The benefits of greater energy efficiency measures are “too huge to be ignored”, junior minister at DECC, Lord Bourne, has said.
Speaking at this week’s Energy Managers Exhibition at London’s Excel, Lord Bourne talked up the UK’s record on energy efficiency and said that the country had made “significant progress” in reducing energy demand.
Claiming that the government has put energy efficiency and demand management “at the heart of energy and climate policy”, Lord Bourne also stressed that more work needed to be done if the UK is to meet its climate change targets.
Earlier this week emails from energy secretary Amber Rudd to other senior ministers were leaked, revealing that the UK looks set to miss 2020 renewable energy targets without urgent action.
While Rudd subsequently claimed that the revelations would not damage the UK’s leadership on climate change, the Committee on Climate Change has warned that the UK needs to do more on the efficiency front.
Lord Bourne said that businesses – and their respective energy managers – had a pivotal role to play on this front and that the government was keen to encourage them by putting “the right policies in place” to stimulate better uptake of energy efficiency technologies and measures.
He also referenced the current “complex” tax and reporting frameworks and stressed that DECC plans to overhaul them were continuing. A consultation on reforms for the business energy efficiency landscape ends in early December, the findings of which are expected to be published by March.
“Together the government, the wider public sector, businesses and householders are making significant progress as we change the way we think about and consume energy.
“You, as individual energy managers in your organisations, and also collectively via your association, are playing a major part in helping to drive forward this progress. I want to thank you for that – and urge you to keep up that vital work, because there is still much to do,” Lord Bourne said.
