BBC "ON THE WIRE", 25th BIRTHDAY LIVE SHOW
THE MISSING JESUS AND MARY
Thursday, March 17, 2011
KELVIN McFRENZY
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH - WARMER HOMES CAMPAIGN
Warm Homes
Millions of vulnerable people in Britain live in cold homes that make them ill and cost a fortune to heat.
Spending time in a cold, damp house can make heart disease, strokes and flu more likely. And there's an increased risk of illness and death among older people, young children and those with a disability.
Homes with shoddy insulation and inefficient boilers don't just harm people's health and leak heat.
The wasted energy means tonnes of climate-changing emissions are needlessly pumped into the atmosphere. More than a quarter of the UK's carbon emissions come from heating our homes and water.
Making our homes energy efficient is one of the cheapest and quickest ways to slash CO2 and help avoid dangerous climate change.
And a nationwide overhaul of our homes would:
- Protect people's health.
- Save families money on fuel bills.
- Create tens of thousands of jobs.
- Save the NHS millions of pounds.
Sounds like a good idea? It is. But it won't happen by itself.
What we're doing
Friends of the Earth's Warm Homes campaign is calling for the coldest two thirds of British homes to be improved.
We need to cut emissions from heat-leaking houses by 42 per cent this decade, to meet our legal targets for tackling climate change.
And tenants need special protection. Houses rented from a private landlord or through a letting agency are the most likely to be the worst insulated.
We're calling for the Government to:
- Set a minimum energy-efficiency standard for private rented homes.
- From 2016 make it illegal to let the worst homes until they're improved.
- Ensure all houses are brought up to scratch by 2020.
- Support landlords and homeowners to make improvements.
- Ensure people know what it costs to heat a home before moving in.
The Government will introduce a new energy law in 2011.
Please join Friends of the Earth's campaign for the Energy Bill to warm our homes, not the planet.