GAS boilers should be banned from 2025 to help save the planet from climate change, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.
The step is one out 400 necessary for the world to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, according to the intergovernmental organisation.
1
It comes after reports that gas boilers are set to be banned in all new-build homes from 2023, two years earlier than first announced.
Meanwhile, millions of homes will need to have their old gas boilers ripped out within the next eight years.
When gas is made, it releases carbon emissions into the environment, which in turn contribute towards global warming.
In the future, new homes will instead be required to have low-carbon alternatives, such as electric heat pumps.
How can I heat my home without a gas boiler?
THERE are a number of different ways to “decarbonise” heating.
One option is scrapping gas boilers and instead using a heat network that pumps hot water and air through pipes to warm homes.
Another idea is to just use electricity to warm homes.
Some households are already electricity-only, using storage heaters instead of radiators to heat their property.
Ofgem said last year it could also look at different ways to making homes electric, such as by using electricity to power heat pumps.
Lastly, gas boilers could be upgraded to work with decarbonised gas, such as hydrogen.
Energy experts told The Sun a couple of years ago that low-carbon heat pumps and heat networks could add £5,000 to the cost of a new build.
The IEA said no new fossil fuel boilers should be sold from 2025, except where they are compatible with hydrogen.
The report also said the sale of new petrol and diesel cars around the world should end by 2035.
In comparison, the UK government last year announced the sale of such cars will be banned by 2030.
The IEA warned the path to cutting emissions to “net zero” by 2050, which is needed to prevent dangerous temperature rises, is “narrow but still achievable”.
Global warming of more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels exposes the world to more extreme weather and higher sea levels.
When the government first proposed a gas boiler ban, it acknowledged practical challenges to overcome, such as a target of 300,000 new homes to build a year.
Currently, about 30,000 heat pumps are installed each year, but the government wants to increase this to 600,000 a year by 2028.
Fatih Birol, IEA executive director, said: “Our road map shows the priority actions that are needed today to ensure the opportunity of net-zero emissions by 2050 – narrow but still achievable – is not lost.
“The scale and speed of the efforts demanded by this critical and formidable goal make this perhaps the greatest challenge humankind has ever faced.
“The IEA’s pathway to this brighter future brings a historic surge in clean energy investment that creates millions of new jobs and lifts global economic growth.”
While Dave Jones, global lead for Ember, a climate and energy think tank, said: “Phasing out coal power is not enough, the world must also phase out gas power.
“The IEA shows that inefficient coal power plants need to close by 2030, which will be a huge step up in ambition for so many countries.
“It states there is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply; this is truly a knife into the fossil fuel industry.”
NICE MOVE
Six rules and laws for homeowners and renters coming in 2021
BURGER ME!
Burger King is giving away FREE Whoppers today with Deliveroo – how to get one
HOME HELL
Devastated family left with £250k bill after home COLLAPSES during extension work
ALL CHANGE
The shops where you CAN try on clothes as lockdown rules ease again
IN CREDIT
Emergency fund for Brits struggling on Universal Credit slashed by £3m in a year
PAY DAY
11 benefits you could get paid early next week – including Universal Credit
In February last year, Ofgem announced plans that mean gas boilers would have to be ditched from homes or upgraded by 2050.
Meanwhile, boiler breakdowns affect 200,000 homes each winter.
A doomsday climate warning of 3.5C temperature rise could be AVOIDED thanks to US and China.
Millions of gas boilers will need to be ripped out of old homes, Business Secretary admits
