Environment

Britain’s Leaky Homes Make The Energy Crisis Worse

Britain’s leaky homes make the energy crisis worse. Why have governments not fixed them?

Over the past few days the country has been thrown into panic, as soaring gas prices threaten to plunge hundreds of thousands more households into fuel poverty, joining the 2.5 million already there. For others, uncomfortably tight budgets will be further squeezed. Any country reliant on the worldwide gas market faces the risk of perennial price shocks. But let’s be clear: the extent of this crisis was not inevitable. It is, in significant part, the result of a decade of government failure to insulate us from the disastrous downsides of fossil-fuel dependency.

The UK is a difficult country to keep warm. It has some of the oldest and leakiest housing stock in western Europe, ensuring that heat dissipates through walls, windows and doors quickly after leaving radiators. Nine in 10 households rely on gas boilers, and lots of gas boilers need lots of gas: UK households consume more of it than almost all of their European peers, at around twice the EU average. In 2000, when North Sea gas accounted for 98% of overall supply, households were at little risk of price shocks. But as national production has tumbled by two-thirds in the two decades since, imports have risen from just 2% to 60% of supply to fill the gap.

Gas burned in households now equates to half of all imports – that is why any spike in gas prices immediately translates into higher heating bills. In times like these there is little standing between the average household and the opaque mechanics of a deeply politicised, and profit-driven, global gas market. Using cheap gas to compensate for poor housing stock only works as long as gas is cheap – and as long as you don’t have a climate crisis spinning out of control.

Given all this, you’d be forgiven for thinking the government might have made it a national priority in recent years to reduce our entrenched reliance on fossil gas. While a significant task, a well-designed programme to repair the nation’s homes should not have been beyond us. It’s Rockwool insulation, not rocket science. Instead, we have witnessed a decade of half measures and outright failure.

In 2013 the Tory-led coalition launched the “green deal”. Intended to be cost-free for government, it offered loans – with interest – to householders to install efficiency measures, repayable via the household’s energy bills. Unsurprisingly, the complexity of the scheme combined with its inherent financial uncertainty did not lead to strong takeup. Of a target of 14m insulated households by 2020 just 15,000 had been completed when the programme was binned a couple of years later.

Next, the zero carbon homes standard, which had been due to come into effect in 2016, would have required new homes to generate as much energy on-site from renewable sources as they used – it was a flagship policy genuinely worth the hype. Instead, soon after the surprise 2015 Conservative election win, George Osborne killed the programme at the behest of the construction lobby. It has never been revived.

Then came the green homes grant, announced in one of the first Covid economic stimulus packages last year. This was a simpler scheme, with upfront government grants. And yet, despite very high levels of public interest and applications to the scheme, it reached only 5,800 of its target 600,000 homes – a select committee investigation called its implementation “botched” and its administration “disastrous”. Like the green deal nearly a decade ago, it was cancelled early.

The sum total of this is not pretty. Between 2012 and 2019 the number of home insulation installations actually dropped by 95%. The charity National Energy Action has noted that at that rate it would take nearly a century to properly insulate all of the current fuel-poor homes in the country. In 2021, millions still live in fuel poverty, and many more will likely join them this winter, while domestic gas boilers account for one in seven tonnes of carbon the UK emits each year, accelerating the climate crisis.

This must be the last winter fuel crisis we ever face, and our homes must be future-proofed without delay. Ministers are already more than a year late on delivering plans for how to end burning gas for heat. They must deliver a credible plan immediately. Only an ambitious, long-term, well-funded and properly designed national retrofit scheme will do.

Even further than this, it is well past the time to bid farewell to gas boilers altogether. No new builds should be connected to gas, and every time a boiler breaks, with a handful of exceptions, it should be replaced by a heat pump – an ultra-efficient device that uses electricity to harvest ambient heat from the air (or ground) to heat your home. The UK props up the table of European countries for annual installations: Lithuania installs five times as many per year as we do, Italy 10 and Norway 60.

At the current rate it will take the UK around 700 years to move to low-carbon heating. The government’s legally enshrined climate commitments require us to be halfway there by the mid 2030s. The good news is the public are increasingly warming up to change: polling by researchers at Walnut Unlimited in June found that more than two-thirds of people agreed that homes should switch to a low-carbon heat source. Like solar panels, the more that are installed the more we’ll learn – and the cheaper they will get.

This task is ambitious, but also entirely achievable. To succeed, we must learn from our mistakes – and the success of others. Whether this government does so will be a deciding factor in whether we will find ourselves again at the mercy of the markets as the winter nights draw in.

Max Wakefield is director of campaigns for the climate action group

Environment

NEMA cautions Lagos residents on safety amid downpour

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has cautioned Lagos residents on the need to observe safety rules to mitigate the impact of heavy rainfall in the state.

NEMA Coordinator, Lagos Territorial Office, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

Farinloye said motorists should park their vehicles and move away to safer environment during heavy rainfall.

He warned Lagos residents from taking shelter under temporary or makeshift accommodation during rainfall to avoid disaster.

He said people living on low level ground should move to a higher level ground for safety.

“Parents are enjoined not to send their children to errands during the rains.

“Follow instructions given by public safety officials.

“Be alert to changing weather conditions and be ready to move to higher ground.

“Consider postponing outdoor activities,” Farinloye said.

He advised parents to tie down or bring in outdoor objects (patio furniture, children’s toys, trash cans, etc.) that could be swept away or damaged during flooding.

“Consider unplugging sensitive electronic equipment before flooding occurs. But do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water.

“Elevate items stored in your basement to prevent damage. If you have a sump pump, check that it is working,” Farinloye said.

He stressed that residents should consider clearing street catch basins to prevent or reduce street flooding.

He said motorists should void camping or parking along streams, rivers, creeks, or other areas prone to flooding during heavy rainfall.

“These areas can flood rapidly and with little warning,” Farinloye said.

NAN reports that most parts of Lagos has been experiencing downpour for about two consecutive days, leading to flash flooding and the destruction of the roofs of some buildings.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency had issued warning that about 30 states, including Lagos were at high risk of severe flooding as the rainy season approaches, raising nationwide concern over the country’s level of preparedness. (NAN)

Environment

Time for climate action is now, not tomorrow- Tinubu to Global leaders

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged world leaders to demonstrate unity, courage, and sustained commitment in addressing the worsening global climate crisis.

Speaking on Wednesday during a high-level virtual dialogue on climate and the just transition, President Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s dedication to forging a paradigm shift in which climate action and economic growth advance together, not in opposition.

“The global climate emergency demands our collective, courageous, and sustained leadership. For Nigeria, the urgency of this moment is clear: we view climate action not as a cost to development, but as a strategic imperative.”

The meeting, co-hosted by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Brazilian President Luiz Inacia Lula da Silva, aimed to accelerate global climate ambition ahead of COP30, which Brazil will host.

Leaders from 17 countries, including China, the European Union, climate-vulnerable states, and key regional blocs such as the African Union, ASEAN, and the Alliance of Small Island States, participated in the meeting.

The leaders sent a clear message: climate action is moving forward, full speed ahead.

Addressing the session from Abuja, President Tinubu outlined Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) as a bold, pragmatic roadmap for reaching net-zero emissions by 2060. The ETP targets five core sectors—power, cooking, transportation, oil and gas, and industry—and identifies a financing need of over $410 billion by 2060 to achieve these goals.

“We are, therefore, in the process of aligning our regulatory environment, fiscal incentives, and institutional frameworks to ensure that energy access, decarbonisation, and economic competitiveness proceed in lockstep. We are also taking leadership on Energy Access,” he said.

President Tinubu underscored Nigeria’s role as an anchor country in the Mission 300 initiative, implemented in partnership with the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The initiative aims to deliver electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.

He recalled his participation in the Dar es Salaam Declaration earlier this year and Nigeria’s presentation of its National Energy Compact, which outlines reform commitments, investment opportunities, and measurable targets to expand clean energy access and clean cooking solutions.

“This compact is among the first of its kind in Africa and lays out our policy reform commitments and specific investment opportunities in the energy sector. It sets quantifiable targets to grow electricity access and increase clean cooking penetration.

“We are working to build capacity and ensure that we meet these targets, reflecting not just our ambition but also our commitment to deliver on that ambition measurably,” he said.

As part of the broader energy reforms architecture, President Tinubu announced the finalisation of the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Policy in March 2025. This policy will unlock up to $2.5 billion by 2030 in high-integrity carbon credits and related investments.

He disclosed that Nigeria is actively updating its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in line with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with plans to present a comprehensive revision by September 2025.

“Our climate strategy is not limited to planning and regulation — it is also rooted in market reform.

“We are working to position Nigeria as a premier destination for climate-smart investment through the development of a Global Climate Change Investment Fund, which will serve as a platform to blend public and private capital, de-risk green infrastructure, and finance clean energy solutions at scale,” he said.

The fund will support key national priorities such as green industrial hubs, e-mobility infrastructure, regenerative agriculture, and renewable energy mini-grids for underserved communities.

President Tinubu thanked international partners, particularly the United Nations and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), for their advisory and technical support.

“These partnerships are a shining example of the value of multilateral cooperation in climate delivery. We are prepared to collaborate, lead, and deliver — because we understand that the time for climate action is not tomorrow; it is now,” he said.

Environment

NiMet forecasts three-day thunderstorms from Sunday

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has forecasted thundery weather from Sunday to Tuesday across the country.

In its weather outlook released on Saturday in Abuja, NiMet noted the possibility of localized thunderstorms in parts of Taraba, Adamawa, and southern Kaduna States, primarily during the afternoon or evening on Sunday.

Additionally, NiMet anticipates partly cloudy skies over the North-Central region during the morning hours.

“Later in the day, isolated thunderstorms are anticipated over parts of Plateau, the Federal Capital Territory, Nasarawa, Kwara, Niger, and Kogi states.

“Over the southern region, cloudy morning is expected with chances of localised thunderstorms over parts of Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Delta States.

“Later in the day, localised thunderstorms are anticipated over parts of Anambra, Oyo, Ondo, Edo, Imo, Abia, Ekiti, Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Delta States,” it said.

The agency predicted sunny skies on Monday over the northern region throughout the forecast period, with the exception of some parts of Adamawa, Kaduna and Taraba States where isolated thunderstorms are expected during the afternoon/evening hours.

“Sunny skies with few clouds are expected across the North Central region during the morning period. Later in the day, isolated thunderstorms are anticipated over parts of Plateau, the Federal Capital Territory, Benue, Kogi, Kwara and Nasarawa states.

“In the southern region, cloudy skies with intervals of sunshine are anticipated with prospects of morning thunderstorms over parts of Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Cross River States.