The UK government's climate advisors warned last week that funding cuts to local authorities are putting carbon targets at risk. According to a report released by the Committee, austerity measures have badly affected the climate efforts of local authorities, which have the potential to significantly impact the UK's emissions. Committee member Julia King said that the government needs to strengthen incentives by providing national funding. Energy efficiency would be the cheapest way to meet the targets, but it may be impossible for local councils to put such plans in place without funding. "Local authorities can have a very big impact in areas such as improving energy efficiency in buildings, sustainable travel and waste management," said David Kennedy, the committee's chief executive. The committee calculated that if the councils invest in all three measures, they will bring emissions down about three percent per year. Meanwhile, the Green Deal has fallen under criticism that it is likely to fail, as the plan to insulate UK's homes does not give enough support to the poor and may waste as much as $4.7 billion. The government said that most lofts and cavity walls have been insulated under previous schemes, so it's focusing on more expensive solid wall insulation. Critics have argued that it's too expensive, at roughly $11,800 a home, to pay for solid wall insulation when the government can subsidize the loft insulation of the "fuel poor" for around $800 a home. "Loft insulation and cavity wall insulation are the basic first steps in terms of effectiveness," said Andrew Warren of the industry lobby group the Association for Conservation of Energy. Warren and other critics argued that the subsidies will force low-income families to pay for the home insulations of wealthy families. Buildings are responsible for more than 40 percent of UK's greenhouse gas emissions, and a report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change showed that only 60 percent of homes had proper insulation. For the story on funding for local authorities, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/17/uk-carbon-targets-funding-cuts and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18093080. For the story on the home insulation climate plan, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18074650.