Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to increase the contribution made by thermal heating and other low-carbon heat technologies, and by building regulations, to the fulfilment of their 2020 carbon emissions reductions target, and to sustained reductions beyond 2020.

The main policy to support the uptake of low-carbon heat technologies is the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The RHI is a financial incentive scheme, designed to bridge the gap between the cost of fossil fuel heat sources and renewable heat alternatives. The 2014 projections suggested that in 2020 the RHI would account for 5% of the total reduction in emissions delivered by policies.

The RHI budget for 2015-16 is £430million. Budget for future years are the subject of the Spending Review