UK heat pump growth stalls to 7% after ECO scheme
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- The Climate Change Committee reported UK heat pump installations grew just 7% last year, down from 56% in 2024, after the government withdrew the ECO scheme that provided fully funded heat pumps to lower-income households following reports of botched installations.
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers £7,500 toward installation but households can still face more than £2,500 in remaining costs; Bean Beanland, former director of the Heat Pump Association, called for a replacement grant and lower running costs, noting the UK has some of the highest electricity bills in Europe.
- Overall UK carbon emissions continued to fall, placing the country in a "leading group," but the Committee warned slow progress in home heating — which accounts for almost a fifth of national emissions — risks missing future targets.
- Emma Pinchbeck, CEO of the Climate Change Committee, said one in four new cars bought in the UK is now an EV, with growth accelerated by the Iran fuel crisis driving up petrol and diesel prices and pushing consumers toward alternatives.
- The Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) countered that EV demand has been driven by more than £10 billion in manufacturer discounts since 2024 — described as "unsustainable" — and supported the government's plan to weaken the Zero Emission Vehicles mandate, which the UKCCC urged the government to keep.
- The Met Office issued a red alert for extreme heat with temperatures forecast to approach 40°C, noting such extremes are made more likely and more frequent by climate change.
Why it matters: Home heating accounts for nearly a fifth of UK emissions, and the heat pump rollout has abruptly stalled exactly as the government removed its main subsidy for lower-income households — raising the cost of meeting future climate targets unless a replacement scheme emerges. Meanwhile, the headline EV boom the CCC celebrates is partly an artifact of £10bn in industry discounts, not durable demand, and the Committee is openly at odds with ministers over weakening the ZEV mandate.
