IEMA reacts to Environmental Audit Committee report on energy security

The UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) – a select committee of cross-party MPs – has called on the government to start a “national war effort on energy saving and efficiency”, and IEMA has said more must be done to support the creation of green jobs to support the transition to a net zero economy.

Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said:

“Government should consult on setting an end date for licensing oil and gas from the North Sea. We can accelerate this transition by fully harnessing our abundant renewable energy resources, including tidal energy that can deliver a reliable year-round source of clean electricity, and by upgrading our energy-inefficient buildings.

“To reduce the UK’s demand on fossil fuels, we must stop consuming more than we need. We must fix our leaky housing stock, which is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and wastes our constituents’ hard-earned cash: we must make homes warmer and retain heat for longer. The Government’s welcome new Energy Efficiency Taskforce can lead a national mobilisation to install energy efficiency upgrades, which we would like to see achieve an initial target of a million homes a year and more than double this by the end of the decade.”

The EAC’s report focused on challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to a net zero economy and the Russian invasion of Ukraine which has involved the use of the supply of natural gas as a weapon of war. The committee said that by speeding up the transition to a sustainable future, the UK can become more resilient in the face of fuel supply crises.

The report laid out a number of measures to improve energy security including improved household insulation and accelerated rollout of renewable energy generators.

CEO of IEMA, Sarah Mukherjee MBE said:

“Fixing the UK’s draughty homes must be a priority given the significant opportunity to cut heating costs for households, create green jobs in towns and cities across the country and reach net zero.

"In mobilising for action, it is vital that we support the upskilling of people so that they can play their role in the green economy of the future.”

The Committee also called for an update of the British Energy Security Strategy to be published in Spring 2023 and for it to show what progress has been made in reducing reliance on Russian imports, securing energy supplies, and improving energy efficiency.