The green deal - the government's big policy initiative for fighting climate change, is supposed to plug one of Britain's biggest sources of carbon emissions – draughty, fuel-poor homes.
When it launches this autumn, the green deal will be the most aggressive home improvement schemes since WW2. It is the centre point of the coalition's strategy. A plan to improve the nation's draughty homes at no upfront cost, not just to green our economy but to also help family's improve their homes, cut their fuel bills and in turn, reduce the UK's dependence on expensive imported fossil fuels.
However leading Tories inside and outside the cabinet believe the £14 billion Green Deal – which is due to start in six months’ time, must be ditched because it risks leaving key already financially strained voters out of pocket by several thousands of pounds.
A lot ministers have long been sceptical of the scheme, often seen as the legacy of Chris Huhne, the Lib Dem who resigned as Energy Secretary to fight a court charge that he perverted the course of justice over a speeding case in 2003.
As a result of these mixed messages billions of pounds of investment and the potential for hundreds of thousands of green jobs hang in the balance as companies stall investment while they try to figure out what the government's policy direction might be.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change maintains that the Green Deal is vital to help the UK meet its commitment to slash carbon emissions under the Kyoto Treaty.
What are your thoughts on the green deal?
Is it a good idea at the wrong time? Or just a waste of money?
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