Introduction
The UK urgently needs a green overhaul to cut climate-changing emissions as fast as the science says we must. This means shifting from dependence on finite fossil fuels to cleaner and greener ways of living.
A truly green Energy Security and Green Economy Bill would have enormous benefits for everyone, from warmer homes and cheaper fuel bills to tens of thousands of new jobs. But at present it will only do a small part of the job, and needs strengthening significantly.

What’s in the Bill?
The Government wants the Energy Bill to help improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses, and to deliver low carbon energy supplies. The centre-piece of the Bill will be legislation to bring in the Green Deal. This aims to encourage households to make energy efficiency improvements by paying for these through savings on energy bills, so avoiding high upfront costs.
The Green Deal could increase the uptake of energy efficiency in many households – those that are able to pay and that would benefit from cost-effective measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation. But the interest rate on the loans must be attractive, and the right incentives put in place to encourage people to sign up.
But the Green Deal currently proposed by the Government is inadequate. It will not do anything like enough to make UK homes energy efficient or to eradicate fuel poverty. It is unlikely to work for the fuel poor, tenants or those whose homes are harder to treat. Other measures are needed.

What Friends of the Earth is calling for
The Energy Bill must lay the foundation for the green overhaul the UK desperately needs. It is a key opportunity for the Government to deliver on its promise to be the greenest ever. The Bill as outlined will not do this – it needs to be strengthened significantly if it is to be equal to the task. Our priorities are to ensure every community does its bit to slash CO2 by setting local carbon budgets, and to stop our homes leaking heat and making people ill over the next decade.
Council and community action on climate change
A step-change in locally-coordinated action is needed to meet the Climate Change Act targets. Eighty per cent of carbon emissions come from local activity –how we power our homes and workplaces and how we travel.
To tackle climate change, we need to get the big things right – like ending dirty coal and supporting offshore wind – but emissions as a result of local activity must also be slashed. Locally-coordinated action to cut carbon is also cost-effective and means local people, businesses and institutions like schools and hospitals can shape the low carbon future of their own communities.
Councils are well placed to coordinate the local action needed. Many are now taking climate change very seriously, with ambitious targets and strategies creating green jobs, cutting fuel poverty and reducing traffic.
But most councils are being left behind, and climate change is too important for action to be left only to the best performing councils. A nationwide system is needed to support and require councils to do more, and to ensure emissions come down in every local authority area. This system is local carbon budgets.
Over the last 18 months, our Get Serious About CO2 campaign has built community support for councils to be more ambitious and for the Government to introduce a system of local carbon budgets in England (it would be up to the devolved administrations to decide how to implement the carbon budget in their territories). Council leaders across the country, and from all parties, support local carbon budgets to help them lead the local action needed. A range of business, community and environment organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses, the Women’s Institute and UNISON also back the call.

For more information, visit http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/local_carbon_budgets.pdf