British public back insulation and renewables
The survey, carried out by ComRes and commissioned by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), shows that the British public would most like to see government money invested in policies encouraging the reduction of energy waste, with over 80% of people supporting renewable energy subsidies.
Out of 2,000 people interviewed by ComRes, two-thirds wanted more investment into solar, with three-quarters of people surveyed backing early stage renewables.
Meanwhile, belief in coal, gas and nuclear power tumbled, as public support dropped to 23%, 31% and 33% respectively, with over half of people opposed to coal subsidies, according to yesterday's report.
Richard Black, director of the ECIU, believes the findings highlight the case for the Government to develop a new strategy on energy efficiency.
“Cutting waste is the cheapest and easiest way to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions, and this survey suggests it’s also the most popular,” he said.
“With insulation rates falling to their lowest level since 2013 there’s a clear rationale for ministers re-invigorating policies that cut energy waste, and one obvious approach would be to make energy efficiency a national infrastructure priority.”
The government have recently announced a number of plans to cut the amount of money invested into energy efficiency schemes, including solar subsidies, the Feed-In-Tariff, community-led renewables projects and the Green Deal.
