Latest news with #energycosts
Telegraph
13 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour plots to force households to have two smart meters
Britain's smart meter rollout promised to help households save money – and energy. In reality, the high-tech gadgets have been a disaster, leaving thousands of households with inaccurate energy bills at a huge cost to the taxpayer. And yet, Labour could soon force homeowners to have two smart meters – one for energy and one for water. The move forms part of the Government's proposed 'family bath time tax' which would force owners of larger properties and gardens to pay more for their water bills. However, experts have warned that forcing homes to have a smart meter would overcomplicate bills, undermine customers' privacy and allow cyber attacks to cut off the nation's water supply. Nick Hunn, founder of the wireless technology consulting firm, WiFore, told The Telegraph: 'We were told that the big benefit for smart meters would be lower bills. We can see by number of complaints that this didn't happen. 'We would see the same thing with smart water meters – moving from a system that's quite simple to one that is needlessly complicated and more likely to go wrong.' At the weekend, The Telegraph revealed that ministers will support utilities companies trialling new tariffs that charge the heaviest users of water a higher rate. Introducing 'progressive' water bills would mean rolling out smart water meters nationwide so that customers' consumption can be tracked in real time or at short intervals. Around 60pc of homes in England have a water meter, but the vast majority of those have a conventional meter from which periodic readings are taken. The plan has raised alarm bells among experts, especially as British households continue to pay the price for the botched smart meter rollout for energy bills. The initial target was to have a smart meter installed in every home by 2020. This has now been reduced to 74.5pc by the end of 2025, with the devices currently installed in just 68pc of homes. It is forecast to cost over £13.5bn, but a significant minority of homes are unsuitable for smart meters, which rely on having adequate reception. An estimated 4.3 million smart meters are faulty and unable to send readings back to suppliers remotely, leading to customers being sent sky-high bills that do not reflect their usage. The National Audit Office said in 2023 that 37pc of smart meter customers surveyed by Smart Energy GB, the company tasked with rolling out the devices nationally, reported having issues with their smart meter, including no automatic readings, inaccurate bills and the connected handheld device not showing any information. Smart meters have also found themselves at the centre of a row over privacy. In January, the Government launched a consultation on plans to allow household energy usage to be shared with third parties who could steer them to cheaper deals, as well as lower carbon tariffs from rival suppliers. A spokesman for Open Rights Group, a digital rights campaign group, said a mass smart water meter rollout posed similar risks for consumers, adding: 'Smart water meters could be used to track how many people are in a property, analyse daily routines, and reveal when you cook, shower or water your garden. 'This is a clear example of how everyday infrastructure can quietly become a surveillance tool – without public awareness or consent.' Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, said Labour had been 'caught red-handed' planning a new tax on water usage with the help of 'Big Brother technology'. Concerns have also been raised over consumer protection. Electricity companies are able to switch off your electricity remotely if you have a smart meter, but only under a very narrow set of circumstances and after taking all reasonable steps to manage debt repayment. Any customers deemed vulnerable cannot be disconnected. However, The Telegraph previously revealed how some energy suppliers are forcibly installing prepayment meters remotely by switching customers' smart meters from credit to prepayment mode. Campaigners have said that doing this amounts to disconnecting customers from the grid 'by the back door', as anyone unable to pay on a prepayment meter will lose power. Even if similarly strict regulations are put in place to stop water companies turning off the taps, digitally connecting the water system raises the threat of a widespread cyber attack, Mr Hunn said. He added: 'Electricity companies can disconnect you through a smart meter. If that logic goes into water then you have a situation where the company would be able to turn off your water. 'If someone hacks into that system, they can turn off large chunks of the country's water supply.'
Telegraph
15 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
British factories suffer worst slump in Europe as energy costs bite
British factories have suffered the worst slump in Europe as energy costs weigh heavily on industry. S&P Global's closely-watched purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector stood at 46.4 in May. Any score below 50 indicates a contraction in activity, with the latest figures marking an eight month downturn. Factories have been struggling to navigate the global trade war kicked off by Donald Trump. However, British manufacturers face additional problems, ranging from recent increases in tax to high energy prices. The PMI reading was the worst in Europe. Germany, which reported the lowest level of factory activity in the eurozone, had a manufacturing PMI of 48.3 by comparison. British bosses blamed higher energy prices for the poor performance. Companies pay the highest electricity prices of anywhere in the developed world, according to government figures. The cost of power for industrial businesses is now about 50pc more expensive than in Germany and France, and four times as expensive as in the US. Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to dramatically cut factory energy costs amid warnings that huge bills are pushing Britain towards 'de-industrialisation'. Removing net zero levies would instantly slash the electricity price paid by manufacturers by about one quarter, according to the lobby group's analysis. Fhaheen Khan, at Make UK said: 'Unfortunately, when tomorrow is a constant unknown, it becomes nigh on impossible to secure opportunities, which is leading to persistent declines in the sector. 'As a result of these material challenges, the manufacturing sector can only expect to continue its path of shrinking unless the Government's upcoming unveiling of the industrial strategy can reignite investment in growth.' Manufacturers' continued to cut jobs in May as labour costs climbed, following the increase in the minimum wage and employers' National Insurance contributions in April. Rob Dobson, the director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: 'May PMI data indicate that UK manufacturing faces major challenges, including turbulent market conditions, trade uncertainties, low client confidence and rising tax-related wage costs.' It came as Andy Haldane, the former chief economist at the Bank of England, said that Ms Reeves's time so far as Chancellor had been 'disappointing'. 'On too many measures ... it's felt like the fiscal cart has been put in front of the growth horse,' Mr Haldane told LBC. He warned that the Government was 'not even close to doing enough' on growth. 'To be honest it's felt penny-pinching, it's felt small, it's not been the sort of thing we need to get the animal spirits in the country going and therefore the country growing.'
Telegraph
21 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Starmer under pressure to save factories crushed by energy prices
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to dramatically cut factory energy costs amid warnings huge bills are pushing Britain towards 'de-industrialisation'. Make UK, which represents Britain's biggest manufacturers, said domestic companies faced some of the highest electricity prices in Europe – and that half now viewed this as their biggest future challenge. It called on the Prime Minister to scrap a series of 'regressive' net zero levies on bills, arguing this is 'the most direct and impactful way to improve industrial competitiveness'. Make UK is also calling for the Government to provide manufacturers with wind-farm style electricity deals, known as contracts for difference (CfDs), which would fix their electricity price at a set level. The announcement comes as ministers are preparing to unveil their industrial strategy for Britain, with Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves under pressure to help firms with their energy bills. Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK, said: 'If we do not address the issue of high industrial energy costs in the UK as a priority, we risk the security of our country. 'We will fail to attract investment in the manufacturing sector and will rapidly enter a phase of renewed de-industrialisation.' The proposal to remove net zero levies would not be cheap, however. It would cost the Treasury £3.8bn, while giving manufacturers CfDs would cost a further £1.1bn. Without other immediate cuts to government expenditure, this would probably have to be shifted on to general taxation or the bills of domestic consumers. Make UK suggested the schemes could be 'phased in' gradually to reduce the financial impact and argued that both measures would be revenue-neutral in the long-run because they would stimulate industrial growth. Scrapping net zero levies would slash prices Removing net zero levies would instantly slash the electricity price paid by manufacturers by about one quarter, according to the lobby group's analysis. The report said this should include scrapping the so-called renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs levy, capacity market levy, climate change levy and CfD costs. They currently account for about 6.4 pence per kilowatt hour of the 27.1 pence per kilowatt hours paid by industrial firms for electricity, Make UK said. A single levy, the renewables obligation, accounts for £2bn of the £3.8bn in levies paid per year by manufacturers alone. The legacy scheme was set up to support early wind and solar farms with 20-year subsidy deals, topping up the electricity price they are paid. It closed to new entrants in 2017, having been replaced with newer CfDs. CfDs guarantee renewable generators a price at which they can sell electricity, with the Government paying the difference if market prices are lower than this and generators repaying the state when market prices go higher. Manufacturers want a similar arrangement, but in reverse. This would mean they are guaranteed a fixed price for buying, rather than selling, electricity – with the Government once again covering any difference. Ministers have previously suggested they intend to provide further support on energy costs for manufacturers in the industrial strategy, but this has previously only been extended to the most energy-intensive firms such as steel makers, glass blowers and ceramic factories. A policy known as the 'British industrial supercharger', which exempts these companies from many policy costs as well as network charges, benefits around 400 businesses. But Make UK warned that the supercharger 'does not eliminate the need' for greater action on energy bills, as it only benefitted a relatively small number of firms. 'Not only is most of the manufacturing sector still exposed to these high costs, [but] as the costs of the supercharger are met by other electricity bill payers, ineligible manufacturers are facing an even greater share of costs, to subsidise eligible energy-intensive industries, further exacerbating the problem,' its report added. On Friday, a spokesman for the Government said: 'Through our clean power mission, we will get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets – protecting business and household finances with clean, home-grown energy that we control. 'We are already bringing energy costs for UK industries closer in line with other major economies through the British Industry Supercharger – saving businesses £5bn over the next ten years.' Inflation to rise Separately on Monday, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned households must brace for more inflation as businesses face rising costs. Private sector output is set to plunge at the fastest pace since Liz Truss's mini-budget in 2022, according to its survey of businesses across the economy. Alpesh Paleja, economist at the CBI, said the £25bn raid on employers' National Insurance Contributions and recent minimum wage rise were the primary concerns among businesses. Rising prices raise the threat of sustained high interest rates as the Bank of England balances the risk of low growth against stubborn inflation. Mr Paleja said: 'There is a very strong concern among the Monetary Policy Committee, at least a majority, of inflation persistence, particularly domestic price pressures being quite sticky. 'You've got price pressures in the services sector firming further but output remaining weak, so that trade off is quite prominent for the MPC. Rates will probably be cut at still quite a gradual pace going forward.'
The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
High electricity bill taxes holding us back, say industry groups
The UK government is being pressed to wipe billions from the energy costs facing households and heavy industry by reforming the high taxes levied on electricity bills. These policy levies mean the UK pays some of the highest energy bills in the world, and are simultaneously disadvantaging British industry and stifling the efforts of households to transition to lower-carbon heating systems, according to industry trade groups. Make UK has warned that the government's long-awaited industrial policy is at risk of being derailed by the high energy prices charged to UK manufacturers, which the lobby group states make the sector's energy bills 46% higher than the global average. The trade organisation has called on the government to cut industrial energy costs as part of Labour's long-awaited industrial strategy, which is due later this month, by reforming 'the complex and unfair policy levies that make low-carbon energy more expensive than fossil fuels'. Its plan includes the state underwriting a fixed energy price for manufacturers. Under the scheme, manufacturing firms would receive top-up payments from the government if energy wholesale costs rise beyond the set price – but they would repay the difference to the exchequer if the wholesale price falls below the agreed price. Stephen Phipson, Make UK's chief executive, said: 'If we do not address the issue of high industrial energy costs in the UK as a priority, we risk the security of our country. We will fail to attract investment in the manufacturing sector and will rapidly enter a phase of renewed de-industrialisation.' 'UK manufacturers have faced energy prices far above those of European competitors for many years, undermining their ability to invest, grow, and compete globally,' Phipson said. Another trade organisation, Energy UK, blamed the government's levies, which predominantly fall on electricity bills, for making cleaner alternatives such heat pumps artificially expensive in comparison with gas. The energy sector trade body, which represents energy suppliers, has proposed 'rebalancing' the charges currently levied on electricity bills on to gas bills, saving homes using electric heating £400 a year. State subsidies should then be used to ease the burden on low- and middle- income gas-using households that would face an extra annual cost of £40 under its proposal, it said. Overall the scheme would make the government's move from gas heating to electric heating about £40bn cheaper by 2040 compared with a situation in which policy costs are not removed from bills. A government spokesperson said: 'Through our clean power mission, we will get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets – protecting business and household finances with clean, homegrown energy that we control.' The spokesperson said that it was bringing energy costs for UK industries closer in line with other major economies through its British Industry Supercharger, a government energy cost-cutting programme for firms in sectors such as steel, metals and chemicals, which is expected to save businesses £5bn over the next 10 years. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'We are also looking at a range of options for longer-term energy market reform, including the rebalancing of gas and electricity prices, with the impact on consumers at the heart of our approach,' the spokesperson added. The comments about the government's imminent industrial strategy proposals come as British business faces a string of challenges over the coming months. The business and trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, is expected to urge Donald Trump's administration to cut a deal to reduce taxes on UK steel exports to zero this week, after the US president vowed to double his global steel tariff to 50%. Elsewhere, private sector companies expect activity to fall in the three months to August to their weakest level for three years, according to the CBI's latest growth survey. A separate poll of the UK hospitality industry also stated that recent increases to employer national insurance contributions and the changes to business rates mean that a third of the sector is operating at a loss.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
This little-known ‘dark roof' lobby may be making your city hotter
It began with a lobbyist's pitch. Tennessee Rep. Rusty Grills says a lobbyist proposed a simple idea: repeal the state's requirement for reflective roofs on many commercial buildings. In late March, Grills and his fellow lawmakers voted to eliminate the rule, scrapping a measure meant to save energy, lower temperatures and protect Tennesseans from extreme heat. It was another win for a well-organized lobbying campaign led by manufacturers of dark roofing materials. Industry representatives called the rollback in Tennessee a needed correction as more of the state moved into a hotter climate zone, expanding the reach of the state's cool-roof rule. Critics, including a Democratic Tennessee lawmaker and a Washington, D.C., pastor, called it dangerous and 'deceptive.' 'The new law will lead to higher energy costs and greater heat-related illnesses and deaths,' state Rep. Harold Love and the Rev. Jon Robinson wrote in a statement. It will, they warned, make Nashville, Memphis, and other cities hotter — particularly in underserved Black and Latino communities, where many struggle to pay their utility bills. Similar lobbying has played out in Denver, Baltimore and at the national level. Industry groups have questioned the decades-old science behind cool roofs, downplayed the benefits and warned of reduced choice and unintended consequences. 'A one-size-fits-all approach doesn't consider climate variation across different regions,' wrote Ellen Thorp, the executive director of the EPDM Roofing Association, which represents an industry built primarily on dark materials. But the weight of the scientific evidence is clear: On hot days, light-colored roofs can stay more than 50 degrees cooler than dark ones, helping cut energy use, curb greenhouse gas emissions and reduce heat-related illnesses and deaths. One recent study found that reflective roofs could have saved the lives of more than 240 people who died in London's 2018 heatwave. At least eight states — and more than a dozen cities in other states — have adopted cool-roof requirements, according to the Smart Surfaces Coalition, a national group of public health and environmental groups that promote reflective roofs, trees and other solutions to make cities healthier. Just months ago, industry representatives lobbied successfully against expanding cool roof recommendations in national energy efficiency codes — the standards that many cities and states use to set building regulations. Thorp has said the goal is to emphasize 'holistic' roofing solutions. Critics say it's about protecting profits. The stakes are high. As global temperatures rise and heat waves grow more deadly, the roofs over our heads have become battlefields in a consequential climate war. It's happening at a time when the Trump administration and Congress are derailing measures designed to make appliances and buildings more energy efficient. In March, for instance, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development delayed compliance deadlines for federally financed new homes to meet updated energy-efficiency standards. The principle is simple: Light-colored roofs reflect sunlight, so buildings stay cooler. Dark ones absorb heat, driving up temperatures inside buildings and in the surrounding air. Roofs comprise up to one-fourth of the surface area of major U.S. cities, researchers say, so the color of roofs can make a big difference in urban areas. Just how hot can dark roofs get? 'You can physically burn your hands on these roofs,' said Bill Updike, who used to install solar panels and now works with the Smart Surfaces Coalition. Study after study has confirmed the benefits of light-colored roofs. They save energy, lower air conditioning bills and reduce city temperatures. They help prevent heat-related illnesses. And they typically cost no more than dark roofs. Retrofitting 80% of commercial roofs in the United States with cool roofs would cut the need for air conditioning, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 6 million tons — equivalent to the annual emissions of 1.2 million cars, according to a 2009 study by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A later study by the same laboratory found that a cool roof on a home in central California saved 20% in annual energy costs. In a three-story rowhouse in Baltimore, Owen Henry discovered what a difference a cool roof can make. Living in a part of the city with few trees — and where summer temperatures often climb into the 90s — Henry wanted to trim his power bills and stay cooler while working in his third-floor office. So in 2023, he used $100 worth of white reflective roof paint to coat his roof. Henry said he and his wife immediately saw the indoor temperature drop. They reduced their electricity use by 24%. 'For us, it made a huge difference,' he said. Known for its durability, a black synthetic rubber known as EPDM once dominated commercial roofing. But in recent years it has been surpassed by TPO, a plastic single-ply material which is typically white and is better suited to meet the growing demand for reflective roofs. Leading EPDM manufacturers — including Johns Manville, Carlisle SynTec and Elevate, a division of the Swiss multinational company Holcim — have fought against regulations that threaten to further diminish their market share. Kurt Shickman, former executive director of the Global Cool Cities Alliance, said those companies have the money to hire top-notch lobbyists who know their way around hearing rooms — and who are on a first-name basis with decision makers. 'It's just been a real challenge to fight these battles,' he said of his group's struggles with the EPDM industry. '...We're dealing with huge entrenched interests here.' The EPDM industry has paid for research that has asserted that the impact of cool-roof mandates is inconclusive, and that insulation plays a bigger role in saving energy than cool roofs. They've also argued that cool roofs can contribute to condensation and mold. Target tested that theory on more than two dozen cool roofs installed on its stores and found no evidence of it. In an emailed response to Floodlight's questions, Thorp argued that many of the studies cited to support cool roof mandates leave out important factors, such as local climate variations, roof type, tree canopy and insulation thickness. And she pointed to a recent study by Harvard researchers who concluded that white roofs and pavements may reduce precipitation, causing temperatures to unexpectedly increase in surrounding regions. But Haider Taha, a leading expert on urban heat, identified multiple flaws in the Harvard study. In a review, he and a fellow researcher said it relied on unrealistic assumptions and oversimplified models, while ignoring key features of real-world cities. As a result, Taha and his colleague wrote, 'the study's conclusions fail to provide actionable insights for urban cooling strategies or policymaking.' When Baltimore debated a cool roof ordinance in 2022, Thorp's group and the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) lobbied hard against it, arguing that dark roofs are the most efficient choice in 'northern climates like Baltimore.' In cold climates, industry representatives note, cool roofs can lead to higher winter heating bills. 'Current research does not support the adoption of cool roofs as a measure that will achieve improved energy efficiency or reduced urban heat island,' Thorp wrote in a letter to one council member. 'Increased insulation and improved urban tree canopy are the only measures that are broadly supported in the literature to achieve these goals.' Multiple studies show otherwise. They've concluded that reflective roofs do save energy and cool cities by easing the 'urban heat island effect' — the extra heat that gets trapped in many city neighborhoods because buildings and pavement soak up the sun. Researchers have also found that even in most cold North American climates, the energy savings from cool roofs during warmer months outweighs any added heating costs in the winter. Despite the opposition, Baltimore passed a cool-roof ordinance in 2023. City Council member Mark Conway said he wasn't surprised to see an industry trying to protect its business. But it was his job, he said, 'to think about the greater good.' Some who live in Baltimore's lower-income neighborhoods can't afford air conditioning, he said. And for them, Conway said, the reduced temperatures brought by cool roofs 'can be life-changing.' Opponents of cool roof requirements like Baltimore's say they oversimplify a complex issue. In an email to Floodlight, ARMA Executive Vice President Reed Hitchcock said such rules aren't a 'magic bullet.' He encouraged regulators to consider a 'whole building approach' — one that weighs insulation, shading and climate in addition to roof color to preserve design flexibility and consumer choice. Henry, the Baltimore homeowner, said he thinks the city's ordinance will help all residents. 'Everyone has to do a little bit in order for it to make a big difference,' he said. 'And phooey to any manufacturer that's going to try and stop us from maintaining our community and making it a pleasant place to live.' Elsewhere, the industry's lobbyists have notched victories. In Denver, EPDM advocates waged a letter-writing campaign in 2015 that helped lead to the defeat of a cool-roof proposal. A narrower cool-roof ordinance, which applied only to new roofs on commercial buildings 25,000 square feet or larger, ultimately passed three years later, despite more opposition from the industry. At the national level, Thorp's group spoke out against a proposed code change that would have expanded standards for reflective roofs into cooler climates. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) — a professional organization that creates such standards — rejected the proposed change. The standards that ASHRAE sets are used as models for city and state regulations. The current ASHRAE standard recommends reflective roofs on commercial buildings in U.S. climate zones 1, 2, and 3 — the country's hottest regions. Those include most of the South, Hawaii, almost all of Texas, areas along the Mexican border and most of California. But, Thorp said in a recent interview, 'We've been able to stop all of those … mandates from creeping into climate zone 4 and 5.' Another group headed by Thorp — the Coalition for Sustainable Roofing — worked with the lobbyist to propose the bill that eliminated Tennessee's cool-roof requirement. That rule once applied to commercial buildings in just 14 of the state's 95 counties, but an update to climate maps in 2021 expanded the requirements to 20 more counties, including its most populous urban area — Nashville. Grills, the Republican lawmaker who introduced the bill, was sold on the proposal to kill the regulation. 'At the end of the day,' he told Floodlight, 'the consumer should be the one driving what they purchase, not regulatory agencies.' At a state Senate committee meeting, Thorp called the bill 'simply a fix, not quite administrative, but almost.' The change was anything but administrative, the bill's opponents say. It will put children, senior citizens and other vulnerable people at risk, said Love, the Nashville Democrat, and Robinson, the D.C. pastor who leads Metropolitan AME Church. 'That's not a 'fix' worth supporting,' they wrote in their opinion piece. EPDM manufacturers also make light-colored roofing materials. Those include TPO and a white EPDM, which is typically more expensive — and much less commonly used — than its black counterpart. Why, then, are manufacturers resisting cool-roof regulations? Brian Whelan, a consultant who advises roofing manufacturing companies on environmentally sustainable practices and products, said the industry has invested heavily in building factories and production lines that produce dark roofing materials — and they're reluctant to let that business go. 'They are kind of fed up with losing market share,' Whelan said. EPDM manufacturers don't publicly disclose how much of their business comes from dark versus reflective roofing, or the profit margins from each. But based on market intelligence, Whelan said, commercial roofing manufacturers likely make more money per square foot selling EPDM than TPO. Part of the reason: EPDM systems typically include high-margin accessories — like seam tapes and sealants — that aren't necessary with TPO. Greg Kats, CEO of the Smart Surfaces Coalition, dismisses many of the industry's claims as disinformation. 'Those sorts of arguments are familiar to people who watch what went on in the smoking industry, the claims that there's no correlation between smoking and cancer,' he said. Even the name of one of Thorp's lobbying groups — the Coalition for Sustainable Roofing — is misleading, Kats contends. A more accurate name, he said, would be 'the Coalition to Prevent Cities from Protecting their Citizens, Cutting Energy Bills and Making Cities Resilient.' Kats said the stakes are highest in low-income neighborhoods. He pointed to research conducted in Baltimore showing that poor communities are typically far hotter than affluent neighborhoods on a summer day, due to differences in tree and pavement cover. The public may be more receptive to cool roof policies than industry lobbyists suggest. Polls show many Americans support energy-efficiency measures. Brian Spear, a homeowner in Tempe, Arizona, is among them. He's lived in the Phoenix area since the 1980s, back when there were fewer than 30 days a year when the temperature reached 110 degrees. Last year, there were 70 of those days — the highest on record — followed only by 2023, when there were 55 days of 110 degrees plus. These days, summer mornings start out scorching, he says, 'and I feel like if you go outside between 10 and 4, it's dangerous.' Spear says he'll soon replace the aging roof on an Airbnb home that he owns. After weighing the usual concerns — cost and aesthetics — he has chosen a roof that he believes will help rather than harm: a gray metal roof with a reflective coating. 'If someone told me you couldn't put a dark roof on your house … I'd understand,' he said. 'I'm all about it being for the common good.' Even as mayors around the country seek to make their cities more livable, Kats believes the dark roofing industry will continue to resist. Many of us have felt the sting of laying our hands on a dark car roof — or walking barefoot on black pavement — in the summer heat. Yet, Kats says, the dark roofing industry has pushed a message that boils down to this: 'You shouldn't be trusting your experience, your senses.' Floodlight is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action.
