Millions of homes will need to rip out gas boilers within 8 years as Boris ramps up green plan to save the planet

MILLIONS of homes will need to rip out their old gas boilers in the next 8 years as Boris Johnson ramped up his green plan to save the planet.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said this morning in order to meet the PM’s ambitious climate change targets the “majority” of new installations of green heating pumps would mean gas boilers would have to be ditched.

Mr Johnson announced last month his 10-point plan for a greener Britain, including a target of installing 600,000 heat pump systems a year by 2028.

And when pressed on it this morning, Mr Sharma told BBC Radio 4 that “on the maths” most of those new installations would mean pulling out old gas boilers.

Mr Sharma said: “Yes of course (the majority will be in older homes) that’s what the maths says.

“What we want to do is make sure we are creating these industries of the future.”

When asked about how Brits could be expected to stump up the cost of installing new heating and insulating their homes, Mr Sharma said: “The Green Homes grant provides financial support for the Government to help people insulate their homes.

“You provide incentives to people, whether that is grants, or the plug in grant that encourages people to provide electric vehicles.

“It is a process of providing those incentives which ultimately support jobs, cut costs for them and at the end of the day also cut our emissions.”

As much as 80 per cent of homes in the UK are heated by gas boilers, and home heating accounts for 14 per cent of total UK emissions.

The cost of pulling out a gas boiler and replacing it with a heat pump system starts at £9,900, according to green energy supplier Igloo.

And the cost of a solid wall insulation for a typical semi-detached house ranged from around £7,400 to as much as £13,000, according to consumer group Which.

The Green Energy Home grant will provide people with £5,000 to help them front up the cash to take out gas boilers.

But it would still leave Brits with a substantial amount of money to pay.

People on certain benefits will receive £10,000 to help them make their home green.

Mr Johnson’s green plan aims to get Britain’s emissions down to net zero by 2050.

And Mr Johnson has set his targets on banning the sale of new diesel and petrol cars from 2030.

But the PM could need to go further and bring forward plans to ban gas boilers in new homes from 2025 to 2023.

Speaking in the Commons earlier this week, Mr Johnson said: “I am proud that the UK led the way in instituting a target of net zero by 2050.

“We are looking at our nationally determined contribution, which will be extremely ambitious.”

And one Government source told The Times: “The big issue is gas boilers. If we really want to make these kinds of inroads we have to do more to decarbonise people’s homes. The prime minister’s ten-point plan will not be enough.”