‘Shocking gap in policy for better insulated homes,’ says Climate Change Committee
“Key policy gaps” remain in the government’s plan to improve the energy efficiency of housing, an independent body set up to advise ministers on climate change has warned.
In a report published on Wednesday, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) said the government’s current climate change strategy will not deliver net zero and pointed to the insulation of housings as one of the main areas that remains in its “infancy”.
As part of a 600-page assessment of the government’s progress in achieving net zero, the CCC said the UK government has not done enough to provide a long-term settlement for the decarbonisation of public buildings, while no policies currently exist to improve the energy efficiency of owner-occupied housing.
Meanwhile, the development of heat networks has been “patchwork” across the UK and the country continues to build new homes that do not align with net zero targets, the report said.
The CCC highlighted the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, which the government has allocated £800m towards over the next three years, as an example of “positive progress”.
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However, in a statement accompanying the report, the CCC said there remains a “a shocking gap in policy for better insulated homes”, particularly given soaring energy bills.
Lord Deben, chair of the CCC, said: “In the midst of a cost of living crisis, the country is crying out to end its dependence on expensive fossil fuels.”
He welcomed the government’s restated commitment to net zero, but said “holes must be plugged in its strategy urgently”.
The report contains a number of recommendations for the government, including 38 specifically focused on the decarbonisation of buildings.
These include a potential policy requiring homes to have an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C from 2028 at the point of sale and/or a mandatory minimum requirement for mortgage lenders, alongside clear energy efficiency standards for social homes.
The government also must do more to “help the green construction workforce to grow” and “outline a comprehensive vision for how it will leverage private financing for the retrofit of UK homes and businesses”, the report said.
A UK government spokesperson said: “We should all be proud that over the past three decades, the UK has driven down emissions faster than any other G7 country, and that we have clear plans to go further.
“The UK is forging ahead of most other countries with around 40% of our power now coming from cleaner and cheaper renewables. This is backed up by £6bn of funding to make our homes and buildings more energy efficient, planting up to 30,000 hectares of new trees a year, and more electric cars than ever before on our road – decarbonising our cars and vans faster than any other developed country.
“We are leading the world on climate change, helping over 90% of countries set net zero targets during our COP26 presidency – up from 30% two years ago. The Glasgow Climate Pact has focused the eyes of the world on bolstering action, including getting 190 countries to agree to phasing out coal.”
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