PUMP UP THE VOLUME

I’m getting panicky – there are only 9,800 days left. We had better pull our socks up. Or else life on this planet as we know it will come to an end.

That’s how long we have until we reach greenhouse gas (GHG) neutrality. This is obviously a problem for Mr Spreadsheet himself, our Prime Minister, Rishi S̶p̶o̶c̶k̶ Sunak. What would he do?

Like a true Vulcan, he approaches problems in a strictly logical way: first Northern Ireland – ok, the Ulster Protestants don’t like it, but if you take the word ‘no’; from them, they’ll have nothing left to say. Then the small boats… So why doesn’t he do the same for GHG.

Over to you Rishi. 

Thanks Tom. First, where’s most of this carbon coming from? Transport is the biggie with about 25 per cent followed by energy generation around the same. So I’m going to tackle them in that order.

But Rishi, how about homes?

They are way down the list of priorities as they only generate 14% of the gasses – I’ve checked it on ChatGPT so it must be right. 

But installing a gas boiler in a new home will be illegal after 2025 in 600 days’ time.

No problem Tom, my civil servants are on top of that – we’ll use heat pumps. 

But Rishi, people don’t like them. A survey by Spitfire Homes MD, Ben Leather, showed that only one in five are willing to pay more for them and one in three would prefer solar panels. In fact, one in six people don’t see the environment as a factor in buying a new home.

I’ll ask Mick (sorry Govey) to look at this. Now I have to dash as my next priorities are the economy and the NHS. Warp 6 Scotty, take it away. Byeeeee.

So what does the industry think? Bosch, who manufacture heat pumps, says that they’ll be of little use in the UK’s old housing stock. 

Vonjy Rajakoba, MD, told The Telegraph “At low temperature you need well-insulated homes, you also need space for heat pumps – for the external unit and for the tank, so you need to have the sort of home which is suitable”.

“We think that in the UK, with the number of Victorian houses or period houses and so on, hydrogen, or in the interim hydrogen-ready boilers, are the solution.”

The boss of Stelrad, Trevor Harvey, the largest manufacturer of radiators, has called heat pumps a ‘sticking plaster’. He suggests other initiatives – like home energy controls to shut off heating, and better insulation.

Doesn’t look good, does it? Oh well, it looks like it’s back to the spreadsheet Rishi, and with only 600 days until the end of 2025, you’d better get moving. Beam me up Scotty.

Have a good weekend.

Tom