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Building a Greener Future

Introduction

There is now an overwhelming body of scientific evidence that indicates that climate change is a serious and urgent issue. And whilst there are some remaining uncertainties about the eventual impacts, the evidence is now sufficient to give clear and strong guidance to policy-makers about the pressing need for action.

Emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, are the main cause of climate change. The UK emitted more than 550 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) in 2005. Energy use in buildings accounted for nearly half these emissions, and more than a quarter came from the energy the UK uses to heat, light and run our homes.

Energy security is also an important challenge. The UK became a net importer of oil in 2006, and are dependent on imported gas at a time when global demand and prices are increasing. Many of the measures needed to cut carbon emissions to address climate change also contribute to creating a healthy diversity of energy supply, and address fuel poverty through lower bills for householders.

Against this backdrop, the UK needs to address the issue of housing supply. Evidence indicates that too few homes have been built to meet demand over the last three decades of the 20th century. As Kate Barker’s report into housing supply made clear, the UK needs additional housing provision. Rising house prices make it even harder for those trying to buy their first home. If house building is not increased above previous plans, the percentage of 30-34 year old couples able to afford to buy will worsen significantly in the long term, falling from over half today to around 35 per cent in 2026.

If the UK builds the houses it needs, then by 2050, as much as one-third of the total housing stock will have been built between now and then. So they need to be built in a way that helps our strategy to cut carbon emissions – both through reducing emissions of new homes and by changing technology and the markets so as to cut emissions from existing homes too. The UK wants to see a volume of new development which will deliver economies of scale and bring down costs of environmental technologies that could apply not only to new homes but to existing homes too.

The DCLG therefore consulted in December last year on proposals progressively to improve energy/carbon performance set in Building Regulations to achieve zero carbon housing within 10 years. These proposals were set out in the consultation document Building a Greener Future.

In summary, the DCLG proposed to achieve a zero carbon goal in three steps: moving first, in 2010 to a 25 per cent improvement in the energy/carbon performance set in Building Regulations; then second, in 2013, to a 44 per cent improvement; then, finally in 2016, to zero carbon. Zero carbon means that, over a year, the net carbon emissions from all energy use in the home would be zero.

At the same time, the Planning Policy Statement on Climate Change was publsihed, which would help support the achievement of zero carbon homes through the planning system. The final version of the Code for Sustainable Homes was also published. This is currently a voluntary code, intended to promote higher environmental standards in housing ahead of implementation of regulatory standards. It considers not just energy/carbon but a range of sustainability issues such as water, waste and materials.

Finally, to further support our aim of zero carbon homes and kick-start deployment of these technologies, the government will introduce a time-limited stamp duty land tax relief with effect from 1 October 2007 for new homes built to a zero carbon standard to be set in Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) regulations. A high level overview of the details are set out on HMT’s website.

On 6 June 2007, the DCLG published a summary of the consultation responses received, prepared for Communities and Local Government by consultants Faber Maunsell.

Overall the response to the consultation was positive, and a large majority of respondents felt that the timetable to zero carbon by 2016 was achievable. However, there were a range of responses, and a number of issues and concerns raised, which are taken extremely seriously, and which this document will consider in more detail.

After the launch of the consultation, Communities and Local Government and the Home Builders Federation established the 2016 Taskforce, jointly chaired by Yvette Cooper, Minister of Housing and Planning and Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman of the Home Builders Federation.

The Taskforce also includes members from local government, the energy supply industry, the construction industry and non-governmental organisations. The purpose of the Taskforce is to identify the barriers to implementation of the 2016 zero carbon target, and put in place measures to address them.

The analysis in Building a Greener Future Regulatory Impact Assessment shows that while the implementation of our approach will increase construction costs, there are also benefits in terms of reduced energy bills and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Overall, building to higher standards is likely to increase costs. These costs are more predictable in the short term, but are harder to assess over the longer term as these will be dependent on substantial changes in technology and the market response. Our approach, moreover, should stimulate the market to innovate and adapt to low carbon technologies.

The work of the Taskforce, the positive response to our consultation, and the additional analysis commissioned by this Department into the costs and benefits of the zero carbon homes target, enable us to confirm in this policy statement the Government’s commitment to a zero carbon target in 2016, and the proposed steps along the way.

The achievement of this target will make a significant contribution to addressing climate change – saving at least 15 MtCO2 per year by 2050. And these developments will benefit consumers, who could gain through lower fuel bills and warmer homes in the winter. This strategy document sets out in more detail the thinking behind this conclusion, and some of the significant issues that are raised by the zero carbon targets.

Our strategy for delivering the targets will involve changes to the Building Regulations to strengthen the requirements in relation to insulation, ventilation, air tightness, heating and light fittings. Planning policy will be developed to set a framework for development to deliver zero carbon outcomes. The DCLG will be working with industry and organisations such as English Partnerships to encourage exemplar developments. They will work with the Taskforce on issues like skills, research and the development and dissemination of good practice.

A Forward Look to give more detail about our proposals for changes to Part L of the Building Regulations in 2010 and 2013 will be publsihed. The hope is that this will provide greater clarity to industry on the changes that will be required to meet the 2010 and 2013 regulations.

Wider issues of sustainability are also taken very seriously. In the consultation document it was proposed to make rating against the Code for Sustainable Homes mandatory. This would mean that all new homes would be required to have a mandatory Code rating indicating whether they had been assessed and, if they had, the performance of the home against the Code. The response to the consultation was extremely positive and a further consultation on the specifics of how a mandatory rating against the Code might work and how it will build on Energy Performance Certificates will be published.

For further reading on Building a Greener Future, please click the following links:

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