Government launches initiative to boost environmental health

The Department of Energy & Climate Change has released details of an £860 million initiative aimed at improving the environmental health of the UK.

Details of its Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme were released yesterday (March 10th) and is expected to undergo the parliamentary approval stage later this year.

The organisation suggested that the RHI is the first scheme of its kind in the world, as the government looks to encourage the use of renewable sources such as heat pumps and wood chip boilers.

It is hoped that the scheme will help the government reach its target of reducing emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

Businesses and industries, which account for 38 per cent of the UK's carbon emissions, will be the first targets for the scheme before it is rolled out to domestic households.

Earlier this week, energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne backed the European Commission's plans to significantly reduce the continent's greenhouse emissions by 2050.

Posted by Joseph Hutton