Upgrading our homes through better insulation and new heating systems is the cheapest and quickest way to lower all our bills, by permanently stopping waste. But for many of us, the upfront cost or fact we're in social or rented housing means we can't do it without government help.
Friends of the Earth were outside Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham as delegates arrived with a visual stunt highlighting the difficult winter ahead for millions of people facing enormous energy bills. They’re urging the government to prioritise rolling out a council-led, street-by-street insulation programme to stop millions going cold this winter and in the future.
The group used purpose-built frames to create two side-by-side scenes on a fictional road called “Inequality Street”: one showing a warm home benefitting from the energy savings that insulation provides, and a cold home without insulation that is leaking heat. With the scenes brought to life with real furniture, props, and campaigners playing residents in each mocked up living area, the scenes highlighted how poor the quality of housing is for millions of us in the UK - and what it costs us.
Sana Yusuf, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:
The energy crisis hasn’t gone away just because the government capped the average energy bill at £2,500. That’s still almost double what most households were paying last year. And with the cost of living spiralling and basic expenses such as rent and food becoming increasingly unaffordable, millions are still bracing for a cold and difficult winter.
Though additional financial support is needed to ensure no one goes cold over the coming months, rapidly rolling out a street-by-street insulation programme, targeted first at the homes in the most pressing circumstances, would bring down bills quickly, save households hundreds of pounds each year on their bills and drastically cut planet-warming carbon emissions.
Read more about why the UK needs to roll out an energy saving programme starting with those most in need here: https://policy.friendsoftheearth.uk/insight/why-energy-crisis-demands-street-street-energy-saving-measures
Full press release here: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/inequality-street-warm-homes-demanded-conservative-conference
