The Energy Bill Revolution is a campaign to make energy bills affordable to all, through the UK government using revenue from carbon taxes to pay for insulating people’s homes. This will make homes warmer, so people have to use less energy to heat them, and pay less on their energy bills. It would bring nine out of ten fuel-poor households out of fuel poverty, cut carbon emissions and create jobs.

Money spent on home insulation saves a lot more money for the NHS

Research in 2008 by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and Buildings Research Establishment showed that:

every £1 spent on improving energy efficiency in homes where cold is likely to damage people’s health, saves the NHS £34.19 over 10 years, per 100,000 homes.

I don’t exactly understand that statistic (can someone please explain it?), but it sounds as if using carbon tax revenue to pay for people’s home energy efficiency improvements would save a lot of money that would otherwise be spent on the NHS. So arguing that we can’t afford it because of the need to cut public spending probably isn’t going to wash.

24% of Calderdale homes are fuel poor and there are higher excess winter deaths here than in UK as a whole

The Energy Bill Revolution would be very helpful in Calderdale. Around 24% of Calderdale homes are fuel poor, according to the 2008 Calderdale Private Sector Stock Condition Survey. Fuel poverty damages the health of people living in these fuel-poor homes – through increasing respiratory illnesses, arthritis and risks of elderly people’s falls. It is associated with higher than average excess winter deaths – that is, the greater number of deaths that occur in winter, compared to the normal rate of deaths in the population.

There are two main carbon taxes: the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EUETS) and the carbon floor price, that’s due to start in April 2013. The carbon price floor will establish the rate of fuel duty or climate change levy payable on fossil fuels used to generate electricity. The amount payable will depend on the average carbon content of each type of fossil fuel.

Using the taxes to pay for home insulation and other energy efficiency measures would reduce the energy people use and help cut carbon emissions that way.

The Energy Bill Revolution is supported by by alliance of children’s and older people’s charities, health and disability groups, environment groups, consumer groups, trade unions, businesses, politicians and public figures

Energy Bill Revolution Petition

If you think the UK government should use our carbon tax revenues to pay for home energy efficiency improvements, you can sign a petition here.

Early Day Motion 47

In the last session of Parliament, one of the MPs in the Energy Bill Revolution alliance put forward Early Day Motion (EDM) 2769, which called for Parliament to pass the proposal. 121 MPs signed up to support the EDM.  Craig Whitaker didn’t, although there are over 9,000 households in fuel poverty in this constituency and presumably he wants to do something about it.

In the new session of Parliament, an MP has put forward EDM 47 (to replace EDM 2769). This is another chance for Craig Whittaker to do something that will help reduce his constituents’ fuel poverty.

You can email  craig.whittaker.mp@parliament.uk and ask him to sign Early Day Motion 49, calling for Parliament to pass Energy Bill Revolution proposal for the UK government to recycle carbon taxes into insulating people’s homes.