Half of UK homes should have heat pumps by 2040 government told

Half of homes in the UK should have heat pumps by 2040 the UK government has been told by a group of climate change advisers.

The independent climate advisers have suggested ways for the UK to reach  ‘net zero’ – not adding more greenhouse gases to the environment – by 2050.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) was told that the UK homeowners would need to change how they heated their homes and drove. This is despite emissions more than halving since 1990.

Energy Secretary  Ed Miliband said the government would consider the advice and respond in due course.

“We owe it to current generations to seize the opportunities for energy security and lower bills, and we owe it to future generations to tackle the existential climate crisis,” he said.

The CCC provides advice on how much greenhouse gas the UK should emit over five-year periods, known as ‘carbon budgets’ – each of which is a stepping stone to reaching net zero goals.

The latest advice is that, for the UK to stay on track, emissions should be 13% of their 1990 levels by 2040. CCC advice is not policy but is generally accepted by governments – after this it is legally binding.

The committee said that a third of emissions cuts between now and 2040 will need to come from households – including switching to electric vehicles, heat pumps and clean electricity.

It says we will need to eat less meat and dairy too.

In the CCC’s plan, sheep and cattle numbers fall by 27% by 2040, and the area covered by woodland rises from 13% to 16%.

“We are crystal clear in this analysis, in this carbon budget, for the first time we start to see the economy making savings from this investment, and they make savings over and above what we would do if we stay dependent on fossil fuels,” Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of the CCC, said.

She added: “Regardless of what you think about climate change, what we are laying out today is a massive industrial revolution.

“It will save the economy money by 2040, it saves people money on their energy bills, it saves people money on their driving costs, but all of that is underpinned by a cheaper electricity price.”