Funding the Low Carbon Heat Transition

On 25th June 2020, Carbon Connect held an online roundtable to discuss funding challenges related to the low carbon heat transition. The session was part of a series of roundtable discussions held as follow-up events on the Uncomfortable Home Truths report. 

Please read the detailed event write-up here. 

The session investigated how to encourage the uptake of low carbon heat from a financial point of view in a fair and equitable way, given the challenges we face with the current levels of fuel poverty.

Key considerations highlighted at the event include:

• The decarbonisation of heating represents a big challenge from a financial point of few, as currently available low carbon heating options are financially uneconomic for consumers without Government support.
• Removing upfront and operational cost barriers are crucial to facilitate the uptake of low carbon heat technologies. Thus, rebalancing the costs between gas and electricity is essential to make low carbon heat financially viable for consumers.
• While cautions were raised in terms of how and when it is introduced, general taxation was seen as the preferred way to pay for the cost of heat decarbonisation.