UK homes unfit for climate change challenges, warns report

The UK will not meet its legally binding climate change targets unless emissions of greenhouse gases from UK buildings are almost completely eliminated, and in its report “UK housing: fit for the future?” the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) warns that emission reduction from the UK’s 29 million homes has stalled, while energy use – which accounts for 14% of total emissions – increased between 2016 and 2017. The report sets out five priority areas where the committee believes that government action may help.

While technology exists to create high-quality, low-carbon and resilient homes, the report states, current policies and standards are not driving the scale and pace of change needed to ensure that homes are effective refugees from the damaging effects that climate change is predicted to cause, such as extreme temperatures, unpredictable weather and increased risk of flooding.

The CCC is an independent, statutory body established under the 2008 Climate Change Act. Comprised of experts in climate science, economics, behavioural science and business, it is chaired by former environment secretary Lord Deben and is sponsored by the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Northern Ireland executive, Scottish Government and Welsh Government. Its remit includes advice both on reducing emissions and thus transitioning to a low-carbon future, and on improving resilience to climate change, where it also advises other countries.