This week the Ultra Low Emission Zone was rolled out to the whole of Greater London and it is fair to say, that it is not without controversy. The scheme, introduced by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, applies a daily charge of £12.50 to any motorist using a car that does not comply with certain emissions standards – typically any petrol car pre-dating 2006, or any diesel car before 2015. It is estimated that 160,000 vehicles are caught. Quite how the care worker who told the BBC that the charge of £62.50 per week was almost a quarter of her weekly wage was supposed to afford this, was left unclear.
Although the policy is primarily concerned with clean air as a matter of public health, it has brought into sharp focus the sacrifices that people should be required to make to improve their environment.
Here in West Berkshire, there is a deep commitment to environmental issues and tackling the causes of climate change, but these questions are just as relevant. To give one example, a number of constituents have written to me about the prohibitive cost of decarbonising their homes and the lack of realistic alternatives. Whilst heat pumps are more environmentally friendly than most alternatives, they don’t work (and are not subsidised by the Government) unless the property itself is already sufficiently well-insulated. One constituent told me that the quote he was given to get his house to the requisite level of insulation was close to £50,000. Yet in the villages that remain ‘off-grid’ the prohibition on new oil boilers after 2026, residents feel they have no choice but also that they simply cannot afford to make the switch.
These are fair concerns which no responsible policymaker can ignore. Measures which clobber households with excessive financial burdens (particularly during a cost-of-living crisis) or create too many hurdles, are not only untenable but risk undermining long-term support for decarbonisation efforts. If people feel that they cannot begin to afford what is required, then this fosters resentment and scepticism.
To that end, I will return to Parliament next week and press ministers on intermediary measures that can help people to transition in a more realistic and affordable way. I am proud that our local community has already launched some impressive initiatives of its own in this regard. Take the Hungerford Environmental Action Team which held an excellent event last year, with a range of exhibitors who demonstrated how homes could be insulated in creative and often low-cost ways.
Moreover, for a few hundred pounds existing kerosene boilers can be converted to run on far more environmentally-friendly fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oils made from waste cooking oil or vegetable waste. Options like this should be explored.
Where cheaper alternatives and viable substitutes exist, I am of the view that people should be supported to transition to them. Everyone wants to play their part in the net zero journey, but this can only be achieved if the alternatives are affordable and proportionate.