Eon calls for ‘stricter and more urgent regulation’ to achieve net zero

Eon has warned the UK will miss its 2050 net zero emissions target if it continues on its current trajectory, describing the 2020s as the “deciding decade of change”.

The company has implored the government to take immediate action to “clarify policies, introduce stricter and more urgent regulation, and win the hearts and minds of consumers and businesses,” setting out a list of ten policy requests in a new report.

“The next decade will be critical if we are to meet 2050 targets,” said Eon UK chief executive Michael Lewis. “The decisions we take in the years between now and 2030 will determine whether we are able to gain sufficient momentum to achieve success.

“Government has shown significant commitment and the prime minister’s ten-point plan gives a sense of the scale of change needed but the pace needs to step up if we are to realise this ambition and secure the economic benefits for the UK. We must not forget this is a marathon, a 30-year ambition. We don’t have to do it all immediately, but we do have to get moving now.”

Eon cited the response of the Lord Deben when asked during a hearing of the Business, Energy and Industrial Committee last year whether the UK was making sufficient progress towards the 2050 net zero target. The chair of the Climate Change Committee said: “We are clearly not. In almost every sector we are failing . . . We have simply not done the radical things that need to be done.”

The company described the headline drives to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 and phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by the end of the decade as “just the tip of the iceberg.”

Its full list of policy requests are as follows:

• Develop and provide a more detailed roadmap to 2050 – The government’s ten-point plan needs to inspire concrete policies to deliver those net zero targets. For example, introducing fixed dates for all houses to meet minimum energy performance standards or for when cities should ban the use of fossil fuel vehicles.
• Introduce a sell-by date for gas boilers – As seen with petrol and diesel cars, an end to fossil fuels gives consumers and heating manufacturers/installers clarity to help them prepare for a low carbon future.
• Building standards should mean all new properties are zero-carbon – Tougher regulations are needed to mandate that all new properties – residential and commercial – must be built to zero-carbon standards.
• Simplify schemes that support most in-need households – Making sure householders understand the help to which they are entitled will lead to a better take up of the support on offer. Clamping down on rogue traders and low-quality suppliers also means homeowners have confidence in investing in a better, more comfortable home.
• Prompt householders to take action now – A high profile communications campaign can explain to householders the need to change and the help available to them. That change should be aspirational, a positive choice towards a cleaner future, instead of victimising carbon heavy households.
• Put a greater focus on small business – There needs to be clarity on an energy efficiency scheme incentivising early action from small businesses and recognising their specific needs.
• Give consumers confidence in their renovation journey – ‘Building renovation passports’ give homeowners a roadmap to decarbonisation over the next 10 to 15 years. Specify what actions they will need to take, and when, based on personalised information.
• Polluters should pay, but in a fair way – Government subsidies for low carbon electricity and vulnerable customers are weighted on to the electricity side of the bill. Putting a carbon price on fossil fuel heating, and taking policy costs off electricity bills, means cleaner electric heating becomes cheaper and customers don’t pay twice.
• Decarbonise, but protect, UK industry – Create a more sustainable carbon leakage protection framework for the UK which levels the international playing field and prompts bigger businesses to make changes, such as through a carbon border tax adjustment and redeploying existing incentives by increasing financial support for the decarbonisation of UK industry. Ensure carbon reports and assessments lead to mandated improvements in energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions.
• Accelerate the rollout of district heating – District heating can provide up to 20 per cent of the country’s heating needs but industry needs clarity on exactly who is responsible for development and which parts of the country should be prioritised. Local zoning plans for the largest conurbations should outline which areas are most appropriate for district heating or for other forms of cleaner energy.

Lewis said: “If you ask people whether they want a cleaner, more sustainable future, the answer will invariably be ‘yes’. In that regard we are, as a nation, together in a shared purpose. What most people don’t know is, at our current pace, we haven’t got a hope unless government catalyses faster tangible change.”

He continued: “Net zero by 2050 is achievable. With the right investment climate, business will positively respond and bequeath a more sustainable future to our children that will secure long-term economic benefits for the country as we increasingly benefit from home grown energy production. We all have a moral responsibility to play our part to make sure we get there and address this climate crisis.”