The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) published a report on 5 February 2024 estimating the cost of not having deployed net zero technologies, putting the extra costs for households and government at £73bn over 2022 and 20231. The report, Cost of NOT zero in 2023, also estimates that costs since the early 2010s have reached at least £87bn1.
The ECIU states that some households, if they had all of the applicable technologies, could have saved around £1,850 on energy bills in 2022, and almost £1,900 in 2023, for a total of £3,750 over two years dominated by the gas crisis1. It adds that households are facing more than £600 extra in food bills over two years due to the impact of climate change and oil and gas prices on the farming and food sector, which it says amounts to a potential £4,350 of costs for some households over two years1.
The report also covers costs to government. It estimates that government support for energy bills during the energy crisis cost up to £300 more per household in 2023, and £150 more in 2022, compared with a situation where net zero technologies had been more prevalent in the UK1. Combining energy and food, the ECIU puts the extra costs for households and government at an estimated £56bn over the two years of 2022 and 2023, rising to £73bn once the extra food bill is included1.
Looking further back, the ECIU states that from the early 2010s to the end of 2023, energy costs for households, including government support in the gas crisis, have been £70bn higher due to the missing net zero technologies1. With extra food costs sitting at £17bn for just two years, it says the total cost of not zero since the early 2010s rises to at least £87bn and counting1. The report notes that the figure for 2022 has been revised up slightly from its previous report using finalised datasets for that year1.
"Cumulative savings of £70bn on the UK’s energy bill could have been made had investments happened over past decade."
The report states that deployment of net zero technologies would have required upfront investment, which it says would have stimulated growth in industries such as building, car manufacture and renewables, and would already have begun to pay off in the form of lower bills1. It adds that businesses, charities and the public sector are also paying higher bills due to the slow pace of the transition to net zero, but that this is beyond the scope of the report1.
| Measure | Estimated cost or saving |
|---|---|
| Energy bill savings for some households, 2022 and 2023 combined | £3,750 |
| Extra food bills over two years | More than £600 |
| Combined potential cost for some households over two years | £4,350 |
| Extra government support per household, 2023 | Up to £300 |
| Extra government support per household, 2022 | £150 |
| Extra costs for households and government, 2022 and 2023 | £56bn |
| Total including extra food bill, 2022 and 2023 | £73bn |
| Higher household energy costs since early 2010s | £70bn |
| Total cost of not zero since early 2010s | At least £87bn |
Why it matters for households
The figures set out by the ECIU concern the running costs of a home rather than its purchase or installation costs. The report's central claim is that a limited roll-out of net zero technologies, such as insulation, heat pumps and solar, has left households paying more for the energy they use than they would have done otherwise, with the gap widening during the gas crisis of 2022 and 20231. For a household, that translates into a higher annual bill for the same home, and a larger share of that bill exposed to wholesale gas prices.
The report also links climate change and oil and gas prices to food costs, arguing that the farming and food sector has passed through more than £600 of extra costs per household over two years1. That extends the effect of energy prices beyond the meter, into weekly shopping.
The ECIU frames the missing technologies as a matter of regulation and policy rather than household choice, noting that deployment would have required upfront investment and that the savings would have accrued over time1. The report does not set out which specific technologies were counted for each household type, nor how the £70bn energy figure was apportioned between homes, so the per-household numbers should be read as the ECIU's own estimates rather than measured bills.
What happens next
The report does not set out dated next steps. The ECIU states that the 2022 figure has been revised up slightly from its previous report using finalised datasets for that year, indicating that further revisions may follow as data is finalised1.