Developers warn of missing green targets

The country’s biggest property developers have welcomed Government plans to require zero-carbon commercial buildings within a decade, but have warned that carbon reduction targets will be missed unless the energy efficiency of existing buildings is tackled.

Communities and Local Government (CLG) has just started consulting on how the zero-carbon standard could be applied to non-domestic buildings from 2019 – and new public buildings a year earlier.

The administration has confirmed that all new homes will be zero-carbon from 2016.

This is in addition to work to tackle the existing stock - which will make up about three quarters of the homes we still have in 2050 - through green improvements like providing loft and cavity insulation. The Government's aim is that all homes should be at least 80 per cent more energy efficient by 2050, moving towards zero carbon.

Patrick Brown, assistant director for sustainability at the British Property Federation, said: “This is a welcome consultation but the bottom line is that our 2050 target of reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent will be missed unless a greater level of attention is given to existing buildings.”

As with zero-carbon homes, non-domestic buildings will be able to reduce their emissions by going further with energy efficiency solutions or through the addition of on-site renewables. Proposals from CLG outline how those emissions can be reduced both on and off site, including through community-scale low-carbon heat production for district networks.

Planning minister John Healey said: "Future growth must be green, that's why we're setting standards for new homes and offices, factories, shops and other buildings.

"New homes are 40 per cent more energy efficient now compared to 2002, but we must and can do more. The green movement is growing from the grand designs of a few, to a national movement. Recent research has even suggested that eco-factors have become just as important as location and value for money.”

Read the BPF press release

 

Roger Milne

26 November 2009