As part of this year’s budget, Alistair Darling announced the world’s first carbon budget, which sets binding limits for greenhouse gas emissions over a five year period. The Government’s target is to reduce emissions by 34% (44m tonnes) from 2006 levels by 2020, on the way to the ultimate target of an 80% reduction by 2020. The environmental lobby has welcomed the move, although it believes that the 2020 target should be more demanding.
The Government is consulting on its Heat and Energy Saving Strategy, through which it intends to reduce carbon emissions from buildings to zero by 2050. This is an ambitious target, which recognises that the main focus has to be on domestic buildings. The plan includes a commitment to provide loft and cavity wall insulation where practical for all houses by 2015 and whole house energy saving packages by 2030. This will involve tackling more substantial work, and will require new funding mechanisms and a significant change in the way the policy is implemented. The consultation document talks of co-ordinated action to upgrade whole houses, streets, or even communities, and of new ways of funding the improvements so that the benefit stays with the property, even if the owner moves. It recognises that Government can lead the way through the social housing sector and the Decent Homes initiative.
The consultation acknowledges that there will be a role for regulation in increasing energy efficiency, but will focus in the first carbon budget period to 2012 on improving the effectiveness and enforcement of existing regulations. The revision of Part L of the Building Regulations expected next year will require a 25% improvement on the 2006 standard.
The response to the proposals has been mixed. Many have argued that tackling the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock will have a greater impact on carbon emissions than achieving zero carbon new build. However welcome the Government’s determination to tackle the issue, there is concern that the strategy rests on some ‘heroic assumptions’ of what could be achieved. One estimate suggests that the extra 1.7m annual whole house upgrades would represent a 60% increase in the 2007 housing repair and maintenance market. This in turn has led to questions of whether an undertaking on this scale could be managed effectively over time.
The Conservative Party has published its own proposals, which would provide an energy improvement budget of £6,500 for every household.