The Green Deal is the UK Government’s plan to reduce the amount of harmful emissions we produce. Ella Sivan, our representative on the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s youth panel, explains how it works – and how it will affect young people.
The Green Deal is a new Government scheme launching this year, which aims to help households and businesses become more energy efficient without having to pay upfront. This will have two main benefits: firstly, reducing the energy used to heat our homes will save money. Secondly it will help reduce each individual’s carbon output, helping to prevent climate change.
How will it work for houses? The idea is that the cost of installing the energy saving measures (such as insulating roofs, double glazing windows) will be paid for in smaller payments that should match the money saved. So if loft insulation saves £10 a year from the heating bill the household should not pay back more than £10 a year towards the cost of the work until the cost is paid off.
This is called the golden rule: “The expected financial savings must be equal to or greater than the costs attached to the energy bill”.
Each payment will be taken out of the customer’s energy bill, allowing them to see for themselves how the added cost balances with the money saved.
So how will this affect young people?
Firstly, university students in rented accommodation will be able to access the Green Deal. Secondly, younger children should hopefully benefit from a part of the Green Deal called the ECO (Energy Company Obligation), which aims to help poorer families. In 2009, 4 million households were in ‘fuel poverty’ - without enough money to keep warm. Many of these households have children in them, and the ECO aims to help reduce the number in fuel poverty. However, the details of how this will be achieved are a bit hazy at the moment.
Lastly, the Green Deal should improve the quality of housing in the UK, meaning that by the time young people are considering renting or buying, houses in the UK should be more efficient, easier to heat and environmentally friendly, as the majority of houses will hopefully have already implemented the Green Deal.
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