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Coronavirus must not result in another false start in addressing the climate crisis
The previous push to zero-carbon homes faltered after the global financial crisis. There is no time for another false start, writes Pete Apps
In the frequent analysis of exactly what has gone wrong in housing over the past two decades, there is one broken promise that is often forgotten but shouldn’t be.
In 2006, chancellor Gordon Brown said that by 2016 all new homes built in the UK would be zero carbon. This was challenging but eminently achievable. The technology for zero-carbon homes was well-established and the expectation was that investment and research would bring down the cost closer to that of traditional housing.
But then in 2008 the world was shocked by the financial crisis, housebuilding collapsed and suddenly carbon reduction targets seemed far less important than the economy. The political will disappeared and, as we describe in this week’s features section, sustainability and housing was all but forgotten.
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Today, many who were involved in this saga will be experiencing déjà vu. Before coronavirus, the climate crisis was riding high in the public consciousness and housing businesses were making carbon reduction plans.
“Much of the world’s activity has paused due to the coronavirus pandemic. But climate change has not. Our minds may be elsewhere, but this week the news also reported that 2019 was the warmest year ever recorded in Europe”
But now, there is a danger that will slip away. The coronavirus fall-out is expected to unleash the sort of recession that made 2008 look like a minor blip. There will be pressure from the industry to reduce so-called ‘red tape’ to get things moving.
This would be a fatal error. The housing sector has already had one major false start on the green agenda and there is no time left for another missed opportunity.
The shocking images of patients on ventilators currently dominating the news cycle should not be a reason to forget that only a few months ago it was the images of Australia on fire that haunted our nightmares.
Coronavirus is the most immediate challenge for governments and businesses, but climate change remains the most important. We must not sacrifice the green shoots of progress that were being made when we begin our attempt to transition back to normality.
The more positive view is that the fresh start on the green agenda offers the chance to get things right. Not all the previous green initiatives worked: the Green Deal was a damp squib, botched cavity wall insulation projects let consumers down and a failure to link the green agenda with robust fire safety measures did much to contribute to the building safety crisis that we are currently trying to undo.
There is a growing recognition that as the economy is rebuilt following coronavirus, it must be done so in a way that addresses the climate crisis. The housing sector has a major role to play if this is to be done right.
Peter Apps, deputy editor, Inside Housing
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