Government needs to fill policy gaps to prevent emission reduction failure, says expert

In response to the Climate Change Committee (CCC) 2022 Report to Parliament, Mike Foster, CEO of the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) says:

“We agree with the CCC and their conclusion that hydrogen-ready boilers need to be mandated and that it is a clear gap in BEIS and Government policy. In today’s publication by the CCC of their 2022 Progress Report to Government, they make it clear that the failure to mandate hydrogen-ready boilers needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Following the agreement from gas boiler manufacturers that hydrogen-ready boilers will cost no more than current gas boilers we see no reason why BEIS should delay in making them mandatory.

“We also share the CCC’s scepticism around the proposed ‘market mechanism’. This ‘mechanism’ will force boiler manufacturers to sell heat pumps, even if consumers don’t want them. This is an astonishingly anti-business and anti-UK manufacturing policy from the supposed ‘business’ department of the Government. Like the CCC, we agree that alternative policies need to be developed for when this ‘market mechanism’ fails to deliver its targets.”