http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d5bd306e-388a-11e1-9ae1-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1ovKGXFJ6

Andrew Bounds, North of England correspondent

Cities in the UK could cut their energy bills by billions while reducing carbon emissions with investments that would pay for themselves in just four years, according to a new study.

In what is dubbed a “mini-Stern” review for the Leeds city region, after Sir Nicholas Stern’s groundbreaking 2007 report on the costs of global warming, researchers found that investing 1 per cent of GDP would save 1.6 per cent of GDP.

The investment could also create 4,500 jobs, reduce fuel poverty and cut greenhouse gas emissions. The energy bill accounts for a hefty 10 per cent of the city’s GDP.

The findings could be seized on by ministers as they show simple measures such as turning off appliances and laying on more buses are more cost effective than many renewable technologies.

Greg Barker, climate change minister, recently rounded on the “environmental Taliban” of green campaigners, saying he embraced “decarbonisation not deindustrialisation”

Prof Andy Gouldson of the University of Leeds, who led the research, said it was an attempt to prioritise which areas should attract scant resources.

“There are thousands of low carbon options available, but there is often a lack of reliable information on their performance,” he said.

He said investments of £4.9bn in the most cost effective options would cut the city region’s energy bill by £1.2bn a year and reduce emissions by 36 per cent of 1990 levels by 2022: “You can achieve it as long as you do all of them,” he said.

Leeds city region, which encompasses 11 local authorities including Bradford and Barnsley, has a population of 3m, a £52bn economy and an energy bill of £5.4bn a year.

The biggest gains come from home insulation – Leeds and Kirklees already have a free programme for householders – turning down thermostats and offices turning off equipment such as photocopiers overnight.

Buses and biofuels offer the greatest hope for cutting transport emissions. In industry, it is the use of more efficient heating systems or those that run on renewable energy.

Prof Gouldson is calling on the government to underwrite local authority investment programmes. Birmingham is investing £130m to fit thousands of council houses, schools and buildings with solar panels. Money has come from loans, energy companies and commercial banks, who will be paid back through levies on energy bills.

The Economics of Low Carbon Cities, as the report is called, will be unveiled in Leeds on January 9 and debated in parliament by MPs, Lords and experts on January 12.

It was written by The Centre for Low Carbon Futures, a research group led by the universities of Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York, which collaborates with 15 universities and more than 100 businesses.