ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners are due to hit out at the government today in light of new data that shows Britain is lagging behind most European countries in selling and installing low-carbon heat pumps to clean up the emissions from heating homes. 

The report, published today, says that Britain came joint last out of 21 countries for heat pump sales last year, with just 1.3 sold for every 1,000 households, figures provided to Greenpeace UK by the European Heat Pump Association reveal.

Britain comes second from last for the proportion of homes (1 per cent) which have had heat pumps installed to date, providing a cleaner alternative to fossil fuel boilers.

Housing energy use is responsible for around 14 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, with the vast majority of British homes heated by fossil gas-fired boilers.

Greenpeace is urging the government to offer grants that make the upfront costs of installation and complementary energy efficiency measures the same as replacing a gas boiler, with the entire cost covered for low income families. 

Greenpeace policy director Doug Parr said: “If the government wants a chance to catch up, it needs a proper strategy and enough cash to clean up our homes on a massive scale.

“This means substantial grants for heat pump installations, especially for the poorest families, removing VAT on green home technologies and a phase-out of gas boilers early next decade.”

A Business Department spokesman said that the government was committed to “greatly accelerating the UK’s deployment of heat pumps from around 35,000 this year, to 600,000 a year by 2028.”

He said: “We will set out how this will be achieved in the forthcoming heat and buildings strategy, with fairness and affordability for both households and taxpayers at the heart of our plans.”