Gregory Barker The Green Deal Scheme

In a world of increasing energy prices, market volatility and rising energy imports, energy efficiency has never been more important.

That is why we are creating something brand new - the Green Deal. It is truly revolutionary. It will help homeowners, landlords and tenants get a whole range of home improvements beyond insulation, including a whole range of front of house, eye catching measures.

The Green Deal will act as a catalyst to stimulate innovation so that more and more energy savings products come to the market

In the UK, we have some of the worst performing buildings in Europe. More than half of our homes don’t have sufficient insulation. They leak heat like a sieve.

The UK building stock was responsible for 43% of total UK emissions in 2009.

And despite the relatively mild winter we are coming through, increasing numbers of families are struggling to pay their energy bills and have been hit by rising energy prices. We estimate that this year up to 4.1m households will be in fuel poverty in England alone.

Energy efficiency can help tackle each of these challenges. It is a win-win-win scenario: reducing emissions, saving money and creating opportunities for business.

» Read more on The "Green Deal"