tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/zero-carbon-homes-16303/articlesZero-carbon homes – La Conversation2020-06-22T16:33:55Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1411492020-06-22T16:33:55Z2020-06-22T16:33:55ZWhy zero-carbon homes must lead the green recovery from COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343201/original/file-20200622-54993-1ufgfw8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C128%2C4281%2C2715&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Homes powered by renewable energy in Denmark.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/homes-powered-by-renewable-energy-on-1239040747">Maria Galvin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Living in a house that doesn’t fully meet your needs might have been tolerable when you spent more of your time elsewhere, but <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/covid-19-one-third-of-humanity-under-virus-lockdown/articleshow/74807030.cms">a third of the world</a> has been stuck indoors at one time during the pandemic. A lack of space, poor soundproofing, inadequate ventilation and no outdoor access, even to a balcony, are all shortcomings that will have made the weeks and months indoors unbearable for some. </p>
<p>While these problems will seem less acute as lockdowns ease around the world, we should remember them, to encourage us to build better societies after COVID-19.</p>
<p>In order for the UK to meet its climate change commitments, all houses, old and new, must be zero-carbon by 2050. Currently, houses account for about <a href="https://www.worldgbc.org/news-media/WorldGBC-embodied-carbon-report-published">28% of all carbon emissions worldwide</a>, half of which comes from energy used for heating and air conditioning. </p>
<p>New houses can be built to zero-carbon standards on a cost-competitive basis in the mass market, but currently only a very small proportion are built to better than the <a href="https://epc.opendatacommunities.org/domestic/search">minimum legal requirement</a> for energy efficiency. For example, between April 2019 and March 2020 in Scotland, 14,000 new homes were built but just eight achieved the highest “gold level” rating for energy efficiency. </p>
<p>Making new homes zero-carbon is really the low hanging fruit for decarbonising society. In 2050, we will still be living in <a href="https://www.politicshome.com/members/article/uk-needs-to-retrofit-26-million-homes-by-2050-to-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions">about 80% of the homes that exist today</a>, so retrofitting these will also be essential. And reducing energy demand in homes has broader benefits, such as reducing fuel poverty.</p>
<p>As the UK government looks to revive the economy post-pandemic, its priority should be laying the ground for a zero-carbon housebuilding boom – one which can create millions of jobs nationwide while reducing emissions and leaving households healthier.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343203/original/file-20200622-55009-1hvnc1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343203/original/file-20200622-55009-1hvnc1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343203/original/file-20200622-55009-1hvnc1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343203/original/file-20200622-55009-1hvnc1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343203/original/file-20200622-55009-1hvnc1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343203/original/file-20200622-55009-1hvnc1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343203/original/file-20200622-55009-1hvnc1o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Insulating foam is injected between walls to prevent heat escaping from the home, reducing energy use.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/renovation-old-house-wall-sprayed-liquid-80046088">Pi-Lens/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Building back better</h2>
<p>Construction is often trusted to drive national recoveries from economic crises, as it tends to create local jobs and it can regenerate other industries by building new infrastructure. In the UK, the construction industry contributes about <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01432/">£117 billion to the UK economy annually</a>, of which housing is about £38 billion. The sector provides more than 2.5 million jobs and apprenticeships – about 7% of total UK employment.</p>
<p>Yet it is facing a major crisis. Commercial real estate – offices, shops, leisure facilties and factories – <a href="https://www.fool.com/millionacres/real-estate-investing/articles/how-commercial-real-estate-may-fare-in-a-recession/">always takes a hit</a> after a recession, meaning demand will inevitably remain in the doldrums for some time. This time around, however, there may also be a more fundamental shift. </p>
<p>Businesses are having to rethink how they occupy space safely. Some are actively encouraging employees to continue to work from home, reducing the need for office space. We all know high streets have been struggling for some time too, and the retail sector will suffer further if the rise in online shopping generated by the lockdown continues. </p>
<p>There is also a big question around how hotels, cinemas and theatres reopen with social distancing rules. As a result, it’s difficult to see how commercial property could be a viable part of a recovery plan. In other words, housing will have to take most of the strain. Building new zero-carbon homes and retrofitting old ones could play a big part in driving a recovery. </p>
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<p>The housing industry has a broad and diverse supply chain, and its demand is dispersed across the whole country. Homes can be built using a wide range of skills and suppliers, from the traditional carpenter with hammer and saw, through to entire factories producing fully fitted units that are delivered to sites and craned into place. </p>
<p>The work all of this will take – from building and designing zero-carbon homes to installing insulation, double-glazed windows, heat pumps and solar panels in existing ones – can only be done here in the UK, unlike many traditional manufacturing and heavy industry jobs which were outsourced in the past. As a result, a national drive to decarbonise housing can form the basis of <a href="https://theconversation.com/labours-low-carbon-warm-homes-for-all-could-revolutionise-social-housing-experts-126329">good, well-paid work</a> within every community in Britain.</p>
<h2>An investment for future generations</h2>
<p>Everyone needs somewhere to live, and it’s estimated that two billion new homes will be needed globally <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/design/housing-crisis-global-population-increase-two-billion-new-homes-80-years-end-of-century-a8245906.html">by 2100</a>. That includes a whole range of accommodation beyond just houses, such as care homes, student flats, and hostels for the homeless. </p>
<p>Sir Bob Kerslake, president of the UK Local Government Association and chair of Peabody, one of Britain’s oldest and largest housing associations, recently made the case that “<a href="https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/comment/better-housing-is-the-key-to-a-healthier-britain/5106349.article">better housing is key to a healthier Britain</a>”. He argued that the UK has seen death rates higher than elsewhere partially because of our inadequate housing system, and that the most effective way to reduce these health inequalities would be to rapidly increase the delivery of good quality and genuinely affordable housing.</p>
<p>Houses have a lifespan beyond the people who live in them, with each one <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43541990">sold about</a> every 20 years on average. We cannot measure their value purely by the return at the time of each sale. Instead, we must recognise our housing stock is a long-lasting part of a society’s infrastructure, of value to people now and future generations. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343196/original/file-20200622-54997-1wbbkwg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343196/original/file-20200622-54997-1wbbkwg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343196/original/file-20200622-54997-1wbbkwg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343196/original/file-20200622-54997-1wbbkwg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343196/original/file-20200622-54997-1wbbkwg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343196/original/file-20200622-54997-1wbbkwg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343196/original/file-20200622-54997-1wbbkwg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Homes generating renewable energy can further reduce their total energy use with insulation and heat pumps.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/installing-solar-cell-on-roof-1056264089">Lalanta71/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>This is especially true for decarbonisation, as even a modest increase in the cost of each home’s construction could deliver <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hkaoKyLiMGQC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false">significant energy savings</a> throughout its entire life cycle.</p>
<p>Focusing efforts on decarbonising housing will ensure the post-pandemic recovery is both green and socially equitable, addressing two of the greatest crises of our time.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=Imagineheader1141149">Click here to subscribe to our climate action newsletter. Climate change is inevitable. Our response to it isn’t.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141149/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ranald Boydell has received funding from the Scottish Government Self and Custom Build Challenge Fund.</span></em></p>Building a greener economy starts at home.Ran Boydell, Visiting Lecturer in Sustainable Development, Heriot-Watt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1227942019-12-12T13:23:41Z2019-12-12T13:23:41ZTransport emissions have doubled in 40 years – expand railways to get them on track<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306344/original/file-20191211-95138-1vymelx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C17%2C5982%2C3970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Investing in rail can put transport emissions on the right track.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/vYAqrQ8t5Jw">Cory Woodward/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the quest to cut carbon out of civilisation, the future of transport is key. Emissions from the sector have <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/everything-you-need-know-about-fastest-growing-source-global-emissions-transport">doubled in the past 40 years</a> and continue to rise. Our travel habits are now responsible for one in four of the planet-warming molecules of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.</p>
<p>While the transition to electric vehicles <a href="https://theconversation.com/electric-cars-might-not-yet-be-green-but-we-should-buy-them-anyway-127932">will kickstart progress</a>, even a rapid shift will <a href="https://www.transportforqualityoflife.com/u/files/1%20More%20than%20electric%20cars%20briefing.pdf">not on its own</a> bring the sector close enough to carbon neutrality to limit warming below dangerous levels. <a href="https://www.creds.ac.uk/wp-content/pdfs/CREDS-Shifting-the-focus-July2019.pdf#page=47">We’ll also need</a> radical and rapid reductions in road traffic – facilitated by a shift to walking, cycling and public transport.</p>
<p>After decades of <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/reducing-uk-emissions-2019-progress-report-to-parliament/#key-findings">stalled progress</a>, <a href="https://www.creds.ac.uk/rearranging-elephants-on-the-titanic-jillian-anables-keynote-presentation-from-utsg-annual-conference/">researchers and policymakers</a> are grappling with how to make that happen – and railways could be an important part of the answer.</p>
<p>They are highly efficient users of both land and energy – a train can carry several hundred people without having to lift a heavy machine into the air, and moves with much less friction than faced by tyres on roads. Electric trains are <a href="https://www.riagb.org.uk/RIA/Newsroom/Stories/Electrification_Cost_Challenge_Report.aspxas">particularly energy efficient</a>, as they don’t have to carry diesel fuel or diesel engines, so are lighter and require less maintenance. </p>
<p>Because of this, electrified rail travel uses <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/media/infographics/carbon-dioxide-emissions-from-passenger-transport/image/image_view_fullscreen">seven times less</a> CO₂ than road travel and 20 times less than air travel. Investment in high-speed rail lines in Europe, for example, has transferred significant traffic from roads and flight paths, resulting in a <a href="https://uic.org/IMG/pdf/study_on_modal_shift_final-2.pdf">60% reduction</a> in carbon emissions on the affected routes.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306347/original/file-20191211-95130-8g8ezn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/306347/original/file-20191211-95130-8g8ezn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306347/original/file-20191211-95130-8g8ezn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306347/original/file-20191211-95130-8g8ezn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306347/original/file-20191211-95130-8g8ezn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306347/original/file-20191211-95130-8g8ezn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/306347/original/file-20191211-95130-8g8ezn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Electrified trains have the potential to become carbon-neutral.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/PM5a_R83-YQ">Johannes Hofmann/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>The carbon-saving potential of rail is even greater for freight. Heavy goods vehicles <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/vehicles/heavy_en">contribute substantially</a> to transport emissions – but because of their weight, battery technology is not yet an option to reduce this burden. Rail freight produces <a href="http://www.freightonrail.org.uk/FactsFigures-environmental.htm">76% less</a> carbon emissions than an equivalent journey by heavy goods vehicle.</p>
<p>And as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-crisis-six-steps-to-making-fossil-fuels-history-127941">electricity grid</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/22/rail-line-in-hampshire-is-worlds-first-to-be-powered-by-solar-farm">train infrastructure</a> transition further to renewable power, carbon savings for both passenger and freight rail services have the potential to get even bigger.</p>
<h2>Ramping up rail</h2>
<p>Of course, a big switch to rail means a great deal of new and costly infrastructure. Capacity on existing lines would need to be boosted, and new lines, stations, and logistics terminals added. But these efforts don’t have to all be from scratch. Many disused lines could be reopened – there are proposals for <a href="https://bettertransport.org.uk/sites/default/files/research-files/case-for-expanding-rail-network.pdf">224 line reopenings</a> in the UK alone.</p>
<p>Some increases in rail capacity do not require new lines at all, so are less expensive. For example, making trains longer, upgrading signalling, adding passing loops, or upgrading junctions can all <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40534-015-0069-z">boost capacity on existing lines</a>.</p>
<p>But even new lines and terminals can be a <a href="https://www.rail-leaders.com/wp-content/uploads/HSRIL-HS2-Towards-a-Zero-Carbon-Future-Report-Nov-19.pdf">cost-effective way of reducing carbon emissions</a>, so long as they are planned carefully. For example, emissions savings from the UK’s controversial HS2 project <a href="http://www.greengauge21.net/the-carbon-impacts-of-hs2/">could vary hugely</a> depending on the energy sources used for rail and road, how the capacity released on parallel existing lines is used and, perhaps most importantly, the siting of and development around stations.</p>
<p>It’s particularly important to promote <a href="https://bettertransport.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdfs/Tracks-Development-Around-Stations.pdf">housing developments</a> around railway stations that decrease dependence on cars. Railway stations should also have good transport interchanges, with high-quality connecting local public transport services and good cycling and walking routes that enable travellers to get from their starting point or to their destination without having to drive. <a href="https://www.transportforqualityoflife.com/u/files/190607_A_Nationwide_Public_Transport_Timetable.pdf">Integrated timetabling</a> is crucial to make this a success, so that railways are part of seamless door-to-door travel.</p>
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<span class="caption">Restoring disused lines can help expand railways at lower cost.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/abandoned-railroad-tracks-overgrown-weeds-1575558523">Zoran Milosavljevic/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Properly planned development like this not only reduces emissions, but also <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/new-national-academies-study-affirms-findings-on-development-patterns-transportation-emissions-and-energy/">limits the conversion</a> of environmentally fragile land to low-density housing development and creates <a href="https://bettertransport.org.uk/sites/default/files/research-files/case-for-expanding-rail-network.pdf">healthier and less isolated communities</a>.</p>
<h2>Laying the tracks</h2>
<p>Pricing, taxation and subsidy policies also need to support rail growth. There is good evidence that rail freight <a href="http://www.rfg.org.uk/level-ambition-achievable-worthwhile-rail-freight/">is more widely used</a> in countries where heavy goods vehicles pay road tolls. Aviation ticket taxes can also <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/publications/2018_12_CE_Delft_7L14_A_study_on_aviation_ticket_taxes_DEF.pdf">drive more people to travel by rail</a>. In contrast, campaigners have argued that the UK governmnent’s freeze on fuel taxation, combined with a policy of increasing rail fares over time by inflation or above, has <a href="https://bettertransport.org.uk/sites/default/files/research-files/transport-budget-oct-2017.pdf">had the opposite effect</a>, driving increased car use.</p>
<p>At a more local level, the availability and cost of car parking also influences demand for car travel over rail travel. For example, reduced car parking and increased charges in the city centre of Birmingham, England, coupled with improved rail services, have helped <a href="http://www.urbantransportgroup.org/system/files/general-docs/Number%20crunch%202019%20%E2%80%93%20Urban%20transport%20trends%20in%20changing%20times.pdf">rail overtake car</a> as the preferred way to commute into the city.</p>
<p>The city is now considering following nearby Nottingham’s introduction of a levy on private non-residential parking spaces at workplaces. In Nottingham this levy contributed to the cost of two new light rail lines and new bus services and as a result the city has <a href="https://takeclimateaction.uk/stories/nottingham-workplace-parking-levy-success-improving-public-transport">the highest public transport mode share</a> in the UK outside of London.</p>
<p>Of course, above all, governments need to put their money where their mouth is for rail use to grow. Some countries already are – the German transport minister recently announced a US$86 billion investment in its rail network to <a href="https://www.railwaygazette.com/news/infrastructure/single-view/view/government-plans-EUR86bn-spend-to-renew-german-network.html">double the number of passengers by 2030</a>, while Ireland has <a href="https://www.thejournal.ie/irish-rail-1-billion-investment-4914250-Dec2019/">increased rail investment by 40%</a>. If other countries follow suit, the coming decades could finally put the trajectory of the transport sector back on track.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=Imagineheader1122794127941">Click here to subscribe to our climate action newsletter. Climate change is inevitable. Our response to it isn’t.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122794/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Joseph was CEO of the Campaign for Better Transport 1988-2018, which did receive some funding from rail/public transport companies. In his current consultancy role as Stephen Joseph Associates, he has conducted work for the Rail Freight Group and for city region transport authorities. </span></em></p>Electric trains use seven times less carbon dioxide than cars. With careful planning, railways could drastically cut emissions from a sector that now accounts for a quarter of the carbon in our air.Stephen Joseph, Visiting Professor, Smart Mobility Research Unit, University of HertfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1263292019-11-05T14:46:49Z2019-11-05T14:46:49ZLabour’s low-carbon ‘warm homes for all’ could revolutionise social housing – experts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300278/original/file-20191105-88409-1nd7wd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4252%2C2666&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A home designed to Passivhaus standards, with solar panels and windows that help conserve heat.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/modern-passive-house-white-roof-solar-1012291636">Radovan1/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>All homes built from 2022 onwards would be carbon neutral under a Labour government, according to a recent election pledge by the party. Labour has also promised to guarantee “<a href="https://labour.org.uk/press/warm-homes-for-all-labours-plan-to-reduce-energy-bills-create-jobs-and-tackle-the-climate-emergency/">warm homes for all</a>”, by retrofitting the UK’s 27m houses with insulation, double-glazed windows, heat pumps and solar panels, to help them save and produce at least as much energy as they use, effectively neutralising their contribution to the climate crisis. </p>
<p>At the moment, that contribution is surprisingly large – heating and energy use in homes accounts for <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/790626/2018-provisional-emissions-statistics-report.pdf">18% of the UK’s total carbon emissions</a>. Decarbonising housing is an urgent task and will require a herculean effort – are Labour’s plans up to the job?</p>
<p>There’s at least no shortage of potential providers for new, zero-energy homes. Councils could choose to build the houses themselves or work in partnership with private developers and housing associations – non-profit organisations which rent affordable accommodation to people on low incomes or with particular needs. In order to make all new homes carbon neutral by 2022, all builders and developers would need to play their part.</p>
<p>Retrofitting all existing houses is estimated to cost about £250 billion, of which Labour pledges £60 billion in public subsidy. This would mean government investment would only cover 24% of the estimated cost, with the rest expected to come from “energy savings” down the line. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-hundred-years-of-social-housing-how-standards-and-quality-got-lost-along-the-way-121068">A hundred years of social housing: how standards and quality got lost along the way</a>
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<p>Meanwhile, councils and housing associations are already under strain to deliver enough affordable housing. In recent years, the amount of investment that the Conservative government has been willing to commit to building houses, through grants to housing associations and councils, has dwindled. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300261/original/file-20191105-88428-60f2fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300261/original/file-20191105-88428-60f2fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300261/original/file-20191105-88428-60f2fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300261/original/file-20191105-88428-60f2fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300261/original/file-20191105-88428-60f2fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300261/original/file-20191105-88428-60f2fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300261/original/file-20191105-88428-60f2fr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The building of affordable housing has stalled under the Tories.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cobblestone-reflection-house-puddle-after-rain-1098538682?src=e31965aa-d00d-4749-8505-360eb8f3f500-1-1">I Wei Huang/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>If they want to build new homes, housing associations are expected to build properties for private sale or rent and invest their profits into building social housing – that is, homes that are let for below-market rents. </p>
<p>But this policy of cross-subsidy hasn’t delivered <a href="https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/nhf-and-lga-bosses-clash-over-social-rent-focus-63426">the number of affordable homes that are needed</a>. A public commitment to fund the delivery of environmental standards in existing and new-build homes will be necessary to ensure Labour’s plans don’t fall short. But what could a future of zero-energy social housing look like?</p>
<h2>Street that could change Britain</h2>
<p>In July 2019, a council housing scheme in Norwich called <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jul/16/norwich-goldsmith-street-social-housing-green-design">Goldsmith Street</a> won <a href="https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/the-gold-standard-how-a-council-housing-scheme-won-architectures-biggest-prize-63761">the prestigious Stirling Prize for architecture</a> for its eco-friendly design and for providing 100% social housing. Residents report lower energy bills – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/11/spacious-and-green-norwich-award-winning-new-council-houses-goldsmith-street">as low as £150 a year</a> in some cases – and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jul/16/norwich-goldsmith-street-social-housing-green-design">plenty of green space</a>. </p>
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<p>The houses have much thicker insulation than normal, triple glazing and mechanical ventilation which can <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-use-the-london-underground-to-heat-your-home-21256">recover and circulate waste heat</a>. Similar grand designs have offered glimpses of how homes might be greener, but Goldsmith Street’s commitment to social housing could help meet the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46788530">drastic need for more affordable homes</a>. So how could this tantalising vision become the norm?</p>
<p>The answer might seem obvious: make it the law. But the UK construction sector is highly fragmented – and different subcontractors are often responsible for the walls, roof and electricity in a single house. This makes quality control difficult. There’s also a skills shortage, especially when it comes to the detailed knowledge required to build a zero-energy house. And if energy-consuming extras such as underfloor heating or electrically driven windows are added, the energy savings from design may be lost.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-means-we-cant-keep-living-and-working-in-glass-houses-45006">Climate change means we can't keep living (and working) in glass houses</a>
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<p>One solution might be to mandate the use of <a href="http://passivhaustrust.org.uk/certification.php">Passivhaus Certification</a>, as architects did on Goldsmith Street. Under this scheme, contractors must have the right qualifications and the energy modelling – which determines if a home will truly produce as much energy as it consumes – must be completed in a highly prescribed manner. A guarantee that the correct insulation and other features have been delivered and fitted must be rigorously reported to a third party. </p>
<p>While there are costs involved with this, certified Passivhaus homes typically have heating bills that are <a href="http://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/what_is_passivhaus.php#2">one-tenth of the UK average</a>, meaning that residents of a three-bedroom semi-detached house could expect heating bills of around £50 per annum. </p>
<p>Most people would pay more for a car that came with free petrol for life, which is close to what a zero-energy home is. But people will need to believe this is what they will get. <a href="https://passivehouseplus.ie/magazine/insight/how-brussels-went-passive">More than 40,000 such buildings have been delivered</a> across Europe, and Passivhaus was the <a href="https://passivehouseplus.ie/magazine/insight/how-brussels-went-passive">route to low-energy construction that Belgium chose</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300265/original/file-20191105-88414-upjha.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300265/original/file-20191105-88414-upjha.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300265/original/file-20191105-88414-upjha.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300265/original/file-20191105-88414-upjha.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300265/original/file-20191105-88414-upjha.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300265/original/file-20191105-88414-upjha.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300265/original/file-20191105-88414-upjha.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A Passivhaus home (right) leaks less heat than a traditional building (left).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house#/media/File:Passivhaus_thermogram_gedaemmt_ungedaemmt.png">Passivhaus Institut/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>But Passivhaus only works if the right design decisions are made from day one. If an architect starts by drawing a large window for example, then the energy loss from it might well be so great that any amount of insulation elsewhere can’t offset it. Architects don’t often welcome this intrusion of physics into the world of art. In other industries – high-performance car design for example – the need to work with physics to reduce drag also affords an attractive, low and sleek look.</p>
<p>Architects and building engineers aren’t often taught together in the UK, and engineering is rarely included in architecture degrees. Our team at the University of Bath is working on simple energy modelling tools that could help architects incorporate these principles in their designs.</p>
<p>To take Labour’s plans from their blueprints and on to streets in the UK, an incoming government will need funding to roll out new homes and retrofit old ones. It will need to introduce regulation to ensure all homes are brought up to standard and drive a revolution in what architects currently consider acceptable for how houses should look and feel. That’s a tall order – but decarbonising each component of society will take nothing short of a revolution.</p>
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKGE2019&utm_content=GEBannerA">Click here to subscribe to our newsletter if you believe this election should be all about the facts.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Coley receives funding from BIS and EPSRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Richardson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Housing currently accounts for almost one-fifth of the UK’s annual carbon emissions.Jo Richardson, Professor of Housing and Social Inclusion, De Montfort UniversityDavid Coley, Professor of Low Carbon Design, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/447232015-07-16T05:27:41Z2015-07-16T05:27:41ZScrapping zero-carbon homes is senseless policy vandalism<p>You may have missed it among all the talk of minimum wages and welfare cuts, but as part of its <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/july-budget-2015">summer budget announcements</a> the UK government also abolished the requirement for new homes to be “zero carbon” from April 2016. A commitment in place since 2006 and supported through successive governments, now thrown into a bonfire of supposed “red tape” holding back new building projects and the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fixing-the-foundations-creating-a-more-prosperous-nation">productivity of the UK economy</a>. It’s an appalling act of policy vandalism.</p>
<p>I heard the news on my way back from a big international conference in Paris on <a href="http://www.commonfuture-paris2015.org/">Our Common Future under Climate Change</a>, a prelude to the next round of climate negotiations to take place later this year. Listening to speaker after speaker stressing the urgency of climate action – and the attempts by at least some of those present to be optimistic about what might be agreed – I deluded myself into thinking that maybe the carbon question would now be taken seriously, even in the UK with a government demonstrating <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-happened-to-the-greenest-ever-conservative-party-44535">at every step</a> its now true-blue ideology. </p>
<p>The zero-carbon homes policy was properly ambitious (at least in its original form). It focused on radically reducing the emissions from housing through a combination of energy-efficient building design and use of low or zero-carbon energy generation, such as solar panels. More recently forms of carbon offsetting were allowed as part of the “zero” calculation so that carbon could be mitigated away from the immediate development site. The Conservative government has now scrapped both this <a href="http://www.zerocarbonhub.org/zero-carbon-policy/allowable-solutions">allowable solutions</a> policy and the increase in on-site energy efficiency standards, taking away the foundations of zero-carbon compliance. </p>
<p>The meaning of the “zero” had already been diluted, stripped of any sense of entailing new ways of ongoing <a href="bit.ly/1SkM3F7">low-carbon living</a> – and the closely-related <a href="http://www.building.co.uk/code-for-sustainable-homes-scrapped/5074697.article">Code for Sustainable Homes</a> had been got rid of. But even so, at least the zero-carbon requirement was still in place in some form. </p>
<p>Not now. Not after nine years of intensive collaborative work by the <a href="http://www.zerocarbonhub.org/">Zero Carbon Hub</a>, set up after the obligation was first put in place to work out exactly what the zero would mean, how it would be calculated and to provide guidance to housing industry on all sorts of detailed aspects of compliance. This is what makes it policy vandalism and a damaging breach of trust that can only undermine attempts at collaborative initiatives in the future. </p>
<p>It’s not just those trying (increasingly desperately) to make the case for action on climate change that have protested, the <a href="http://www.bpf.org.uk/media/press-releases/bpf-warns-changes-energy-efficiency-building-regulations-could-affect">British Property Federation</a>, the <a href="https://www.politicshome.com/document/press-release/chartered-institute-building/scrapping-zero-carbon-target-risks-investment">Chartered Institute of Building</a> the UK Green Building Council and some (<a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/construction-property/article4495019.ece">but not all</a>) other industry bodies have registered their protest at the loss of a long-term commitment to improving the energy and carbon efficiency of new homes. </p>
<p>The government’s argument is that scrapping the zero-carbon obligation will stimulate house building and help reduce house prices. But the evidence is lacking for both claims, with high house prices in particular far more a function of the dysfunctional way that property markets work in the UK and the lack of a proper regional policy to distribute jobs and growth more evenly across the economy.</p>
<p>More fundamentally, a decision that can only serve to increase our carbon emissions projected into the future sends absolutely all the wrong signals, including to those governments in the Global South that quite rightly point out our historic and contemporary <a href="https://theconversation.com/lima-makes-it-clear-rich-nations-must-cough-up-for-past-carbon-pollution-35524">responsibility for carbon accumulation</a>. </p>
<p>Maybe house builders will still take up some of the innovation and capacity for building in new low-carbon ways that have been developed over the past nine years. But without the regulatory push it is hard to imagine that things will not level out at a lower standard. </p>
<p>There is now an open invitation to build less carbon-efficient houses, for profit-making at the expense of our deep moral responsibility to act now to mitigate future climate impacts. Yes new homes are needed (in some places), but not at this cost, and not in a way that destroys even the limited sense of what “zero carbon” had become.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44723/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gordon Walker and the DEMAND Centre receive funding from the RCUK Energy Programme and EDF as part of the R&D ECLEER Programme.</span></em></p>A disappointing end for one of the UK’s flagship environmental schemes.Gordon Walker, Professor at the DEMAND Centre and Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/406502015-04-22T15:00:58Z2015-04-22T15:00:58ZWhy the zero-carbon homes policy hasn’t gone to plan<p>One of the UK’s flagship sustainability policies is in big trouble. Less than a year from now, the theory goes, all new homes will be “zero-carbon”. The reality is rather different. Economic meltdown, a housing crisis, pressure from developers and poorly designed legislation have all combined to leave the country way behind schedule.</p>
<p>The policy dates back to 2006, when the Labour administration introduced stringent sustainability legislation. All new homes, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6176229.stm">they said</a>, would be “zero-carbon” by 2016. The provision of solar panels (and other renewable energy technologies) and better energy efficiency would balance out emissions from heating, lighting and use of appliances leaving net emissions at zero. </p>
<p>To achieve this, building regulations were to be progressively tightened in the run up to 2016 and a <a href="http://www.zerocarbonhub.org/">Zero Carbon Hub</a> would be formed to knock together the heads of house builders, NGOs and bureaucrats. </p>
<p>At the time this target was hailed as world leading and on some level the policy has been a success. By December 2014 some 33,000 homes had been built to sustainable standards, according to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/code-for-sustainable-homes-statistics">one measure</a>. However, we need to look at the bigger picture.</p>
<p>Fast forward a decade or so and under the Conservative-led coalition government the agenda has spluttered from problem to problem. The reforms to building regulations have been delayed and are not achieving the kinds of levels envisaged. The <a href="http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partl/approved">latest</a> were introduced a year late and only achieved a 33% improvement in energy performance, against a promised 44%. This leaves a big gap between where we are now and the next iteration, which is supposed to achieve “zero-carbon”.</p>
<h2>What actually is a zero-carbon home?</h2>
<p>More worryingly, despite six years of negotiations it still isn’t clear how “zero-carbon” will be defined. What we do know is that zero-carbon is likely to be anything but. </p>
<p>The definition of emissions, for example, was weakened <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/mar/23/budget-2011-zero-carbon-homes">in the 2011 budget</a>. It now includes emissions from heating and lighting but it wont include those from “unregulated energy” – that is, energy used by appliances within the home. </p>
<p>Emission reductions won’t even have to be achieved in the house itself. “Allowable solutions” have been introduced instead, a level of emissions above which developers can pay into a fund for low-carbon infrastructure to be built elsewhere as a way to “off-set” carbon. </p>
<p>Precisely at what level these allowable solutions will kick in is not clear, nor how the fund will work in reality. What is clear is that developments of fewer than ten houses (which comprise the vast majority of house-building) will be exempt from allowable solutions. Tellingly, the WWF <a href="http://www.wwf.org.uk/about_wwf/press_centre/?unewsid=4799">left the Zero-Carbon Hub</a> in protest against what it saw as a “watering down” of policy.</p>
<p>With so many details still to be decided, it is unsurprising that there is <a href="http://www.building.co.uk/mainstream-zero-carbon-homes-may-never-happen/5074199.article">little confidence</a> that the 2016 target will be met.</p>
<h2>Zero-carbon comes at a price</h2>
<p>This is not necessarily the coalition’s fault however. In many ways it is the result of inherent contradictions within the policy. The underlying rhetoric has been that technology – solar panels, heat pumps, insulation and so on – will do all of the hard work and consumers need not worry themselves about how they engage with and run their homes. </p>
<p>But who pays for this technology? Government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6378/1972728.pdf">figures</a> show that complying with the 2010 sustainable building regulations meant a 5% increase in real production costs compared to 2006. Complying with 2013 regulations would see that figure rise to 9%. Want to build to the strictest zero-carbon standards? That’s a 50% increase.</p>
<p>Labour never adequately addressed the question of “who pays”, sowing the seeds for today’s problems. More often than not it has been housing developers who have had to shoulder the costs because there has never been a significant enough “price premium” attached to sustainable homes. </p>
<p>These costs would come down as technologies and expertise became more widespread, but the 2008 credit crisis and the increased politicisation of housing affordability and supply changed things. These sustainability requirements had the potential to hinder the construction of new housing, so developers were vocal in their opposition.</p>
<p>The coalition has been more sympathetic to developers than other parties may have been. Yet in many ways these policy reforms were inevitable. While it would be nice to say that the government should force increased costs on builders, the reality is very different as the government must consider whether environmental policy will jeopardise housing supply. In the midst of a financial crisis, the industry couldn’t afford the costs associated with the initial zero-carbon proposals.</p>
<p>In many ways this watering down could have been avoided if the initial policy had more of a focus on giving home owners an incentive to be greener. The challenge for the next administration is finding a way to encourage developers to build the homes we desperately need while sharing sustainability demands between both buyers and builders. We need homes, but we owe it to future generations to make them green.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40650/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Max Lempriere does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Solar panels and efficiency savings are supposed to balance out building emissions by 2016, but the UK is way behind target.Max Lempriere, Ph.D. Researcher in Political Science, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.