It is “not too late” to deliver zero carbon homes in 2016, says the UK Green Building Council.
There is still time to deliver zero carbon homes by 2016 in spite of a watering down of the standard and continued uncertainty over the Allowable Solutions mechanism, the UK Green Building Council has said.
As the final Parliamentary debate on zero carbon homes in the Infrastructure Bill commenced, the UK-GBC said ensuring that all new homes are built to zero carbon standards from 2016 is still possible – as long as Government sticks to the standard agreed by industry and sets out how it intends to implement Allowable Solutions.
It states that Government should also justify why an exemption for ‘small sites’ is needed, which it believes will run a risk of distorting the market.
Paul King, Chief Executive of UK-GBC, said: “With a year to go until housebuilders are required to deliver zero carbon homes, we’re not where we need to be. The agreed standard has been significantly diluted and a question mark still hangs over how Allowable Solutions will be delivered.
“The clock is ticking but it’s not too late to rescue this world leading policy. One of the key priorities for the Government in May must be to set the zero carbon policy back on track.”
UK-GBC has been briefing MPs on amendments to the Infrastructure Bill which support the previously agreed zero carbon standard and the application of this standard to all new homes.
