The British public is broadly supportive of taxpayer funds being assigned to policies that can bring down the cost of green technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles, new polling has shown.
A survey of 4,000 consumers, published by consultancy giant PwC this morning, highlights the critical importance of reducing the cost of the green technologies, revealing that just one in nine homeowners are currently likely to consider switching from a heat pump to a gas boiler in the next few years with concerns over the cost of the technology the primary barrier.
There was more appetite among those surveyed for switching to electric vehicles, with one in five respondents reporting they were likely to consider swapping their petrol or diesel car for a zero-emission model over the coming years.
PwC said the findings revealed that the relatively high upfront costs associated with clean technologies were the main factor preventing consumers from upgrading “by nearly a two to one margin”.
The picture was more mixed among older consumers, where a lack of trust is holding back uptake of heat pumps and EVs. Those aged 65 and above were the least likely to report they would swap to the green technologies, despite the long-term financial savings they can offer through reduced running costs.
Government intervention to bring down the sticker price of green technologies was found to be popular, with 42 per cent of respondents noting they would prefer the government used funds to reduce costs. Just 23 per cent of respondents said they supported efforts to make polluting alternatives more expensive.
A further 43 per cent of people said they supported taxpayer funds being used for the UK to “level the playing field” with those subsidies being offered to green technology companies operating in the US.
However, in a somewhat contradictory finding, respondents said they would rather pay increased prices for goods and services from businesses who had made “green improvements”, if using public funds to help firms do so detracted from the budget for public services.
Elsewhere, PwC’s wide-ranging survey reveals discounts on energy bills could help drive local support for new onshore wind farms. Seventy-one per cent of rural voters surveyed said they would be supportive of new onshore wind projects within three miles of their home if they got money off their bills, a figure that falls to 56 per cent for new pylons needed to upgrade the grid.
Meanwhile, more than half of respondents said they would support the government using taxpayer money to fund EV battery production in the UK.
Industry groups and environmental campaigners have long warned the government needs to ramp up interventions, regulations, and incentives that can make greener choices more attractive, affordable, and convenient to consumers, as part of a comprehensive public engagement plan that would accelerate decarbonisation efforts and boost support for the transition to a net zero emission economy.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has insisted his controversial changes to net zero policies last week – which included pushing back the phase out date for petrol and diesel cars by five years and cancelling energy efficiency standards for landlords – are designed to ensure households do not face excessive costs from the switch to EVs, heat pumps, and more building energy efficiency upgrades. During his address, he also ruled out a series of green behaviour change policies and recycling reforms that had been proposed by campaigners, but which the government had never adopted.
In the wake of the speech, experts have warned the PM’s decision to frame the drive towards climate goals as cost to consumers, instead of an opportunity to cut bills and grow the economy, could dent consumer trust in key clean technologies and the wider net zero transition. And businesses were quick to warn the decision to rollback key policies would slow investment to clean technologies and infrastructure in the UK.
However, government ministers insisted the UK would meet its emissions targets through an approach to decarbonisation that was “less stick, more carrot”. As such, Sunak did announce last week that the grant for households switching to heat pumps would increase from £5,000 to £7,500, as he also promised to tackle grid connection delays for renewables developers.
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