Energy conservation
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on energy conservation. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 15.05.2012 | Smart meters |
| Between 2014 and 2019 more than 50 million new 'smart meters' will be rolled out to 30 million homes and smaller businesses in Britain. These are intended to allow consumers to see and adjust in real time what energy they are using. The Public Accounts Committee considers the challenges associated with roll-out 'huge'. | |
| 11.05.2012 | The forthcoming Energy Bill |
| On the 9 May 2012 the Queen's Speech announced that "My Government will propose reform of the electricity market to deliver secure, clean and affordable electricity and ensure prices are fair'. This will be done through the latest in a line of Energy Bills. | |
| 17.04.2012 | The 'conservatory tax' |
| Changes to the building regulations are currently being consulted upon. These have led to press reports of a 'conservatory tax' of up to 10% on certain home improvements, through required associated energy efficiency measures. Reports have also said that people will be forced to take out green deal loans if they cannot afford to fund these improvements. | |
| 12.04.2012 | EU bibliographies: Proposed energy efficiency directive |
| 16.03.2012 | Energy Efficiency Schemes |
| Government measures to encourage improvements in energy efficiency, particularly the efficiency of domestic and commercial buildings, are in the process of transition. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 11.01.2012 | Daylight Saving Bill: Committee Stage Report |
| This is a report on the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Daylight Saving Bill. | |
| 06.09.2011 | Energy Bill [HL]: Committee Stage Report |
| This is a report on the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Energy Bill. It complements Library Research Paper 11/36 (Energy Bill) prepared for the Commons Second Reading. | |
| 04.05.2011 | Energy Bill [HL] |
| This briefing on the Energy Bill has been prepared for the Second Reading Debate in the House of Commons. The flagship policy in the Bill is the 'Green Deal', a scheme whereby homes would be given finance upfront to make energy efficiency improvements, which would then be paid for by energy bill savings. The Bill would also set up a new obligation on energy companies to help certain groups of consumers with saving energy, who need extra support. The Bill also introduces a range of other measures designed to improve energy efficiency; such as facilitating the roll-out of smart meters, widening access to energy performance certificates and making information on energy bills clearer. The Bill also provides measures designed to help improve energy security, to encourage low carbon generation and to grant additional powers to the Coal Authority to charge for certain services. | |
| 30.06.2009 | Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Bill: Committee Stage Report |
| Report of the Commons Committee Stage of the Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Bill. This is a Private Member's Bill, introduced by Peter Ainsworth, which seeks to define and promote "green energy". | |
| 12.05.2009 | Green Energy (Definition and Promotion) Bill (Bill 15 of 2008-09) |
| The Bill seeks to define and promote 'green energy'. It aims to facilitate the development of green energy by: requiring a review and revision of the Government's Microgeneration Strategy including feed-in tariffs; changing permitted development rights in planning law; and ensuring that green energy installations do not result in higher council tax or rates bills. |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 07.09.2010 | Low carbon technologies in a green economy. |
| Government response. Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 17.03.2010 | Low carbon technologies in a green economy. |
| Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 17.03.2010 | The proposals for national policy statements on energy. |
| Energy and Climate Change Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 02.02.2009 | Programmes to reduce household energy consumption. |
| Public Accounts Committee report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 10.02.2011 | SUPPORT FOR VULNERABLE CONSTITUENTS IN WINTER WEATHER |
| That this House recognises that the severe cold weather conditions have made it a difficult winter for constituents across the country, on top of challenging economic circumstances; ... | |
| 25.01.2011 | SUSPENSION OF THE WARM FRONT SCHEME |
| That this House praises the Warm Front scheme which has helped insulate thousands of homes since it was set up by the previous Labour government; notes how the scheme has helped vulnerable ... | |
| 02.12.2010 | CLOSE THE DOOR CAMPAIGN |
| That this House notes the excellent work of the Close the Door campaign in Bristol and Cambridge, the campaign which aims to conserve energy by asking retailers to keep their doors ... | |
| 27.07.2010 | ENERGY GENERATION AND ENERGY SAVING |
| That this House notes that the evidence submitted to the recent consultation on the draft national policy statement for energy infrastructure by the Association for the Conservation ... | |
| 09.03.2010 | EARTH HOUR 2010 CAMPAIGN AND THE PALACE OF WESTMINSTER |
| That this House supports WWF's Earth Hour 2010; notes the event's record of persuading one billion people worldwide to sign up to switch off their lights for an hour at 8.30 pm on 27 ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 08.01.2010 | Debate on 14th January: The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. LLN 2010/001 |
| Debate on 14th January: The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the debate to be held on Thursday 14th January: 'To call attention to the outcome of the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change' The UN Conference on Climate Change took place in Copenhagen from 7th-19th December 2009. This Note explains the significance of the Conference in the context of previous international agreements on climate change, sets out the major disagreements that marred the negotiating process in Copenhagen and summarises the key elements contained in the final Copenhagen Accord. It considers analysis of the Accord's achievements and shortcomings, and summarises the reactions of key nations and interest groups. |
POST Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 15.05.2012 | Assessing Energy Efficiency |
| This POSTnote examines definitions of energy efficiency, looks at methods to measure and verify achieved energy savings and summarises UK and EU polices to promote energy efficiency. | |
| 23.01.2012 | Measuring Energy Security |
| This POSTnote explores ways in which energy security may be measured for monitoring purposes. | |
| 01.02.2008 | Smart metering of electricity and gas, February 2008 |
| Smart metering of electricity and gas, February 2008. POSTnote 08/301. | |
| 01.04.2007 | Energy and sewage, April 2007 |
| Energy and sewage, April 2007. POSTnote 07/282. |
