Green Revolution: What the UK Government’s 10 Point Plan Means For You
The Government has made big promises in their recent 10-point plan that Prime Minister Boris Johnson aims to follow to encourage a ‘green industrial revolution’ for the UK, aiming to create ‘green’ jobs and help reduce the impacts on the environment and climate.
The £12 billion green revolution package intends to create thousands of low-carbon jobs and reduce the UK’s carbon footprint, with an estimated 250,000 green jobs being created.
But, what is included in the Government’s green mission and what exactly does it mean for homeowners?
You needn’t be confused, our team is at hand to breakdown the ‘green revolution’ plan and explain everything you need to know.
In short, the plan is designed to cover 10 points, including:
- Offshore wind
- Low carbon hydrogen
- Nuclear power
- Zero emission vehicles
- Public transport, cycling and walking
- Airplanes and ships
- Green buildings
- Investment in carbon capture and storage
- Natural environment protections
- Green financing
Now, we’ll take a look at some of the main points that are likely to affect homeowners. If you’re wanting to go through all of the plans in detail, you can see the UK Government’s detailed Green Industrial Revolution document.
Low carbon hydrogen
By 2030, the UK Government is aiming for the UK to produce 5GW of low carbon hydrogen capacity.
As part of this goal, the Government is wanting homes across the UK to use electric heat pumps to generate heat, instead of using gas boilers.
Heat pumps work by extracting heat from the ground, ambient air, or water. The heat generated is essentially free, though there is a cost for the electricity usage. It is hoped that replacing gas boilers with electric heat pumps will reduce carbon emissions through reduced usage of gas.
There is currently a grant available for installing an air or ground heat pump in your home. Take a look at our guide to the Green Homes Grant to find out more about obtaining a grant for a heat pump.
Zero emission vehicles
Whilst electric cars are increasingly common in the UK, the Government is wanting to accelerate the take-up of zero emission vehicles, aiming to encourage people to swap their existing petrol or diesel vehicles for an electric vehicle.
To achieve a large take-up of electric vehicles, the Government has set a deadline of 2030 to end the sale of new petrol or diesel cars and vans. This will mean that, if buying a new vehicle, it will have to use an alternative power source (such as electric or hydrogen). 2,500 high-powered car charging points are expected to be available across motorways and major A roads in England, with an ambition of them being able to charge a vehicle enough to travel over 100 miles in the time it takes to have a cup of coffee.
Going a step further, by 2035 all new cars and vans will be zero emission from the tailpipe. It is also expected that there will be around 6,000 high-powered electric vehicle charging points across motorways and major A roads in England.
At some point, the Government is aiming to review the tax system for vehicles with an aim of increasing adoption of electric vehicles, whilst retaining the tax income that is currently received.
Public transport, cycling and walking
Aside from personal transport vehicles such as cars, the Government wants more people to make use of public transport, cycling and walking.
Whilst there’s not a lot of detail on the specific changes coming in, there will be a raft of general improvements across the public transport networks, including the electrification of more railway lines, smart ticketing, more frequent services, new bus lanes, and more.
There will also be a shift to zero emission buses, with the Government themselves funding at least two all-electric bus towns.
More railway lines will be opened, undoing some of the cuts in the Beeching era, which is hoped to allow more people to travel via train.
Thousands of miles of cycle lanes and low-traffic areas will be introduced, making it easier to cycle and walk.
Airplanes and ships
Whilst not an immediate change, it is likely something that will change air and sea travel over time.
Research will be conducted into zero emission aircraft, with the aim of developing aircraft that could enter service in 2030. A range of options could be investigated, including a hydrogen fuel cell airplane.
For ships, hydrogen-based ferries are already being trialled and a hydrogen refuelling port is expected to launch in Teesside in the near future.
As mentioned previously, the Government wants to begin to transition away from gas boilers and move towards heat pumps.
As part of its ‘green buildings’ initiative, the Government aims to have 600,000 installations of heat pumps per year by 2028. It is hoped that this will also support off-gas grid properties that currently don’t have a gas connection in place.
The Green Homes Grant scheme has been extended by 1 year to allow more people to take-up the grant and improve the energy efficiency of their homes through the installation of insulation, heat pumps, as well as double glazing and other measures.
A further grant, called the Homes Upgrade Grant, will support homeowners who are not connected to the gas grid, and will aim to improve their heating systems.
Making the UK a greener place to live
Put together, these measures aim to reduce the effects of climate change, create a healthier place to live, and an overall greener environment.
Many of these changes will significantly change the way people live over the coming years and decades.For those interested in improving their home’s energy efficiency, installing new double glazed windows or doors can help, especially if your windows or doors are more than 20 years old or not performing as well as they should. An Energy Performance Certificate can be obtained to help you understand how energy efficient your home is.