EST: Reduce carbon emissions and cut energy bills

Monday, February 8th 2010

Cutting the amount of money spent on electricity and gas bills is one of the main motivators behind consumers' efforts to cut their carbon footprint, the Energy Saving Trust (EST) has emphasised.

New figures from the organisation indicate that more than three-quarters of British consumers said lowering their bills was one of the key reasons to reduce their emissions.

In total, an estimated eight billion is wasted annually on energy bills due to inefficient heating systems, unnecessary use of electricity and poor insulation, according to EST head of knowledge services Dr Paula Owen.

She explained that people can make a number of modifications if they hope to see smaller energy bills, including participating in the new clean energy cashback scheme and making small behavioural changes when it comes to their day-to-day electricity and gas use.

Last week, Alistair Buchanan, chief executive of Ofgem, commented to the BBC that energy bills in the UK are expected to rise by up to 20 per cent within the next decade.