Policy Ideas for Government - Your Chance to Contribute
DownwithCO2.co.uk is dedicated to helping individuals reduce the amount of fossil fuel consumption they are responsible for, and therefore their contribution to Global Warming. However, to solve our issues with energy use we also need our governments to take decisive action.
Below are ideas which we think that government should implement as soon as possible in order to cut the CO2 emissions generated in the UK. The list has been generated by us and also our readers. Please use the buttons beside each idea to vote on whether you agree or disagree with them. You can read more about each idea by clicking on it. Plus if you have any other good ideas, please log these in the forum to start a debate, and if the discussion goes your way we will add them to the manifesto.
| The DownwithCO2.co.uk Manifesto |
| Home Energy Efficiency |
| 1. ‘1 Watt Standby' - Introduce the requirement for standby electricity consumption to be less than 1 Watt for all domestic appliances |
| 2. Extend EU-style energy ratings (A to F) to all consumer goods that use energy, e.g. computers, televisions, audio equipment etc |
| 3. Introduce tight minimum efficiency standards for all consumer goods that use electricity. Every year the standards for each category rise. |
| 4. Zero VAT on all goods that promote energy efficiency, e.g. insulation materials, energy efficient windows, smart power meters, wind-up torches and radios, bicycles |
| 5. Energy efficiency standards for all rented housing: oblige landlords to install the following energy efficiency measures in order to be able to rent them out: a. insulate the whole of the loft of the property to meet current building regulations e.g. 270mm of mineral wool loft insulation or suitable alternative (if there is a loft) b. install cavity wall insulation (if there are cavity walls) c. fit low energy light bulbs in all appropriate light fittings d. install basic controls for the heating system to include a room thermostat and a programmer or timer e. Where centrally heated, install a A-rated condensing boiler for central heating and hot water |
| 6. Proper building inspections for new houses - get rid of the conflict of interest that means builders often get away with breaking building regulations on energy efficiency |
| 7. Mandate that all new homes to be built to the German ‘passivhaus' standard (which requires no heating system because of super insulation and sun-trapping capabilities). |
| 8. Sponsor technology competitions with large money prizes (e.g. £10m) to those who design new affordable technologies that save energy in the home, e.g.: - Central heating boilers that achieve over 95%+ efficiency - Lower cost solar hot water panels - Lower cost solar PV panels - More efficient lighting systems - New, better insulation materials |
| 9. Ban the sale of Patio Heaters and other Outdoor Heaters |
| 10. Properly ban the sale of incandescent lightbulbs (as Australia has done) rather than through the current voluntary agreement with major retailers, and mandate that all external domestic light fittings must be controlled by motion and daylight sensors so they do not waste energy lighting the outdoors when no-one is there |
| Home Energy Generation |
| 11. Introduce Feed-in Tarrif (FIT) that pays householders 4X the standard rate for electricity they generate at home (guaranteed for 20 years) |
| 12. Increase subsidy on Solar Hot Water panels for existing homes to ensure payback is less than 10 years. Mandate that all new homes should be fitted with Solar Hot Water systems. |
| 13. Zero VAT on all Renewable Energy equipment and services |
| Travel, Transport and Holidays |
| 14. Mandate local councils to make available to Car Clubs (like www.Streetcar.co.uk , or www.zipcar.co.uk) at least 2 parking spaces on each residential street where parking is permitted |
| 15. Minimum £50 per person per year government investment to encourage walking and cycling, diverting some of the billions that are currently earmarked for new roads. Spend this money on infrastructure (e.g. safe routes to school, cycle paths and parking, pedestrianised zones), and also on ‘soft measures' (cycle training for every schoolchild who wants it, personal travel planning, retraining of traffic engineers) |
| 16. 20 mph speed limit as the default on all residential roads in built up areas |
| 17. Build a new national coach network, based around the junctions of motorways. Extend urban public transport networks the junctions. The coaches travel on dedicated lanes and never leave the motorways. |
| 18. Build new high speed train lines connecting the UK's main cities, to reduce air and car travel |
| 19. Freeze airport capacity at the current level, and shelve plans for the building of new runways at existing airports. |
| 20. Increase the road tax differential between the most polluting and least polluting cars from £445 to £2,000 |
| 21. Promote the use of supermarket ‘home delivery' services by mandating that all supermarkets must supply this service free of charge, plus ban the building of any more out of town supermarkets |
| 22. Make drastic cuts in the amount of money invested in building new roads and invest it in public transport instead. |
