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Cutting carbon emissions in Welsh homes

Targeting home improvements at the poorest quality houses in Wales would slash energy bills, cut fuel poverty by 40%, reduce our impact on climate change and create thousands of jobs, according to a new report commissioned by WWF Cymru.

Thermal image of a house

We commissioned the Energy Saving Trust to consider the cost and benefit of improving the worst performing houses in Wales. At present, 57% of Welsh homes – 728,000 households – are in the three worst performing categories when it comes to energy efficiency (bands E to G on a 7 point scale). These homes cost a small fortune to keep warm because they are drafty, lack decent insulation and rely on poor quality heating systems.

The report, Cutting Carbon Emissions in Welsh Homes – a twin track approach, shows that bringing these homes up to a decent standard (band D) would:

  • Cut fuel poverty by 40% - benefitting 132,000 households which spend more than 10% of their income on heating
  • Create 14,600 jobs – 6,300 directly (such as in the building trade and supply chain) and the remainder as a knock-on effect on the economy from the increased employment and money saved on fuel.
  • Cut the housing sector’s current carbon emissions by a quarter - helping the Welsh Government achieve its aim of reducing all greenhouse gas emissions in Wales by 40% by 2020 compared with 1990
This would cost around £2.1 billion and would reduce annual energy bills by £423 million in the homes treated.

WWF is proposing that a twin-track approach be adopted. This would require the Welsh Government to provide support to the poorest homes and to work with the UK Government and Local Authorities to encourage better-off households to take advantage of the Green Deal finance scheme.

This scheme will enable improvements to be carried out with no up-front costs, with the work being funded by the expected savings in home energy bills.