The Welsh and UK governments have declared a climate emergency but what could that mean in practical terms? Wales, like most industrialised economies, has been highly dependent on fossil fuels and reaching zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require radical change. There has been much focus on sustainable transport, but it will also affect what we buy, and how we work and live. Houses in the UK are some of the least well insulated in western Europe, with too much heat escaping from our windows, floors, roofs and walls. We can expect an expansion of programmes to make our homes more energy efficient, which in turn could create new markets for innovative manufacturers, and work for the building trade retrofitting existing homes. That could include fitting solar panels and moving away from gas and oil to new heating systems. Alternatives include lower carbon technologies such as wood pellet boilers, and air source heat pumps, which use some electricity to extract heat from the outside air, a bit like a fridge in reverse.
BBC 20th June 2019 read more »