BORIS Johnson is facing a brick wall trying to persuade energy companies to bring in schemes to make heating homes more efficient, the London Assembly has been told. The response from big energy companies to start carbon reduction schemes was not brilliant’

By Mike Brooke

BORIS Johnson is facing a brick wall trying to persuade energy companies to bring in schemes to make heating homes more efficient, the London Assembly has been told.

The response from big energy companies to start carbon reduction schemes was not brilliant,’ according to the Mayor’s environment advisor Isabel Dedring.

“Smaller players in the London market are more interested,” she told the Assembly’s environment committee. “They know they have to be innovative to try and gain a market share in London.

“But the bigger players have been quite disappointing.”

Local trial retrofitting’ schemes like the one in Hillingdon drew a good public response, the committee heard.

But she stressed the large-scale mechanism to expand such schemes would need to be done by the large utility companies.

Environment Chair Murad Qureshi said: “Some energy companies do not perceive reducing CO2 emissions in London as a priority.

“Utilities must now address this issue and take action if London is to meet its 60 per cent carbon reduction target by 2025.”

The environment committee’s Lagging Behind report highlights London falling below the rest of Britain in getting to grips with household emissions.