The Renewable Energy Centre announced its support of the Government's recently launched "Act on CO2" website by adding a link to the carbon calculator from its homepage.

The Renewable Energy Centre is an online specialist resource for businesses, government organisations and individuals researching sustainable and renewable technologies. Launched at the beginning of 2007, The Renewable Energy Centre has already established itself as an authority website in the sector through media coverage and a large network of links from energy related websites.

Richard Simmons founder of The Renewable Energy Centre said "It is estimated that households are responsible for over a quarter of UK carbon emissions and we feel that giving the public the opportunity to calculate their own output would give them the knowledge and inclination to make significant changes to their homes and lifestyles.

He continued "We wholly support the government's launch of the Act on CO2 calculator and in order to increase awareness and encourage more individuals to take part we have put the link on The Renewable Energy Centre homepage".

The past year has seen a drove of government initiatives to encourage and motivate UK homeowners to consider their energy use, including measures such as the introduction of Home Information Packs, stamp duty waivers and the proposed introduction of real time energy meters.
The latest Government development, the online carbon calculator was developed by the Energy Saving Trust with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

The calculator was launched last week at an eco-friendly internet café in London by Environment Secretary David Miliband, who commented "We want to cut through that confusion. This carbon calculator will help people decide what they can do - and be sure it will make a difference".

The quick online questionnaire invites visitors to compare their carbon dioxide output to national averages by answering questions on their home, energy appliances and travel. They are then presented with a personalised action plan that includes tailored recommendations on how they can cut their emissions and reduce wasted energy rather than just "offsetting it," a popular recent practice that has been highly criticised as merely displacing the problem.

However, parties such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace have criticised the government should for wasting resources on creating the online facility when there are so many other similar alternatives online. They both felt that the calculator may detract from the governments own important role in cutting emissions through legislation in order to make it cheaper and easier for homeowners to go greener.

There have also concerns that the calculator has over simplified the process and that many areas have been omitted; such as food consumption, public transport, and overall emissions from the public sector services such as street lighting.

DEFRA claims that the current calculator is a trial version through which they hope to gather user feedback in order to update and revise it. The aim is to create a resource that will become the "gold standard" for calculating carbon emissions.

For more information visit
www.therenewableenergycentre.co.uk

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Notes for Editors:
www.therenewableenergycentre.co.uk
The Renewable Energy Centre: Saving Money, Saving Energy and Saving the Planet
The Renewable Energy Centre is committed to informing all online users about energy saving and renewable energy in order to:
• increase public awareness through accurate and informative resources
• create business opportunities throughout the UK through its' local and national directories.

For more information:
Contact: Angela Gallacher (Head of Press & Marketing)
Email: info@therenewableenergycentre.co.uk
Address: 1 Alpha House, Farmer Ward Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2ED
Telephone: 01926 865835