Insulation needs direction to zero carbon

Looking for public money to boost their own line of business? When public finances are in the state they are in? Not a chance of hitting a very long list of priorities.

Times change. COP26, the Paris Agreement, and the States’ climate change commitments have referenced home insulation as a key part of the zero carbon commitment.

Figures from 2018 reveal that Guernsey’s biggest greenhouse gas emissions come from, in order, transport (29%), electricity generation (17%), domestic and commercial heating (11%) and industrial use (10%). So if remedial works can be widely adopted across the thousands of local homes with no real insulation, this could become a significant growth industry, encouraging home owners to invest now, to save pounds later, and ultimately save the island and the planet.

Motorists in the UK may not like the way Insulate Britain goes about its campaigning, but the pressure group is making very similar noises.

It wants a ‘legally-binding national plan’ for a low energy and low carbon retrofit of all homes in Britain by 2030, and for the government to fund the insulation of all social housing by 2025 – an area where, through the Guernsey Housing Association, Guernsey is already well ahead.

As for the rest of the island... it's not alone. Earlier this year the UK Committee on Climate Change said there had been 'minimal progress' in recent years on improving the insulation of buildings or in switching to low-carbon heating.

The States, in its Climate Change Policy and Action Plan, has quoted research of a direct benefit of £2.15 for every £1 spent in improving thermal efficiency in local homes, Building regulations have already been strengthened to promote thermal performance.

It says ‘it is important that Guernsey prioritises the implementation of measures to improve the thermal efficiency of buildings’.

But the States will need, at some point, to prioritise energy efficiency moves, and show islanders how it will help them to get to zero carbon.