The Green Deal
The Government predicts that up to a 100,000 jobs could be created over the next 20 years through the government’s flagship energy efficiency policy, the Green Deal.
The initiative will be a new and radical way of ensuring energy efficiency in property, which accounts for 47% of the UK’s carbon emissions. The government is committed to reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.
The Green Deal, due to launch in October 2012, is a financial arrangement to implement energy saving measures with no upfront cost to the property owner/tenant. This is achieved by using the savings on the energy bill to pay for the cost of the measure over the duration of the Green Deal finance arrangement.
The loan would be attached to the property, not the owner, meaning in the event of a sale the buyer would take on responsibility for the repayments.
The government expects the policy will see billions of pounds lent every year, with 14 million of the UK’s 27 million homes expected to benefit. It also predicts that it will create 100,000 jobs by 2015.
The measures included in the Green Deal would be carried out by accredited and qualified installers to ensure the public did not fall victim to rogue traders or receive bad advice on how to make their homes energy efficient.
