A crisis is at hand: only voting green will do | Bright Green. Caroline Lucas elected as the first Green MP in the UK Parliament, 2010. She couldn’t have won without Brighton Pavillion residents voting Green in previous elections. Image: BBC News. The people of Britain face three major interlocking challenges, none of which is being addressed seriously in this election.
Our economy is tanking. Perhaps most interestingly of all, we are utterly deluded about this: almost no British person believes me when I tell them that we are poorer than Ireland. The fiction that we are doing well is built on our houses getting more and more expensive. Britain’s economic woes are long term and entwined with those of the world. Even in its own terms, this race to the bottom has failed. Of all of these statistics, it is perhaps the figures around inequality which are most shocking. And these are our problems now. In this context, we need a new economic strategy, a whole new direction. There is another way to put all of this. I could go on. I could go on. Notes 1. 1. LuminAID | Solar-Powered Inflatable Light. The Write Spot - Timeline Photos | Facebook. As winter approaches, UK worries about energy poverty. With energy bills for the average UK resident rising dramatically this summer, politicians and citizens alike have been looking ahead toward the winter months with growing apprehension.
Writing in a guest commentary on the site MoneySavingExpert.com this week, Prime Minister David Cameron and Energy and Climate Secretary Chris Huhne noted that energy bills for most people in Britain had gone up by more than £100 in recent months. “These price rises couldn’t come at a worse time for consumers who are already feeling the pinch from rising petrol prices and the cost of the weekly shop,” they added. With colder weather and even higher bills on the way, leaders convened a Consumer Energy Summit this week to discuss ways to keep that pinch from becoming even more painful.
They include: According to Ofgem, only 15 percent of households switched gas supplier in 2010 and just 17 percent switched electricity suppliers. Tackling fuel poverty during the transition to a low-carbon economy. Paul Ekins and Matthew Lockwood 27 October 2011 Are existing fuel poverty policies working or do we need to implement new ideas and approaches now? Since energy prices are expected to carry on rising, this paper assesses some of the options available to governments and policy-makers if they are to successfully tackle fuel poverty whilst simultaneously managing the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The authors: claim fuel poverty can only be reduced by a focus on the energy efficiency and energy bills of those in fuel poverty, especially low-income vulnerable households;propose that dramatically increasing the energy efficiency of fuel-poor homes is the long-term solution to fuel poverty;outline potential new approaches to help ensure fuel poverty initiatives are better targeted at fuel poor households;suggest these measures will have significant social and environmental benefits. Report suggests new approaches to eliminating fuel poverty. Professor Paul Ekins of the UCL Energy Institute has co-written a major new report on eliminating fuel poverty in Britain at a time of high energy prices.
The report, published by the UCL Energy Institute, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Institute for Public Policy Research, looks at new approaches to eliminating fuel poverty following the failure to meet the 2010 fuel poverty target. The report finds that reaching the 2016 fuel poverty target is looking unlikely also, and offers a range of suggestions including how to improve the energy performance of homes. Co-author Matthew Lockwood is Climate Change Team Leader at the Institute of Development Studies and Associate Fellow at IPPR. For a copy of the full report visit 'Tackling fuel poverty during the transition to a low carbon economy' visit the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website or email Ellie Jones. Fuel poverty – time for a new approach? | Nesta Investment Management.
Power to the people -- New Internationalist. By 2030, as many as 900 million people will still have no electricity. Three billion will still be cooking with traditional fuel. More than 30 million will have died due to smoke-related diseases. And many more will be consigned to poverty due to their lack of access to energy. The campaign group launches as the UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4ALL) is pursuing the goal of universal energy access by 2030. Energy is a vital tool for improving the lives of people in the Majority World. Rosa is from Kenya. ‘For me getting energy for cooking and lighting is a daily worry. Rosa’s story reminds me of similar cases here in the Philippines. Practical Action, wants to create a global movement for change on this issue.
Achieving universal energy access by 2030 is central to the [UN’s] SE4ALL initiative and is likely to be a key pillar of the post-2015 development agenda. The report also points out how lack of energy aggravates inequality. Energy Poverty - energypedia.info. Definition by Douglas F. Barnes (Energy for Development) The existence of energy poverty today is quite well accepted around the world. In fact alleviating energy poverty is a goal of many development organizations that deal with energy issues for developing countries. However, when it comes to defining energy poverty these organizations assume the position that many take in appreciating good art--"they know it when they see it. " There is much talk about energy poverty but not much action in terms of measuring it. There are several different approaches to define energy poverty and they can be classified as follows and are explained below: Each one of these approaches has strengths and weaknesses.
The first way of defining energy poverty has its roots in defining poverty as a minimum amount of food intake necessary to sustain a health life. Definition from Practical Action A person is in ‘energy poverty’ if they do not have access to at least: Development of an Energy Poverty Line Abstract: Energy poverty. New approaches to Fuel Poverty: towards integrated approaches to health, energy and social justice | London Voluntary Service Council. This event will seek to bring together organisations that work to tackle fuel poverty with social housing landlords, local authorities, public health agencies, community and residents associations, environmental organisations, energy companies, academics and government bodies. Registration from 10.00am.
Event starts 10.30am Speakers: Jenny Saunders OBE, member of the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (FPAG is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Department of Energy & Climate Change ) and CEO National Energy Action Murad Qureshi AM Londonwide Assembly Member Jane Landon, Director of Policy & Deputy CEO, UK Health Forum Christina Marriott, Senior Manager addressing health inequalities, NHS England Ed Matthew, Director Energy Bill Revolution Mary Milne, Senior Campaigns Officer, Age UK Agamemnon Otero, CEO Repowering London Cllr Lester Holloway (Sutton Council) and Lib Dems Equalities Group Context /background Fuel poverty is a major problem across London.
Outcomes Confirmed workshops: (1) how to identify if someone is in fuel poverty - Web Search Results. (1) how to identify if someone is in fuel poverty - Web Search Results. Affordable Warmth in Argyll - Fighting Fuel Poverty in Argyll and the Islands. Affordable Warmth In Argyll Our Affordable Warmth Team has been working to combat fuel poverty in Argyll since 2009. Our Affordable Warmth for Sustainable Rural Communities Project provides advice, support and mentoring to older people and single parents, in Mid Argyll/Kintyre, Oban/Lorn and Bute – all areas experiencing high rates of fuel poverty.
This project is funded by the Big Lottery Fund (Investing in Communities). As well as helping our target groups directly, we also provide training and mentoring to people who support them in their community, including health and social care professionals, carer groups and community groups, and volunteers. Fuel Poverty The Scottish Government’s agreed definition of Fuel Poverty is: "A household is in fuel poverty if, in order to maintain a satisfactory heating regime, it would be required to spend more than 10% of its income (including housing benefit or income support for mortgage interest) on all household fuel use".
Insufficient income.