The government is failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions from heating the UK’s homes, an influential committee of MPs has warned, with little sign of a clear plan for ending reliance on increasingly expensive gas. Home heating is responsible for about 14% of the UK’s carbon emissions, and must be tackled urgently if the government is to meet its carbon reduction targets. Last year, ministers announced a heat and buildings strategy, with the intention of weaning the UK away from gas – which makes up about 80% of domestic heating – and on to lower carbon alternatives, such as heat pumps. But the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) select committee found that the strategy did not set out how the changes would be achieved, that government “lacked clear direction” on the issue, and that current policies were inadequate to the scale of the problem. The warning comes amid soaring gas prices around the world, which are also likely to result in a sharp rise in the energy price cap, to be announced on Thursday, and expected to hit lower income households hardest. The government is considering measures to reduce the impact of the price rises. Some Tory MPs and commentators have blamed investments in renewable energy and the net zero target for price rises, but analysts have made it clear that renewable energy has brought down energy costs in the UK and over-reliance on gas is behind the rises. Jan Rosenow, a director at the Regulatory Assistance Project, who advised the committee, told the Guardian: “Shifting away from fossil fuels is the only real solution to the energy price rises. The alternative is to keep using fossil fuels, and then we will see this again and again.” The BEIS committee report underlined that the government must communicate clearly to households that decarbonising heating and reaching net zero emissions should result in a net saving for households, and protect them from volatile gas prices. But the MPs said the government had not yet done enough to make this clear, and to make the transition easy for people on low and middle incomes. Darren Jones, chair of the cross-party committee, warned: “Replacing gas boilers is a huge task and we are not making anywhere near enough progress … Bill payers today are deeply worried about their energy costs, with many people struggling to afford to heat their homes.” He added: “Most people don’t realise that their gas boiler will need to be replaced within the next ten to 15 years. The government and energy companies should explain to bill payers why switching away from gas and insulating our homes is not only important in tackling climate change, but also a route to reducing energy bills. The government also needs to spell out what financial help will be put in place for those who need it most.” Ministers have a target of installing 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028, up from only a few thousand today, but the committee said it was not clear how this could be met with current policies, including a £5,000 grant for installing heat pumps. The green homes grant, the short-lived scheme to insulate homes and install heat pumps, was abandoned last year after botched administration, and has not been replaced. The Treasury is also reported to want to scrap the Energy Company Obligation, a £1bn a year levy on energy companies, paid for through additions to energy bills, that funds the installation of insulation and other low-carbon measures for lower income households. Green campaigners say scrapping ECO would be counter-productive. Jones said the government must urgently come up with a replacement for the green homes grant. “Ministers can’t simply leave this to the market – government should tackle the cost of heating our homes in the round, and bring forward joined-up policies that address these issues together,” he said. Recent research showed that energy efficiency measures over the last two decades have saved UK households about £1,000 a year on current energy bills. But much of the saving came from regulations meaning only the most efficient gas boilers could be sold, and future cost savings and carbon reductions must come from replacing gas with alternatives such as heat pumps, electricity and district heating, as well as insulating Britain’s draughty housing stock. Juliet Phillips, campaign coordinator at the Electrify Heat campaign, said: “Heat pumps are the way to go for clean, safe and efficient heat – but there remains much work to be done to turn government ambition into delivery on the ground. This means building a skilled workforce who can install and maintain heat pumps across the country; widespread public engagement and provision of trusted advice to support households to make the switch; and boosting affordability through removing legacy policy costs from electricity bills, which currently unfairly penalise electricity use compared to gas.” Laura Bishop, chair of the Ground Source Heat Pump Association, an industry body, said: “Without heat pumps and other low-carbon heating systems, the UK’s net zero ambitions will be hard to achieve. Heat pumps are suitable for the majority of homes in the UK.” The committee also called for measures including help for households to access finance to install low-carbon heating, including grants for those most vulnerable, and for investment in the training of engineers and installers, in cooperation with the UK’s heating and construction industries. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has been approached for comment.