The latest figures from the Department of Climate Change showing a 9.8 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions may be put down to the effects of the recession in 2009, according to Stephen Hopkins, product marketing manager at Alpha Heating Innovation.
However, he said, they do demonstrate is that significant reductions are possible: 'Emissions across the board fell from 620.5m tonnes to 566.3m tonnes from 2008 to 2009, with business emissions counting for 11.8 per cent and housing 5.8 per cent of the total figure. Yes, business contracted as we were in the grip of a recession, but this is also partly due to investing in other sources of heat and power...
'It's clear that both the domestic and commercial markets are still very much financially driven when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, which is all the more reason for the industry, as it emerges from recession, to have definite answers on the details of the Renewable Heat Incentive.'