Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

Heating is an integral and critical part of our lives and our economy, worth billions of pounds to industry and an essential element of all of our lives. The vast majority of heating is currently supplied by fossil fuels, comprising around a third of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and more than half of the UK’s natural gas usage.

Today’s publication deals systematically with all the different heating requirements in the UK; and commits us to clear steps forward. To meet our long-term climate change target, we are going to have to change the way we generate, distribute and use heat in buildings and industry. This needs to be delivered in a way that is fair and affordable, and maximises benefits to the economy in terms of jobs, growth and investment. My Department has been engaging with a range of organisations in the public and private sectors, from business to consumer organisations, from local authorities to research establishments to develop these new proposals.

So with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my Department will work with industry over the next two years to develop a low-carbon “road map” for each industrial sector for the long term, focusing on the sectors that use the greatest amount of heat and represent the greatest carbon emissions. Through closer working with the companies themselves, we aim to understand more about how energy is used in each of these sectors and how it can be decarbonised.

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