EN ERGY E F F ICI ENCY
Today, the world faces two enormous
challenges. One, obviously, is
coronavirus. In the space of little more
than a few weeks, it’s already radically
changed the way we live and work to an extent
that would’ve been unimaginable at the end of
. Until a vaccine is developed and massmanufactured,
that disruption will continue.
And the other is the environment. As
governments across the world scramble to fight
the biggest global health crisis in living memory,
it’s easy to forget that climate change still poses a
serious threat to our way of life. Without action, its
impacts will be irreversible.
Which leaves us with one huge, critically
important question – how do we tackle both at the
same time?
Coronavirus has to be the immediate priority.
That’s not just because of the massive threat it
poses to millions of vulnerable people, and the
healthcare infrastructures that support millions
more. It’s also because our ability to take action on
the environment will be severely restricted as long
as lockdown and social distancing measures are
in place. However, there’s a real risk that climate
change could get forgotten amid the fallout of
the coronavirus crisis. That can’t be allowed to
happen.
REACHING NET ZERO BY
With a third of the world’s population under some
sort of lockdown during the last few months, and
whole sectors of the economy effectively forced to
shut up shop for a period of time, a recession now
looks inevitable.
Last year, Britain became the first advanced
economy on Earth to commit to reducing its
carbon output to net zero by ‹ – already a
hugely ambitious target.
Recession would seriously threaten our chances
of honouring that commitment.
Shortly before the coronavirus began, the
government was considering how to change newbuild
regulations to increase thermal efficiency,
and cut the country’s energy usage.
But most of the homes people will live in by
‹ have already been built. Tens of millions of
aging UK homes need to be extensively retrofitted
if we’re going to bring emissions down.
And for those costly home improvements to
take place, homeowners need to have the money
and the confidence to spend it.
Given that it’s been estimated the lockdown
could lead to as much as a “‹% drop in GDP
in the April-June quarter, that seems extremely
unlikely, now, and for the foreseeable future.
THE NEED FOR A GREEN RECOVERY
The government has already embarked on the
most radical and far-reaching intervention in the
economy since the WWII to help businesses
survive the lockdown. It’s clear that it’ll have to go
further if and when recession starts to bite. And
when that time comes, those economic stimulus
measures need to have a heavy focus on helping
Britain reach its ‹ carbon reduction target.
This month, investors managing trillions of
dollars of assets have called for a green recovery to
the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that countries
mustn’t lose sight of the climate crisis in the
months ahead.
As a sector, we need to join in those calls.
Fenestration and construction more generally
have to lobby government to provide grants to
help homeowners carry out much-needed retrofit
work, and reduce VAT to ‹% when windows are
purchased to improve energy efficiency – a policy
Edgetech has been championing since š, and
the GGF have pushed for consistently in recent
years. Without an intervention on that scale – and
similar policies from governments all around the
world – the chances of us managing to prevent the
worst effects of global warming are increasingly
slim.
GOVERNMENT HAS TO TAKE THE LEAD
Many have noted the irony that the lockdown has
had some positive environmental effects, despite
causing extensive economic damage, and having a
major impact on people’s wellbeing.
With millions of cars not on the road,
thousands of flights cancelled, and polluting
industries around the world closed for business,
carbon emissions are at the lowest levels they’ve
been for decades.
But there’s also been sobering evidence which
suggests it will take a lot more than individual
lifestyle changes to tackle the climate crisis.
Analysis by Carbon Brief concludes that,
despite the colossal changes brought by the
coronavirus lockdown, CO2 emissions will only
drop by around ‹.‹% this year.
That’s a drastic improvement on anything that’s
ever come before. But the UN estimates we need
reductions of š.6% a year to stand a decent chance
of limiting global warming to less than .‹ degrees.
In other words, even shutting down most of the
societies on Earth for months at a time probably
won’t bring the kind of carbon reductions we need
– and the lockdown will hopefully only be a oncein
a-lifetime occurrence.
What all this points to is the need for much
more fundamental change to our economies, our
infrastructure, and our built environment if we’re
going to tackle climate change – and while it’s clear
that government is going to have to take the lead,
our industry has a duty to use its collective voice
to raise awareness at the highest levels .
If homeowners are supported to invest in us,
we can make a hugely positive impact, both to the
economy, and efforts to reduce carbon emissions
too.
The green recovery
The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic mustn’t overshadow the need for
urgent action on climate change, discusses Edgetech's MD, Chris Alderson.
June www.ggpmag.com
/www.ggpmag.com
