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The new locks are expected to have a significant impact on emissions caused by staying home this winter.
The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) says that while emissions have decreased this year because we’ve been traveling less and doing less, the expected use of gas boilers to provide heat and hot water could increase by more than half. .
Jess Ralston, author of the analysis for ECIU, said: “This trajectory of working from home and having more gas use at home could be really critical for air pollution and also for climate change. The way we heat our houses must change if we are to reach net zero by 2050. “
Houses in England are predominantly heated by burning natural gas, which releases nitrous oxide (NOx) along with CO2.
There are 21 million gas boilers across the country and currently less than 5% of homes are heated with low carbon sources.
Jake Oldershaw and his daughter Mollie from Birmingham have asthma. 11-year-old Mollie has needed hospital treatment multiple times and uses an inhaler, while Jake says she always finds it harder to breathe in heavy traffic.
Air quality has a huge impact on their lives, and they both saw a marked improvement during the spring close.
Jake said: “During the confinement there was a noticeable difference in the quality of the air. I did not suffer any asthmatic effects during that period. These days you can feel the effects.
“Obviously we don’t want the lockdown again, but if people were to consider the health and environmental benefits that were definitely there, then try to stick with them and make a change, it would be better than sticking with the habits again.”
Mollie, who suffers from asthma, says she feels it in her lungs when there is more traffic pollution
Mollie has also noticed a change in her bike rides to school. “When I’m cycling now and there are more cars, I feel it in my lungs. It blocks my lungs a bit more and makes it harder to breathe. It’s not a very pleasant feeling.”
Heating accounts for almost 37% of the UK’s total carbon emissions. The ECIU model suggests a 56% increase in boiler use this winter, resulting in a 12% increase in NOx emissions. The ECIU estimates that this is enough to offset the progress of the last two years in reducing traffic emissions.
Environmentalists say strategies are being put in place to reduce emissions from transportation, but not enough is being done to decarbonize the significant impact of heating.
Jess Ralston said: “The expected increase in gas boiler pollution this winter provides a graphic illustration of its neglected role in air pollution. And it is a role that will continue without practical policies to decarbonize home heating.
“In addition, future years could see more pollution from both homes and traffic if more people work from home and those who go to work do so by car rather than by public transport.”
The government is set to publish its heating and building decarbonization strategy in November, which is expected to provide details on plans to try to switch British homes to cleaner heat sources.
