The UK government is imposing ever more drastic and coercive measures to meet its carbon targets.
As energy prices soar, behind the scenes, the UK government is planning to make it even harder to heat our homes. The government is threatening to force manufacturers of gas boilers to switch to making heat pumps. From 2024 onwards, Whitehall plans to levy severe fines on UK-based boiler manufacturers that fail to meet production targets for heat pumps, hitting them with a £5,000 penalty for each failure to deliver a unit.
These Stalinist reprisals are the latest absurdity to result from the government’s hell-bent pursuit of Net Zero. To meet Net Zero carbon targets, the number of heat pumps installed in homes each year will have to multiply 12-fold over the next six years – from about 50,000 today to 600,000 by 2028. This would be a remarkable feat, given that to buy a heat pump and install a complete system currently costs between £8,000 and £28,000. Meanwhile, a working boiler system comes in at just £2,000 to £3,000.
