Tackling climate change doesn't cost the earth
Energy bills have been going up. We know that average duel fuel bills have increased by 13 per cent in real terms since 2010. People struggling to make ends meet are hit hard by these rises.
By Edward Davey 27 March 2013 • 12:01am
Ed Davey said that "independence means independence - not a continuation of business as usual" Credit: Photo: Eddie Mulholland for the Telegraph
The Government has a duty to help keep bills down – and that's what we've been doing.
There's a lot of help available to the most vulnerable, such as cold weather payments and the Warm Homes Discount.
But my Department has been concentrating on keeping bills as low as possible over the long-term - and for everyone.
Some people think climate change policies on things like wind farms are what are behind high bills. But they couldn't be more wrong.
The biggest single factor driving bills higher is global oil and gas prices. They havebeen rising remorselessly, fuelled by demand in growing economies like China.
And, they're likely to keep rising.
The Government can't control the global market and drive down international wholesale prices.
What we can do is take steps to put a cushion between these global prices and the bills we all pay at home.
Through investment in domestic sources of low carbon energy like nuclear, wind and wave power, and other renewables, we are looking to diversify supply and help cushion the public from volatile fossil fuel prices in the future.
The reforms we are making to the electricity market will help incentivise £110 billion investment from the private sector, with a focus on home-grown clean energy infrastructure.
Through the Green Deal we are encouraging people to improve their homes and save energy. Saving energy means lower bills.
Our analysis shows that, taken together, these policies and others mean household bills are already lower – by an average of £64 – than they would have been if we'd introduced none of our policies.
In 2020, bills will on average be around 11 per cent lower, than they would be if we were doing nothing.
Let's be clear - bills will still be higher. But they will be £166 lower than if we sat on our hands.
This Government is proving that helping to tackle climate change, and diversify supply, doesn't have to cost the earth. In fact it creates green growth and green jobs.
The move to a clean energy sector will place the UK at the leading edge of a new global green energy market worth around £3.3 trillion.
So, our policies are not only about tackling climate change, diversifying supply and creating jobs, but also about saving money on bills too.
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