Your Time Starts Now – Vol 1

On the bright side

by Eloise Sacares

Labour must cover Britain’s rooftops with solar panels

Labour’s manifesto pledged to bring down household bills and tackle the climate crisis. Only a month into government, they are already taking action to fulfil these promises, with the de facto ban on onshore wind ripped up, a national wealth fund created, and three new large-scale solar farms approved.

Now, even more ambitious plans for solar power are being considered. Ministers are currently looking at introducing rooftop solar panel requirements for new-build properties from next year. This would be a crucial step towards achieving their clean power mission.

But they should go further still, by mandating the installation of solar panels on certain existing buildings, such as large commercial buildings.

There are four reasons to prioritise rooftop solar. First, and most obviously, it would generate much-needed renewable energy. The rate of rooftop installation needs to double if we are to hit the capacity target of 70GW by 2035 set by the previous Conservative government.

Second, this clean energy would be generated in the parts of the country that need it most. Currently, most renewable power is generated in the north and then transmitted to the south. Yet transmission lines are so congested that homes in the south are frequently unable to access this cleaner power, forcing them to remain reliant on fossil fuels. With increased rooftop solar capacity, we could harness our sunnier southern climate and our windier northern climate in tandem to reduce bottlenecks that stop some of the most densely populated parts of the country from accessing cleaner energy.

Third, the opportunity cost of using rooftops is much lower than the alternatives. While large solar energy farms have many advantages, they are often locally controversial. They also put solar power in tension with other priorities such as food security and nature conservation. Rooftop solar panels, in contrast, repurpose pre-existing space that has little alternative use.

Fourth, there are major economic benefits to rooftop solar for households. The installation of solar panels could help homeowners of a typical new build home save between £974 to £1,151. At a time when the cost of living still dominates the political agenda and may well decide the fate of the next election, there is more no important time for a Labour government to be legislating for cheaper household energy.

Finally, while we work to curb emissions, we also need to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change that are already happing. Overheated buildings are becoming more common in the UK because developments are often not well-designed for warmer temperatures. Such overheating can have major implications for the health of vulnerable people – such as older people or those with certain health conditions. But solar panels can help here, too, by shading roofs from the sun and so reducing internal building temperatures. This effect could help protect our health in homes and workplaces, and even improve productivity during heatwaves.

Of course, rooftop solar will not work for all buildings – some roofs are shaded or else not strong enough to support the panels. But for those buildings that it could work for, it is a currently an enormous missed opportunity. To achieve 100 per cent clean power by 2030, we must install solar panels on as many rooftops as possible.

Eloise Sacares is a researcher at the Fabian Society

On your marks

by Melanie Smallman

There is no time to waste in the fight against climate change

July 2024 registered the world’s hottest day ever, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. There is little doubt that our climate is changing, and according to the United Nations, we have just five years to half emissions if we are to keep this change within liveable limits. Whether or not we will face devastating climate change will be decided during the current Labour government.

The pressure is on. Taking the action necessary to keep climate change within liveable limits is a marathon task that needs sprinter’s pace, and Labour has started at speed – removing the ban on onshore wind in England

in the first week; increasing the budget for this year’s renewable energy auction by more than 50 per cent; and setting up a new onshore wind industry taskforce to identify and deliver the actions needed to meet the 2030 renewables target. A new bill to set up Great British Energy was announced in the King’s speech, promising to boost investment in renewable energy projects, including offshore wind. And with Ed Miliband back at the helm of the UK team in November’s COP29 talks in Baku, the UK looks set to restore its reputation as an international leader in climate action. Importantly, the landslide election victory – with the Green Prosperity Plan front and centre – has afforded Labour the public and political mandate to act.

Beyond decarbonising the energy sector, there is plenty more to do. In its July 2024 report to parliament, the UK’s Committee on Climate Change said we need to speed up and broaden the sectors targeted for emission reductions in order to meet the Paris Agreement. In particular, transport and buildings saw significant rollbacks of low-carbon policy under the Tories.

While the focus for Labour’s transport team is currently on trains and buses, they will nevertheless need to take a hard look at private vehicle use too – shifting people and goods to electric vehicles is necessary if we are to double emission reductions from transport by the end of the decade. Falling prices and running costs for electric vehicles will push consumers in the right direction, but with the clock ticking, improving infrastructure and incentivising replacement (especially for vans) will be needed to accelerate the pace of change.

Buildings are the second-largest source of emissions in the UK, so fossil fuel-based heating also needs to be phased out quickly. The UK has over 30m households, but only around 60,000 heat pumps were sold in 2023. Research has shown that one of the biggest barriers for consumers is lack of awareness. Independent and authoritative advice to guide consumers and building public confidence will be key. But with heat pumps costing four to five times more than a conventional gas or oil boiler, and only functioning properly in well-insulated homes, subsidies and low-interest loans for energy efficiency and low carbon heating will be necessary too. As we found with Labour’s previous boiler replacement scheme, this is a great opportunity to reduce emissions while simultaneously tackling fuel poverty and boosting business. Attracting heat pump manufacturing to the UK is estimated to be worth more than £5.5bn to the economy, while installation could create new jobs without making the existing gas boiler workforce obsolete.

The next five years offers an urgent and unique chance to tie environmental objectives to the Treasury’s ambitions for growth and bring down bills for households in the long term. Labour finally has its hands on the powers needed to make change a reality. Run, don’t walk!

Dr Melanie Smallman is professor of science and technology studies at UCL. She is the former chair of SERA, Labour’s environment campaign, and a member of Labour’s national policy forum

Image credit: Photo by Bernd Dittrich via Unsplash