Green Index highlights UK's need for improvement in Renewable Energy Use

The recent abandonment of the Green Homes Grant is a new blow to the country’s green future, as the UK aims to reach the government’s target of hitting zero carbon emissions by 2050. A new ‘green index’ from energy efficiency experts City Plumbing highlights how the country is falling behind the worldwide leaders in terms of energy sustainability and renewable energy use.

The index ranked 20 major worldwide cities on eight key categories areas that will need to be embraced in order to secure an environmentally friendly future, from renewable energy use to carbon emissions, traffic congestion, bicycle usage, walkability, the quantity of available green space (such as parks), air quality and recycling.

Rank	City	Renewable Points	Carbon Points	Traffic Points	Bicycle Points	Walkability Points	Green Spaces Points	Air Quality Points	Recycling Points	Total Points
1	Berlin	14	13	19	18	16	17	11	20	128
2	Copenhagen	19	17	18	19	8	11	17	17	126
3	Madrid	15	11	17	14	13	18	12	9	109
4	Dublin	7	20	5	13	18	12	20	12	107
5	Amsterdam	3	18	20	20	5	7	13	18	104
6	Brussels	9	19	10	13	19	9	5	19	103
7	Cape Town	17	14	14	4	1	10	14	16	90
8	Sydney	8	12	15	15	4	19	2	14	89
9	Beijing	11	5	12	16	7	20	15	9	95
10	Rome	16	16	2	4	11	16	6	14	85
11	London	5	4	7	7	18	15	9	16	81
12	Paris	13	6	3	13	20	5	10	11	81
13	Toronto	18	10	11	9	9	7	7	7	78
14	Buenos Aires	10	8	16	6	10	4	18	5	77
15	New York City	6	1	10	6	6	14	16	10	69
16	Moscow	2	3	13	13	16	8	8	4	67
17	Rio de Janeiro	20	15	1	8	3	14	3	2	66
18	Tokyo	4	2	8	18	16	3	1	6	58
19	Mexico City	9	9	4	1	2	2	19	3	49
20	Istanbul	12	7	6	2	12	2	4	2	47

London falls into the bottom half of the ‘Green Index’. Highlighting the work that is still to be done if the UK is to meet its carbon neutral target, with key areas for improvement highlighted in renewable energy use, air quality and carbon emissions. With only 9% of energy used in the capital coming from renewable sources, it is falling far behind the top ranked city of Rio de Janeiro which boasts 44% renewable energy use.

With such reliance on non-renewable energy sources, it is perhaps no surprise to see London also ranks poorly for its carbon emissions and air quality. However, there is better news when it comes to available green space, walkability, and recycling.

A third of the city (33%) is comprised of parks or gardens and 80% of residents able to walk to education and healthcare services without the use of a car, while 43% of London’s waste is recycled in some capacity too.

The data reinforces the considerable impact that moving towards carbon neutrality through energy efficient home improvements could have on the capital, enabling them to ’catch up’ to higher performing areas of green living.

According to the Committee on Climate Change, 14% of the country’s carbon emissions come from heating our homes, and there are several energy efficiency solutions that can help your home utilise energy that is either renewable or much less harmful than traditional solutions.

Air Source Heat Pumps capture heat from the air using the refrigeration cycle. They then provide heat to properties through radiators, underfloor heating and hot water via suitably sized cylinders.

Underfloor heating can distribute heat evenly around a room and will often reduce the usage of traditional heating systems that are more damaging to the environment.

Biomass boilers offer a similar output to conventional boilers, however rather than burning gas or oil, biomass boilers burn natural fuel sources such as wood pellets, wood chips or logs to provide heat to a property’s heating and hot water circuits.

Solar Thermal systems are another method of reducing a home’s traditional energy usage, by collecting heat from the sun using solar panels/collectors which is then used to heat up water stored in the property’s hot water cylinder, avoiding the reliance on gas or electricity.

In terms of cities where London can take inspiration, our ’Green Index’ highlights Berlin as the leading example of green living, and there is a common thread of renewable energy use across all of the top performing cities.

The German capital scores particularly well for its renewable energy use and high recycling rates, minimal traffic congestion, and bicycle friendliness. Berlin is the city with the highest recycling rate, with 65% of materials recycled in Germany.

Copenhagen is the second most ‘green’ major city in the world, scoring highly for renewable energy use, with Madrid coming in third place thanks to their renewal energy use, lack of traffic congestion and amount of green space on offer.

Dublin ranks as the 4^th ‘greenest city’ thanks in part to having the lowest carbon emission footprint and best air quality of any of the other cities in the study.