I was browsing the web and came to this site for Sian Berry, running for Mayor of London for the Green party. I no nothing about London politics, her chances of winning, or even anything about her. But on the side, it had some of the key policies for the Green party.
And some of those aren’t that bad.
Free house insulation: Insulating your home is still the best way for you to reduce your energy bill and if you heat with oil or natural gas, the savings could be even more. So why should the government help you save energy? There is the cost of pollution which the government is already asked to mitigate. There is keeping you in your home, with enough money for your cost of living. Does anyone want to choose between heat and food?
The big question for me is “How do we help those in rental properties?” The absent owners have no reason to increase the insulation on their own. And the renters have no authority to insulate either. I suspect that this is where more of the energy costs per person or per household income is coming from.
Renewable energy loans: Because there is a benefit for everyone in reduced pollution and reduced need for power plants and the energy it creates, it makes sense for the government to help people increase their use of renewable energy. Currently, the payback period of solar panels is fairly long, but if the pay OUT period was equally as long, then it would make sense for more people to do it.
Where does the money come from for these two initiatives? That question I will have to dodge. But I suspect that the reduction in illness from pollution and borderline poverty would easily cover the costs of these two policies.
