"Localist" green revolutionary

If Tory leader David Cameron's vision is realized, the clean energy revolution will not only be televised, it will be carried on local access channels. (GW)

Cameron's £20bn plan for green homes

Tory leader wins backing of high street names for ground-breaking initiative

By Patrick Wintour and Nicholas Watt

The Guardian
November 15, 2009

David Cameron sees the idea for a 'localist green revolution' as an answer to his fear that what he describes as the current top- down climate change agenda is 'in danger of starting to lose people'. Photograph: David Levene

David Cameron has pledged that a Conservative government would from "day one" kickstart £20bn of investment to make millions of homes more energy-efficient in a groundbreaking green partnership with Tesco and Marks & Spencer.

In a Guardian interview to coincide with the critical stage of the Copenhagen summit, the Tory leader reveals the plan to let householders share in the savings made on their power bills with the high street retailers who provide them with lagging and insulation.

David Cameron tells Nicholas Watt that world leaders must come to an agreement in Copenhagen. Link to this audio

He says he has already signed up a group of local councils and the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, for the scheme which would tackle more than 30% of UK carbon emissions by offering 6 million households the chance to get £6,500 worth of energy-efficiency measures.

Cameron sees the idea for a "localist green revolution" as an answer to his fear that what he describes as the current top- down climate change agenda is "in danger of starting to lose people".

Speaking as Gordon Brown arrived in Copenhagen for the climate change summit, the Conservative leader said: "If the environmental agenda becomes limited to well-suited politicians stepping out of aeroplanes on to tarmacs, telling people how to live their lives and sounding like everyone else will just have to sit in a darkened room, wearing woollies with the lights turned off and the heating down, we are not going to get anywhere.

"People do not like being lectured. You have to take people with you, and the way to do that is to connect individual behaviour and rewards, and help people see the advantages of going green. We have to have carrots as well as sticks."

Cameron also insisted that if his party wins the election next year, he will try to turn any political agreement reached at Copenhagen into an internationally legally binding document as quickly as possible.

"The political declaration agreed at Copenhagen must not allow warming to go above 2C, it must include a proper mechanism for funding adaptation for poorest countries, and it has got to have a proper policy to protect rainforests," Cameron said.

The Tory leader said he would support the £1.6bn offered by Brown on behalf of Britain to help with adaptation among developing countries so long as it came from the aid budget.

He questioned the prime minister's claims to pose as the green dealmaker at the summit, describing the Labour record on carbon emissions as "pathetic".

The Tories insisted their proposals would be self-financing through savings in energy costs over the long term, but Labour said: "This is a green con. At the same time as saying they will cut the deficit, the Tories are making yet more unfunded commitments."

Cameron's plans for a multibillion-pound investment in energy efficiency are part of a strategy to make environmentalism relevant. Companies such as Tesco would lag lofts and insulate walls, then share the resulting savings in electricity bills with householders over a minimum 15-20 years.

The councils that have struck deals with the Tories would not only offer insulation packages, but also identify the streets most in need of help. A household with the most basic package of measures could expect to see savings of £360 a year on its heating bills, with an energy-efficiency provider putting in an initial investment of £1,500. Some of the savings would go towards repaying the upfront costs of the improvements. Households saving £360 a year would need to pay £120 towards the £1,500 investment, but would keep the remaining £240 a year for themselves.

Cameron said: "I want to launch this from day one of a Conservative government, with councils actually going house to house, street to street, to identify the areas, the homes and the people that would most benefit and would get on with doing most quickly."Faced by a mini-revolt from climate change sceptics within his own party, he said: "A very small number of people take a different view on the science, but the policy is driven by me, and that is the way it is going to be."