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Prioritise Resource Efficiency
42% of the UK’s emissions are controlled or influenced by the built environment.
These carbon emissions need to be rapidly reduced in order to meet the UK’s net zero legally binding targets. Achieving this reduction provides enormous opportunities for the economy, the environment and society as a whole. A national retrofit strategy could result in 500,000 new jobs by 2030 alongside a £309bn boost to the economy
How to reduce carbon emissions from the construction sector
1. Minimise embodied carbon emissions in construction
Regulate the reporting and limiting of embodied carbon in accordance with cross-industry policy paper as follows:
In 2024: Policy signalled confirming the dates and interventions below:
By 2026: Mandate the measurement and reporting of whole-life carbon emissions for all projects with a gross internal area of more than 1000m2 or that create more than 10 dwellings.
By 2028: Introduce legal limits on the upfront embodied carbon emissions of such projects, with a view to future revision and tightening as required.
2. Minimise operational carbon emissions from buildings
Align the Future Homes and Buildings Standards with science-based trajectories to achieve net zero by 2050 and a 78% reduction by 2035 . This should include:
Alignment with the industry backed metrics and reporting processes of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard .
Improvements to minimum fabric standards and ventilation (refer to Future Homes Hub report on ‘contender specifications’).
Achieve convergence and agreement of improved standard with Local Authorities who want to go further. Pilot an improved voluntary standard by 2025 and use this to inform the next iteration of the building regulations.
Reform Building EPC (Energy Performance Certificates) system, to ensure accurate, reliable and trusted performance data. Refer to the EPC action plan. Revise Building Regulations to specify more accurate ‘predictive energy modelling’ and ‘in-use’ data capture.
Prioritise climate adaptation with proven design solutions. e.g. prioritise reduction in building cooling demand through overheating prevention with effective external shading.
3. Align all new infrastructure projects with net zero transition
Review whole life carbon emissions of all proposed UK infrastructure and prevent those that inhibit net zero transition. e.g. review undertaken by the Welsh Government
4. Use our buildings more intensively and efficiently
Embed a Place Principle , similar to Scotland, to encourage better use of public buildings and improve the impact of combined energy, resources and investment. Place-based planning moves away from public buildings with individual uses to multiple complementary functions e.g. a building with a library, GP surgery and Police drop-in centre.
How to reduce carbon emissions from existing buildings
5. Implement nationwide retrofit strategy
The retrofit implementation plan should:
Accelerate low energy retrofit across the built environment
Increase investment in home retrofit in the region of £64 billion over a decade (refer to UKGBC retrofit investment calculator analysis )
Address the employment and skills gap in the retrofit sector
Create robust and simple professional accreditations, and certification
Simplify and streamline the planning process
Incentivise whole house retrofit solutions with grants and campaigns. This should include a mass roll out of fabric upgrades and low carbon technology e.g. insulation, ventilation improvements, heat pumps, smart controls, thermal storage
Ban new and replacement gas boilers by 2030
Set decarbonisation pathway for private and publicly owned buildings for all sectors. Public sector should take the lead and provide exemplars of good retrofit.
How to financially incentivise resource efficiency
6. Reform tax to prioritise resource efficiency by
Providing ‘Energy Saving Stamp Duty Incentive’ , combined with grants for lower value homes.
Aligning gas and electricity prices through redistribution of subsidies from the fossil fuel to renewables sector; and decoupling wholesale electricity price from that of gas.
Creating rising tariffs to tax those who consume the most energy.