Government warned over green homes target

The World Wildlife Fund-UK has warned that the housing industry will miss carbon emissions targets unless there is a radical change in government policy.

A study by the conservation charity found that the housing industry in the UK will not achieve its target of a 31% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, unless the government does more to support environmentally friendly housing.

Currently, government policy aims to encourage people to install cavity wall insulation, draught proofing and energy-efficient boilers. The WWF claims that they have to go beyond measures that are considered to be “cost-effective”, to include encouraging the use of solar water heating and ground source heat pumps.

The ‘How Low?’ report claims that this would deliver a 35% cut in emissions by 2020, compared to the 22% cut that would be delivered using the current measures.

Simon McWhirter, campaign manager for WWF-UK’s One Planet Homes movement said: “(The government’s) short-term vision as to what energy efficient measures should be applied to our existing stock is leading to significant missed opportunities.”

« back to development finance news