Clarity on net zero needed

The green industrial revolution that was to be backed up by a £4 billion investment package

announced last November by Prime Minister Boris Johnson is continuing to attract criticism,

says sustainable heating and power specialists, Adveco (www.adveco.co).  

In its latest blog (https://adveco.co/a-call-for-greater-clarity-on-net-zero) Adveco writes, that the Climate Change Committee (CCC) states that “at the current progress only 20% of the UK’s ambitions to tackle global warming will be achieved by 2035.”

“With the risks of climate change to the UK being even higher than were appreciated just five years ago, the clock is ticking if we are to avoid regular cycles of 40C temperatures highs,” says Adveco.  “Critical then is the delayed Treasury net zero review, which will determine how much cash is invested into the projected zero-carbon economy.”

“Whilst the commercial sector has clamoured for better defined objectives and meaningful inducement to achieve the increasingly aggressive timetable, the Climate Change Committee says climate leadership is being undermined by inadequate policies and poor implementation.”

The Committee’s wants to see the curtailment of gas boilers by 2035 in new build properties, with a conversion to heat pumps.   “While heat pumps are simple to install in a new build it becomes more complex with higher capital investment required when dealing with refurbishing properties with an existing gas system.  This is exacerbated by scale and high-temperature demands for DHW in commercial properties,” explains Adveco.

“If this process of change is to happen in any meaningful way considerable subsidies need to be put in place to drive the replacement of ageing, “dirty” systems that could conceivably continue to operate for a decade or more under normal servicing processes.  As the CCC states, this requires better engagement to induce change.”

Commercial buildings currently generate up to 40% of the nation’s carbon emissions from heating, so the sector needs to bridge the gap from current gas-based systems by leveraging high-efficiency, low-carbon and renewable technologies to reduce operational costs and drive sustainability within commercial hot water and heating systems.