Government must involve private sector in retrofitting plans

The government must use its retrofitting plans to stimulate private sector investment, says Bankers for Net-Zero.

Earlier this week, the government committed £562m to the retrofitting of 100,000 homes.

According to the group, this funding could save at least £7.5bn a year on energy costs, create over 150,000 jobs in ten years, and end fuel poverty, all while helping the UK to meet its emissions targets.

However, the group has warned that a short-term approach to retrofitting will not work, and instead, they are calling on the government to introduce a long-term national retrofit strategy that drives down the costs, drives up the value of retrofitted properties and incentivises more private finance to provide the capital needed.

In order to achieve this, the Bankers for Net-Zero initiative argue that plans must focus on working with banks and businesses in the sector to allow the government to accelerate the benefits of retrofitting and boost the UK economy.

Munish Datta, director of membership & operations at UK Green Building Council. said: ‘We firmly support holistic building retrofit as a national priority, we are convinced that the combined total benefit of the recommendations set out in this paper could be significantly greater than the sum of their parts.

‘We look forward to continuing working with our >530 members and Bankers for Net Zero to keep demonstrating the ever-strengthening case for building retrofit.’

Simon Crichton, head of relationship management at Triodos Bank added: ‘The combined social and environmental benefits of energy-efficient homes and workplaces, and the associated job creation not be overstated, however, interventions to date have been piecemeal and unable to stimulate the huge change of pace required to meet this need.

‘The recommendations put forward in this briefing provide policy makers with a long-term cohesive approach to unlock the potential of retrofit, and with COP26 on the horizon, it would give the UK a unique opportunity to demonstrate to a global audience what leadership on tackling climate change looks like.’

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