Future Homes Standard draft sets energy efficiency standards lower than many homes built today

Simon McWhirter, Deputy Chief Executive at UKGBC said:
This can鈥檛 genuinely be described as a 鈥榝uture鈥 standard.鈥疕aving already shattered industry confidence with repeated green rollbacks, the Government has opted for the least ambitious option that would deliver 鈥榝uture鈥 homes from 2025 at a lower standard than many homes already built today.聽聽
鈥淥n the last day of the global climate negotiations when we鈥檙e in the last chance saloon to keep temperatures under 1.5 degrees, it鈥檚 unconscionable that the Government is consulting on scrapping the expectation that new roofs should have solar panels, when this is already widely delivered through current regulations.
鈥淲hile the Government is right, of course, to finally end the era of burning gas and oil in our new homes and buildings, fitting low-carbon heating sources such as heat pumps is already commonplace and the standard provides no improvement in energy efficiency.
鈥淲e鈥檙e disappointed that, despite such a long delay in producing this draft Standard, the Government still hasn鈥檛 included measures to reduce the embodied carbon emissions from construction which accounts for around 1 in 10 tonnes of climate emissions in the UK. Nor has it moved to tackle flood risk or end the huge water waste from new builds that is driving shortages and so much ecological damage.
鈥淭he best developers have spent years and millions gearing up for modern green building standards which shows that higher standards are possible. UKGBC will be convening our members to submit a detailed response to the consultation that sets out how higher standards can be practical, affordable and protect climate and nature.鈥澛
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