The Prime Minister today announced that carbon emissions from Government HQs and offices have been slashed by nearly 14% in just one year, and told Whitehall it would have to go further by cutting emissions by 25% by 2015.

It is estimated energy bills have been cut by £13 million as a result of bearing down on energy wastage in government departments. The 10% target covered around 300,000 civil servants in 3,000 buildings. Between 14 May 2010 and 13 May 2011 more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 was saved.

The new 25% target for cutting carbon emissions will have an increased scope and include business-related transport.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude said:

“Not only have we hit the Prime Minister’s ambitious target and reduced our carbon emissions, we have slashed government energy bills – driving out waste and inefficiency.”

Improving the energy efficiency of Britain’s homes, buildings and businesses is a vital part of making Britain more energy secure.

The Government also announced today a series of business-led trials aimed at making it easier for people to insulate their homes and reduce fuel bills. The energy efficiency trials, many of which will include joint working with local authorities, will begin in September and will test how best to encourage people to take up the Green Deal.
The Green Deal, which will start in autumn 2012 and is currently being discussed in Parliament, will mean households will be able to invest in home improvements at no upfront cost and repay through the expected savings on energy bills.

Commenting on the trials, Chris Huhne added:

“The Green Deal’s going to be a real hit and will be a fantastic way for people to upgrade their draughty and energy-wasting homes.

“But there are currently too many barriers standing in the way of people upgrading their homes – the cost, the hassle, and the lack of trust in the people who install the kit.

“It’s great that high street names are getting involved at this early stage to road-test these exciting ideas about how to make it easier for people to take up the Green Deal and insulate their homes from rising energy prices.”

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Article courtesy of DECC, Department of Energy & Climate Change

Energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne has reassured the public that the Climate Change Act is not going to be scrapped.

It was reported that the government's Red Tape Challenge, which asked for feedback from the public on which regulations should be reformed or axed, saw over 270 environmental regulations including the Act named, leading to concern from green groups.

However, Mr Huhne went on the department's Twitter feed to say: "Coalition fully committed to the Climate Change Act as a key plank of our climate changepolicy."

And speaking to BusinessGreen.com, he stressed again that the Act is "central to the coalition's policies to cut emissions and incentivise investment in the green economy".

Included in the Act is the requirement to set five-year carbon budgets and the target to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

According to the news provider, green groups were angry that the Act was even included in the 'crowd-sourcing' exercise, while issues of national security and taxation were not.