Heat resilience and sustainable cooling

Environmental Audit Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 3 Jul 2023 Closed: 22 May 2024 Parliament page
The Environmental Audit Committee is undertaking a short inquiry into Heat resilience and sustainable cooling . It will look at the relationship between heat and health; examine the adequacy of current Government policies in relation to current and future need for cooling; and consider what measures could be taken to … Read more
19 Recommendations
3 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
1 Letter
2 Events
Activity timeline 7 events
22 May
2024
Correspondence
30 Apr
2024
Report published
31 Jan
2024
Report published
25 Oct
2023
Oral evidence
25 Oct
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
18 Sep
2023
Oral evidence
18 Sep
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 5, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
25 Oct 2023
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panel one; panel two
Adrian Dobson · Royal Institute of British Architects Councillor Linda Taylor · Local Government Association Eleni Myrivili · UN Habitat Francis Heil · AtkinsRéalis Omar Abdelaziz · The American University in Cairo Professor Elizabeth Robinson · Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics
18 Sep 2023
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panel one; panel two
David Broom · Kensa Contracting Dr Chiara Delmastro · International Energy Agency (IEA) Dr Eric Laurentius Peterson · University of Leeds Dr Laurence Wainwright · The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford Martin Passingham · Daikin UK Professor Jason Lowe OBE · Met Office Hadley Centre Professor Lea Berrang Ford · UK Health Security Agency
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and sustainable cooling HC 279 31 Jan 2024 22 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
7 results
Clear
1 Conclusion Accepted
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and…
Extreme heat has serious, widespread impacts on UK health, wellbeing, and economic productivity.
We have received compelling evidence that heat is having serious and widespread impacts on health, wellbeing and economic productivity. This is already costing the UK thousands of lives and billions of pounds annually, a situation which is set to get … Read more
Government Response
The government launched the new Weather-Health Alert system in June 2023, which is an impact-based alerting system developed in collaboration with UKHSA and the Met Office. UKHSA will continue to engage with academic partners to understand humidity's role in health and improve heat messaging.
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6 Recommendation Accepted
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and…
Clarify Government intention to expand Building Regulations Part O to cover property refurbishments.
We support the extension of Part O of the Building Regulations not only to cover material changes of use to residential, but also for refurbishments of existing properties. We recommend that the Government clarify whether it is intended that Part … Read more
Government Response
The government highlights existing and recently extended funding schemes for retrofitting existing buildings, including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, a new local authority retrofit scheme, and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. DESNZ is also conducting research to support the development of policy levers to adapt the UK's building stock for thermal comfort.
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8 Conclusion Accepted
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and…
Boiler Upgrade Scheme extension with additional funding represents welcome progress for retrofitting.
We were pleased to note that the recent extension of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme announced by the Prime Minister in September 2023 has now been backed by additional funding for grants. The funded extension of the scheme represents a welcome … Read more
Government Response
The Government welcomes recognition of the extension of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) and outlines additional funding and schemes to support retrofitting of existing buildings, including a local authority retrofit scheme, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, and a new energy efficiency grant.
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9 Conclusion Accepted
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and…
Significant opportunities exist to create a comprehensive housing retrofit programme addressing overheating risks.
We consider that there are further opportunities to combine existing initiatives on insulation and energy efficiency into a more ambitious and comprehensive housing retrofit programme which addresses the risks of overheating in existing properties. Such an approach, if well designed … Read more
Government Response
The government has set a target of 600,000 heat pump installations annually by 2028 and launched a £5m Heat Training Grant to support 10,000 trainees by 2025. It is also investing in Regional Skills Pilots, updating apprenticeship frameworks, and aims to publish a Green Jobs Plan in the first half of 2024 to support workforce demands for Net Zero.
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18 Recommendation Accepted
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and…
Require Government to set out progress on cooling equipment Minimum Energy Performance Standards and 2030 Global Cooling Pledge plans.
We recommend that in its response to this report the Government set out what progress it has made on establishing Minimum Energy Performance Standards in relation to cooling equipment since COP26; what the future trajectory for establishing such standards is; … Read more
Government Response
The government has existing ecodesign regulations with minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for cooling products and is currently researching updates for commercial refrigeration, committing to do the same for other products in due course. It affirms plans to meet the Global Cooling Pledge's 2030 deadline for MEPS.
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20 Recommendation Accepted
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and…
Require Government to publish details on Climate Resilience Board membership, meetings, and 2024 schedule.
Effective joint working is not just desirable but essential if the impacts of heat are to be tackled in a coordinated, holistic and cost-effective way. This does not seem to be happening to a sufficient degree at present in the … Read more
Government Response
The government fully accepted the recommendation by providing details of the Climate Resilience Steering Board's membership, stating it has met twice since October 2023 (October 2023 and January 2024), and confirming it meets at least quarterly, with the next meeting scheduled for April 2024.
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22 Recommendation Accepted
Fifth Report - Heat resilience and…
Require Government to publish a clear timetable for the UK national cooling action plan.
We commend the UK Government on being among the first signatories of the Global Cooling Pledge, which represents a significant step forward in terms of heat resilience and sustainable cooling, and is a welcome demonstration of international leadership in this … Read more
Government Response
The government accepted the recommendation, committing to develop and publish a 'cooling outlook document' as the UK's equivalent to a national cooling action plan. They anticipate its publication in the early part of the next parliament, ahead of the 2026 target.
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Government Response AI assessment · 22 of 19 classified
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 1
Deferred 9
Rejected 4
Total 19 recs + 3 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
22 May 2024 To committee Letter from the EAC Chair to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, relating to the 'Heat resilience and sustainable cooling' inquiry, dated 21 May 2024
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