In April 2024, Santander UK launched Tomorrow’s Homes, a report looking at how policymakers can address the barriers preventing consumers from decarbonising their homes. It was launched in the House of Commons with crossparty political support.
The report, which surveyed 4,000 United Kingdom homeowners and renters, provides evidence and data to advocate for a set of policies that would accelerate levels of building decarbonisation in the United Kingdom. Almost half of respondents believed that improving their home’s energy efficiency would have a significant effect on their lives, but access to finance and a lack of awareness of the kinds, costs, and benefits of different measures was preventing action.
Without retrofitting its 28 million homes, the United Kingdom will not meet its decarbonisation targets. The report identified key measures that the government could take to increase demand and capacity for building decarbonisation. They included more upfront grant support for lower-income households, rebates on property-related taxes for consumers investing in energy efficiency, and information campaigns to help consumers learn more about how to retrofit their homes in the simplest possible way. The report also highlighted the importance of stable, long-term commitment to retrofitting and support for training as crucial to building up the skills and supply chains needed to reduce the energy bills of United Kingdom homes while making them more comfortable.
Read more on Santander UK’s net-zero targets here.
This case study was originally published in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance 2024 Progress Report (October 2024).
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