Economy 2030· Living standards· Incomes· Prices & consumption Politicians need to talk about how we can lower bills by using less energy as a winter crisis looms France and the Netherlands have produced guidance to cut domestic energy use under respective ‘energy sobriety’ and ‘dial it down’ programmes 24 August 2022 by Jonathan Marshall The size of our energy bills is due to two things – how much energy costs, and how much of it we use. The first of these, for good reason, is front-page news at the moment. Wholesale gas prices are reaching new highs on an almost daily basis, pushing cost of heating and lighting our … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Heat pumps are the future, but Government needs to do more to help lower income families with the costs 16 May 2022 by Jonathan Marshall Of all the transitions associated with net zero, it is decarbonising how we stay warm at home – replacing the boilers that heat five-in-six homes – that will be the hardest. Add in record overnight energy bill increases, and more pain set to come this Autumn, and the challenge seems greater still. Despite this, it … Continued READ MORE
Net zero· Living standards· Inequality & poverty Energy prices: Why now is the time to act to help millions of families facing fuel bill catastrophe A benefits boost and insulation drive are needed 3 May 2022 by Jonathan Marshall The first day of April saw the largest overnight jump in energy bills in living memory, pushing up the cost of gas and electricity for 22 million families by more than 50 per cent. Despite this not having sunk in yet – households are only one bill into this new reality at most – we … Continued READ MORE
Net zero· Economy 2030 Working from home means bigger bills and highlights the need for better insulation ‘Running the boiler all day will see the average household use around 50 per cent more gas than if their home was unoccupied’ 10 January 2022 by Jonathan Marshall With the rise of the Covid variant Omicron, working from home is back. One of the many differences between this winter and last, however, is that working from home has come amid a cost of living crisis, with inflation recently hitting a 10-year high. It’s easy to see the spread of higher prices in day-to-day life, … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Net zero The latest climate warning further highlights gaps in our decarbonising plans IPCC reports seldom bring good news, but the latest assessment finds that the crucial marker of a 1.5C temperature increase on pre-industrial times could be with us in just two decades 13 August 2021 by Jonathan Marshall The latest summary of global climate science, compiled over years by hundreds of researchers, brings yet another stark warning on how the world is not decarbonising fast enough. READ MORE
