Pipe up: the long-term view

“We need long-term energy policies that create the right conditions for investment in low carbon energy sources”

We are calling on the new government to make the UK a clear global leader in climate change mitigation and move energy efficiency up the political agenda.

With so much talk about spiralling energy costs, and whose responsibility this is, let’s be clear that the best way to reduce energy costs is to use less energy. After all, increasing our energy efficiency is significantly less expensive than building new energy infrastructure and will help to lower national and individual energy bills as well as reducing carbon emissions.

Insulating homes gives people greater comfort, lowers their bills and saves energy. In towns and cities, community heating schemes using combined heat and power, heat pumps and other techniques can maximise overall energy efficiency and create options for local energy solutions, including energy storage.

Our own research reveals that more people agree it’s better to reduce carbon emissions than to keep electricity costs down, which is encouraging. Nearly double the number of adults aged 16-75 interviewed were more concerned about protecting the environment than the short-term price of their electricity. And 43 per cent of people favoured paying more for their electricity now if it means helping to reduce carbon emissions for the future, compared with 24 per cent who opted for keeping electricity costs down now and worrying later about reducing carbon emissions.

However, we need long-term energy policies that consistently support these kinds of energy efficiency measures, as well as creating the right conditions for much-needed investment in low carbon energy sources and a smart energy system to ensure resilient consumer supplies. This will require decisions and actions by many people, strong co-ordination between communities, local government and utility providers, and the incentives and awareness to make the right choices. There are some real success stories and the focus needs to be on learning from these and replicating them.

Global momentum towards mitigating climate change has been increasing fast, with China and the USA, among other countries, taking more assertive positions. We need the UK to continue to show leadership in this vital area, not only to help drive global action, but also for its own economic benefits through export of innovative low carbon technologies, services and equipment.

Paul Davies, head of policy, Institution of Engineering and Technology