Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Paragraph: 60
Delivering net zero by 2050 will require a ban on the installation of fossil fuel...
Recommendation
Delivering net zero by 2050 will require a ban on the installation of fossil fuel heating systems by the mid-2030s at the latest. We note that the Government signalling, instead of setting, an end-date for the phase out of gas boilers fails to give industry and consumers a clear date to work towards in decarbonising home heating. We urge the sector to come forward with more ambitious plans for pricing and innovation to encourage a robust regulatory framework.
Paragraph Reference:
60
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Catalysing the market for Green Finance is a priority for Government to help support non-fuel poor homeowners who are ineligible for grants to cover the upfront costs of energy efficiency retrofits and improvements. The £1.8 million Green Home Finance Innovation Fund (GHFIF), which launched in 2020 and will complete by March 2022, was a key early step in supporting the retail banking sector to design, develop and pilot innovative green mortgage products and services for homeowners. As announced in the Net Zero Strategy, the GHFIF will be followed this year by a Green Home Finance Accelerator Programme, focussed on supporting the development of non-mortgage based green finance products, enabling a diverse range of homeowners to decarbonise their homes and improve thermal comfort. This could include unsecured concessional green finance and green equity release for homeowners who own without a mortgage, and green lending products for buy-to-let landlords. As with the GHFIF, our expectation is that this work will provide examples and case studies to galvanise the wider market. The Accelerator will formally launch in late Spring 2022. The recent British Energy Security Strategy announced a doubling of funding for the Accelerator from £10 million to £20 million. Alongside this, in November 2020 the Government consulted on ways to incentivise mortgage lenders in England and Wales to support homeowners to improve their home energy performance. The proposals included requirements for lenders to disclose information on the energy performance of their portfolios, as well as encouraging them to sign up to an improvement style target. These proposals intend to spur the development of attractive and affordable financing options. Close engagement with the lending industry throughout the consultation process has helped to identify a clear set of policy options. The Government will publish the response to the consultation in due course. Finally, the Government is working with the new UK Infrastructure Bank to explore whether they can play a wider role in scaling up green home finance in the future.