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For all the duck ‘palaces’, moat maintenance and horse manure provoking public outrage during the MPs’ expenses scandal, the one claim that’s left me dumfounded was made by the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change.

It wasn’t a refund for some dubious household item or alternative residence – but Ed Miliband’s assertion that the best way to ensure the UK’s future energy needs are met is to generate more electricity is, in second home parlance, flipping folly!

His statement to the House of Commons – made just prior to MPs’ money-grabbing being exposed – outlined his department’s commitment to build more wind, nuclear and coal-fired power stations. In the ensuing expenses scrum, the announcement went largely unheard. I guess strategic debate on rescuing the planet from meltdown plays second fiddle to headlines over how many loo brushes MPs require.

In summary, Mr Miliband’s announcement outlined support for additional off-shore wind farms; identified proposed sites for 11 new nuclear power facilities; and a commitment to develop more coal-burning stations.

Nuclear power fears are well documented, whilst the intermittent nature of wind power supply and the high cost of constructing transmission lines and substations to remote off-shore ‘farms’ are barriers to the UK increasing its current 1.5% energy-from-wind contribution.

Any new coal-fired power stations are obliged to adopt Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology. In theory, CCS could reduce CO2 emissions from coal-dependent power plants by up to 90% – but we are still a long way from bridging the expanse from theory to large-scale commercial use.

Capturing and compressing the CO2 itself increases the fuel needs of a coal-fired plant by as much as 40%, whilst claims that CCS “locks carbon away permanently underground” are disputed by those who say leakage would cause an environmental disaster far greater than the eco-problem CCS is trying to solve.

Clearly, identifying new, cleaner energy sources is vital and personally I feel the use of underwater turbines (aka ‘dam-less hydroelectric’) is one potential solution that’s widely overlooked.

However, whilst the government appears determined to create more energy, and addressing associated complications, they are ignoring a much more obvious solution, the technology for which already exists. And that is simply facilitating ways to use less.

According to President Obama’s Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a professor with a Nobel Prize to his name for work aimed at tackling climate change, “the quickest and easiest way to reduce carbon footprint is through energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is not just low-hanging fruit; it is fruit that is lying on the ground.”

And the best place to start is by encouraging UK industry to better monitor, and subsequently reduce, its electricity consumption.

Industry is the biggest consumer of electricity in the UK: latest statistics show that the sector accounts for 34.4% of the nation’s total electricity consumption*, which is more than the domestic market.

Across the UK innovative companies are developing products designed to improve energy efficiency. These range from sophisticated monitoring devices that provide a detailed breakdown of usage, to products like low-energy lights able to cut bills by 80% and motor controllers which monitor loads 100 times a second to calculate the exact amount of power required at each precise moment.

To illustrate the point, if every factory and warehouse in the UK switched to low-energy lights the saving would be such that we could close Drax power station…and the UK’s Kyoto emissions target would be met overnight! Simply by retrofitting lighting, companies can meet their five, 10 or even 15 per cent corporate energy reduction commitments.

The challenge is educating businesses to use less – be it energy efficiency training for staff and overnight and weekend shutdown of all non-essential equipment and machinery – and encouraging investment in green technologies.

The Carbon Trust offers interest-free loans to businesses wanting to reduce their CO2 footprint, but conditions are attached and the pot of money isn’t universally available**.

At present, only small and medium sized companies in England and Scotland qualify for these 0% APR loans (though businesses of any size are eligible in Wales and Northern Ireland) of up to £200,000. EU regulations prevent them being more widely available. However, with EU fair competition regulators turning a blind eye to government bailouts, it’s time the Trust’s loan caps are removed so all businesses can benefit. And, of course, as companies cut their energy bills it frees up significant sums of money for investment elsewhere and helps stimulate the economy.

My understanding is that the Carbon Trust will soon address this issue.

The government should also follow the US’s lead by offering grants for eco-friendly equipment; speed up the introduction of compulsory carbon trading; and make it a legal requirement to meet set energy reduction targets. Sponsoring further R&D in the energy saving sector and acting as a stock broker or middle man to finance large scale orders would also help.

The recession is forcing the hands of companies to investigate energy efficient alternatives – they can no longer afford to be profligate – but government must get tough over excess usage. Asking nicely won’t work: it’s still not high enough on corporate agendas.

We must listen to Professor Chu and prioritise using less not creating more.

* Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) – Energy Consumption in the UK 2008 Update

** www.carbontrust.co.uk/energy/takingaction/loans

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