much more focus on conserving energy and reducing demand as part of efforts to tackle climate change emissions, rather than just making heat and power supplies cleaner.
England will be covered by turbines, warn campaigners - Telegraph
There are several issues at stake here:
> The UK could build more efficient housing:
Futures Forum: The PassivHaus: cheaper than you think to build.... and only £20 annual heating bills.....
Zero-carbon homes pledge to be dropped in Queen's speech - Blue and Green Tomorrow
> Although, there is building... and there is building:
Futures Forum: How sustainable is the construction industry? ... 'Concrete is responsible for 7-10% of CO2 emissions' ... 'The industry must shift its emphasis beyond recycling and towards reuse'
> The UK does not really have a national energy policy - again, as in Germany:
Futures Forum: “Energiewende” – energy transformation... reducing dependence on fossil fuels and changing the role of the large traditional utilities.
Climate showdown: Has the US, UK or Germany done more to cut emissions? | Carbon Brief
> Or in Scandinavia:
Futures Forum: Sweden, Denmark and Norway have been voted the happiest countries in the world...
Sustainability: European housing | Magazine Features | Building
> Meanwhile, larger areas of the planet are being taken up by solar and wind farms:
Futures Forum: What are the arguments for and against solar farms?
Futures Forum: The aesthetics of development: pylons and windfarms
The Campaign to Protect Rural England is urging for more efficient homes to take the pressure off building renewable energy installations:
Photo: © CPRE
Call for step change in energy efficiency to avoid disastrous impacts on countryside - Campaign to Protect Rural England
This is the CPRE page on energy policy:
Energy | Protecting Devon & Planning Appplications
The energy/environment press has also covered the story:
Energy efficiency needed ‘to protect UK countryside’
Insulate more homes to limit wind farm growth, say countryside campaigners - 17 Apr 2015 - News from BusinessGreen
As has the West Country press:
Focus 'needed on conserving energy' (From Mid Devon Star)
Here is the Western Morning News front page piece in full:
CPRE push for a cut in emissions to save the countryside
By Western Morning News | Posted: April 17, 2015
England will be covered by turbines, warn campaigners - Telegraph
There are several issues at stake here:
> The UK could build more efficient housing:
Futures Forum: The PassivHaus: cheaper than you think to build.... and only £20 annual heating bills.....
Zero-carbon homes pledge to be dropped in Queen's speech - Blue and Green Tomorrow
> Although, there is building... and there is building:
Futures Forum: How sustainable is the construction industry? ... 'Concrete is responsible for 7-10% of CO2 emissions' ... 'The industry must shift its emphasis beyond recycling and towards reuse'
> The UK does not really have a national energy policy - again, as in Germany:
Futures Forum: “Energiewende” – energy transformation... reducing dependence on fossil fuels and changing the role of the large traditional utilities.
Climate showdown: Has the US, UK or Germany done more to cut emissions? | Carbon Brief
> Or in Scandinavia:
Futures Forum: Sweden, Denmark and Norway have been voted the happiest countries in the world...
Sustainability: European housing | Magazine Features | Building
> Meanwhile, larger areas of the planet are being taken up by solar and wind farms:
Futures Forum: What are the arguments for and against solar farms?
Futures Forum: The aesthetics of development: pylons and windfarms
The Campaign to Protect Rural England is urging for more efficient homes to take the pressure off building renewable energy installations:
Call for step change in energy efficiency to avoid disastrous impacts on countryside
Thursday, 16 April 2015 23:01
Photo: © CPRE
CPRE report shows we need to massively reduce energy requirements and generate low carbon energy to tackle impacts of climate change and reduce bills
A new report published today by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) shows that England needs a huge investment in energy efficiency if we are to even approach our 2050 carbon reduction target and avoid inflicting widespread damage on the countryside [1].
The Warm and Green report asserts that energy efficiency has been grossly underplayed in discussions and policy on England’s future energy supply, and that it must become increasingly important in rural areas [2]. The report highlights the potentially huge impact of infrastructure on the countryside if old and new homes remain energy inefficient, and illustrates the dearth of funding for improvements in rural areas.
Based on research conducted by Cambridge Architectural Research and Anglia Ruskin University for CPRE, Warm and Green finds that we can cut carbon emissions from homes by 44 per cent through an ambitious retrofitting programme. Yet the research shows that even if we make such upgrades, we would still be considerably short of meeting energy demand while cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. One possible scenario to meet the demand is to plant half of England with biomass crops, build 3,500 new wind turbines, and install 8,000 hectares of new solar panels.
Seeking solutions to the huge challenges we face, the research looks at case studies from across the country to explore motivations for and barriers to making energy improvements in rural homes and community buildings. It finds that cost, the difficulty of finding skilled installers and payback time are barriers that are too high for many people to overcome [3].
To ensure progress on reducing our energy demand, the report calls for a bold national programme to reduce energy and carbon emissions from homes and community buildings; the implementation of stronger zero carbon standards for new homes; and for rural communities to receive a fairer share of funding for energy efficiency. 18 per cent of the population live in rural areas, but those areas receive less than 1 per cent of funding for energy efficiency improvements.
The Warm and Green report explores the widening gap between action needed on climate change and the efforts of policy makers to tackle it. While all English communities have faced dramatically increasing energy costs since 2003, rural communities contend with comparatively lower home energy efficiency and higher energy costs.
Nick Clack, Senior Energy Campaigner at the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), says:
“Our research intensifies calls for the new Government to implement a much bolder national programme to reduce energy and carbon emissions from homes if we are to get anywhere near the 80% emissions cuts required under the Climate Change Act. Unless there is effective Government support for this work, we risk seeing large areas of the countryside lost to avoidable new energy infrastructure and even higher energy bills.
“Existing national programmes such as the Energy Company Obligation and the Green Deal have failed to sufficiently reduce energy and carbon emissions. We must instead focus on community-led retrofit initiatives to target fuel-poor households, and offer more persuasive and understandable financial incentives for all households. Such approaches would not only reduce carbon emissions, but reduce people’s energy bills, create jobs and help protect our landscapes.
“Much of the focus of the current debate is on supply: on whether to frack or where to put wind turbines. If we are to close the big energy gap, we need to make huge progress on reducing our need for energy from today.”
Dr Chris Foulds, Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, says:
“The UK’s housing stock plays a key role in lowering carbon dioxide emissions and therefore mitigating climate change. However, if the Government is to meet its legal obligations on emissions, while also allowing growth in areas such as aviation, then the whole housing stock will need to be almost 100% zero carbon by 2050. Our report emphasises how difficult this will be, as retrofitting homes at 65 times the current annual rate would still be nowhere near enough.
“Also, in practical terms, the retrofitting of rural homes is more difficult than carrying out the same work in towns and cities. A higher proportion of rural homes tend to be solid walled so cannot have cavity wall insulation, a higher proportion are listed making them more difficult to externally insulate, and many do not have a mains gas supply, meaning they cannot enjoy the benefits of an energy-efficient gas-fired boiler. On top of this, even though 18% of people live in the countryside, rural communities only receive 1% of Government financial support relating to low energy homes. Urgent action is needed to change this and increase the rate of retrofitting homes and the building of new zero carbon homes in rural communities.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] In 2008 the Government passed the Climate Change Act, setting a legally binding target to reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent (from the 1990 baseline) by 2050.
Call for step change in energy efficiency to avoid disastrous impacts on countryside - Campaign to Protect Rural England
This is the CPRE page on energy policy:
Energy
The energy/environment press has also covered the story:
Energy efficiency needed ‘to protect UK countryside’
Insulate more homes to limit wind farm growth, say countryside campaigners - 17 Apr 2015 - News from BusinessGreen
As has the West Country press:
Focus 'needed on conserving energy' (From Mid Devon Star)
Here is the Western Morning News front page piece in full:
CPRE push for a cut in emissions to save the countryside
By Western Morning News | Posted: April 17, 2015
Politicians must invest more in energy efficiency if the UK is to cut emissions without losing huge swathes of countryside to wind turbines and solar panels, rural campaigners have warned.
Members of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) have said future governments must take a “bolder” approach to energy conservation or risk seeing the rural landscape overrun with renewable developments.
They have also argued that without a drive for greater efficiency, the country stands little chance of meeting international targets by 2050.
The comments come as the organisation publishes its new report on tackling climate change. According to the study, even “fairly ambitious” measures to cut emissions – including plans to make improvements to more than 65,000 homes a year – would not be enough to achieve the goal of an 88% reduction.
In one scenario, the report suggests 3,500 new wind turbines and 8,000 hectares of new solar panels would be needed, while half of England would also need to be planted with crops that can be used to produce energy, in order to meet demand and stay within greenhouse gas targets.
Nick Clack, senior energy campaigner at the CPRE, said: the findings highlighted the need to introduce a “bolder national programme” to reduce energy use.
“Unless there is effective government support for this work, we risk seeing large areas of the countryside lost to avoidable new energy infrastructure and even higher energy bills,” he said. “Much of the focus of the current debate is on supply: on whether to frack or where to put wind turbines. If we are to close the big energy gap, we need to make huge progress on reducing our need for energy from today.”
The group is also calling for better funding for rural communities to help them cut fuel bills. It said that while almost a fifth of the UK population lived in the countryside, such areas received less than 1% of funding for energy efficiency home improvements.
The call to action will be welcomed by campaigners in the South West, where fuel poverty is prevalent in rural communities. The region has also seen fierce opposition to the growing number of large scale wind and solar developments.
Merlin Hyman, chief executive of Regen South West, said he supported the appeal for more investment in energy efficiency measures. However, he said the country would always need to use large amounts of energy, and this would have to come from “a whole range” of renewable sources.
“We need to be more efficient, but however efficient we become we are always going to need energy,” he said. “This will require developments of different scales, which is why we are supportive of both smaller, community-based developments and gigawatt offshore farms.”
CPRE push for a cut in emissions to save the countryside | Western Morning News
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