2030 Fuel Poverty Target will overshoot by over 30 years
This bulletin follows up on a report published by AgilityEco and Gemserv in 2021 which estimated an additional £18 billion in funding was needed from the Government to ensure its Statutory Fuel Poverty Target is met by the deadline of 2030. We have revisited the report in light of the publication of the Energy Security Strategy and the recent significant rises in energy prices. The bulletin begins by exploring the challenges associated with Fuel Poverty and the effect of significant increases in energy bills, before highlighting the importance of investment in energy efficiency in the context of likely continuing high prices and market volatility. It concludes with key recommendations for how this investment might be delivered to address the funding gap.
Our key finding is that, unless investment in energy efficiency increases, if energy prices remain at high levels more people will be in fuel poverty in 2025 than there were in 2020.
The Government’s statutory 2030 fuel poverty target to have as many as practicable fuel poor homes at energy efficiency Band C or above will almost certainly be missed by a significant margin. Our analysis suggests that the target will be missed by over 30 years, taking until 2065 to achieve unless further funding is announced.