‘More ambitious, immediate funding for energy efficiency is needed now’

Chris Friedler, Energy Efficiency Policy Manager at the ADE, said:Today’s fiscal event provides an extra £1 billion for energy efficiency over three years, in addition to a disappointing reiteration of £2.1 billion already pledged. While the new funding is welcome, household bills are still significantly higher than before the gas crisis.Shorter-term bailouts that fail to reduce the amount of gas homes need to keep warm will lead to higher costs to the public purse overall. The government must build upon this and look to more ambitious short-term funding for energy efficiency, as well as long-term targets and delivery mechanisms to prevent the gas crisis from affecting households again in the future.