The Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) has welcomed the recommendations in the Climate Change Committee’s 6th Carbon Budget, in particular the move to mandate hydrogen ready boilers in 2025 as it recognises the longer-term benefit of hydrogen in decarbonising heating. However, it believes the CCC needs to match the pace of innovation and start listening to industry and consumers.
Mike Foster, CEO, EUA, said: “We all know that decarbonising heat is tricky, but necessary if we are to meet our climate change obligations, and low carbon gases such as hydrogen have a critical role to play in the process. Today’s announcement in part supports this. Our fear is that while the world is waking up to a hydrogen future, the CCC is still wedded to some out-dated thinking about electricity being able to solve all our problems.
“EUA has been consistently and repeatedly championing the gas grid and the role it can play in decarbonising heat, and so we are delighted that the CCC 6th Carbon Budget echoes our message.
“However, there is an increasing degree of scepticism that the UK will be able to meet the technological deployment number outlined in the recommended scenario, with some of the increases required being almost impossible to achieve in the indicated timelines.
“EUA also does not believe that sufficient voice has been given to consumers and the impact that these changes will have on them. We should be upfront and declare what costs we expect them to have to pay to achieve decarbonisation. We believe that the CCC have a duty to say how much consumers are expected to pay under their plans to have decarbonised heating, given that it is a necessity, not a luxury.”
