Ministers target energy firm 'greenwashing' on eco-energy deals
Ministers target energy firm ‘greenwashing’ with clampdown on deals that are less climate friendly than advertised – as report claims drive to replace gas boilers with hydrogen could make environment damage WORSE
- Ministers are planning action to tackle tariffs sought by ethical consumers
- Will target those who ‘misled’ into signing up to deals less green than advertised
- Came amid questions over green credentials of hydrogen as gas replacement
- Study suggests production method could make it less climate friendly than gas
Energy firms and price comparison websites are facing a new Government clampdown on ‘greenwashing’ amid anger as deals that are not as climate friendly as they seem.
Ministers are planning action to tackle tariffs sought by ethical consumers who ‘misled’ into signing up to costly programmes which are not as green as advertised.
The market for such deals was worth £41 billion in 2019. Two calls for evidence will be published within weeks, the Telegraph reports.
The first ‘will look at checks on tariffs which are described as green to consumers, who may be misled into signing up to them based on their green credentials’.
The second ‘will look at greater regulation of price comparison websites to ensure consumers have the correct information to make informed decisions about which energy retailer (and tariff ) to choose’.
It came as questions were raised over the green credentials of one of the planks of Boris Johnson’s climate change goals.
Ministers are planning action to tackle tariffs sought by ethical consumers who ‘misled’ into signing up to costly programmes which are not as green as they are sold.
A scientific journal last night said that ‘blue hydrogen’ was less environmentally friendly that thought, because of the way it is made from methane.
A scientific journal last night said that ‘blue hydrogen’ was less environmentally friendly that thought, because of the way it is made from methane.
It produces no harmful emissions when burnt and carbon from the manufacturing process are captured and stored underground in water aquifers and depleted oil and gas fields.
But a study by scientists at Stanford and Cornell universities in the US, reported in the Science Energy & Engineering journal found that this storage was more than offset by leaks of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – into the atmosphere.
‘The greenhouse gas footprint of blue hydrogen is more than 20 per cent greater than burning natural gas or coal for heat,’ they found.
‘The use of blue hydrogen appears difficult to justify on climate grounds.’
Ministers are drawing up plans to outlaw gas boilers, starting with installations in new homes from 2025 and in all homes by 2035, though reports suggest this date could slip to 2040 amid cost fears.
The scheme will also use ‘green hydrogen’ which is emission free as it is made from water.
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