New Clause 4 - Reports under section 1 of the Sustainable Energy Act 2003: energy efficiency of residential accommodation
Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill
2:15 pm
Gregory Barker (Shadow Minister (the Environment), Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Bexhill and Battle, Conservative)
Again, I shall not detain the Committee long. The Opposition strongly support the clause and urge the Government to reach the target. That is particularly important given that they are behind on reaching their climate change targets. Perhaps I will go into that at greater length in respect of my own new clauses.
Energy efficiency is central to our efforts to combat climate change and represents the quickest, cheapest and perhaps the most easy way among all the different levers under our control to reduce carbon emissions. It has the double impact of helping the planet and helping to eradicate fuel poverty, and can therefore improve the lives of the hundreds of thousands if not millions of people in the UK who are still suffering fuel poverty or are at risk of doing so.
I am pleased to be chairing a Warm Front seminar tomorrow in Bexhill. Warm Front is a terrific campaign. It was initiated under the previous Government, and I am glad that it has been followed through positively and enthusiastically by this Government. There is still a great deal more for the campaign to achieve, however, and I hope that tomorrow in Bexhill I will get an opportunity to help to promote it locally. The new clause would bring back to the centre of government the importance of doing far more on energy efficiency. There is no better way to ensure that the Government do that than holding them accountable and auditing and monitoring their performance, which to date has not been good enough.