{"id":127,"date":"2024-10-09T15:13:25","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T15:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/?p=127"},"modified":"2024-10-14T20:28:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T20:28:22","slug":"housing-and-the-uk-governments-net-zero-targets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/housing-and-the-uk-governments-net-zero-targets\/","title":{"rendered":"Tai a Thargedau Sero Net Llywodraeth y DU"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"\">In a bid to educate myself on the UK Government\u2019s approach to decarbonising UK housing, I spent some time this week reading Housing and Net Zero, a research briefing produced by the House of Commons library in July 2024 (1). Here\u2019s a synopsis.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The UK government has a legally binding target of reducing the UK\u2019s net emissions by 100% by 2050 when compared to 1990 levels. This is known as the \u201cnet zero target.\u201d As housing accounts for about a fifth of the UK\u2019s emissions, the goal must be \u201cnear complete decarbonisation of the housing stock.\u201d As heating is the main source of these emissions, decarbonisation strategies are focused on installing low carbon heating (like heat pumps), improving energy efficiency (by, for example, fitting insulation), and installing renewable energy systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The government\u2019s Heat and Buildings Strategy (October 2021) set out its strategies for meeting the net zero target:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Work to lower the cost of heat pumps (significantly more expensive than gas boilers) and deploy 600,000 heat pumps by 2028<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Phase out the installation of natural gas boilers in England by 2035<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Aim for EPC band C for \u201cas many homes as possible\u201d by 2035 (according to the Strategy, around 60% of UK homes had an EPC rating below band C in 2021)*<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">(In 2023 these targets were adjusted with several timelines being extended).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The government also said it would introduce a Future Homes Standard by 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Alongside these given targets, the government has introduced a number of grants and loans in order to incentivise homeowners to adapt their houses and has also relaxed some planning rules to make the installation of heat pumps and solar panels easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Housing and climate bodies (such as the Climate Change Committee [CCC], the Environment Audit Committee, and the Green Building Council) have raised concerns about the Heat and Buildings Strategy suggesting the pace is too slow and the approach too piecemeal. Julie Hirigoyen (Chief Exec, Green Building Council) describes the strategy as \u201cbaby steps\u201d when what is needed is \u201cgiant leaps\u201d (2). In its July 2024 summary of the CCC\u2019s assessment of Government progress in reducing emissions in line with its targets, the CCC set out 10 priority actions for the remainder of 2024. These include removing planning barriers for heat pumps and introducing a comprehensive programme for decarbonisation of public sector buildings (3). An alternative vision for reaching net zero within housing is set out in the Green Building Council\u2019s Whole Life Carbon Roadmap for the built environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk\/documents\/CBP-8830\/CBP-8830.pdf\">https:\/\/researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk\/documents\/CBP-8830\/CBP-8830.pdf<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ukgbc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Government-Policy-Scorecard-Decarbonising-the-Built-Environment-December-22.pdf\">https:\/\/ukgbc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Government-Policy-Scorecard-Decarbonising-the-Built-Environment-December-22.pdf<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">https:\/\/www.theccc.org.uk\/uk-action-on-climate-change\/progress-snapshot\/<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">EPCs are Energy Performance Certificates and are currently the government\u2019s preferred method of evaluating the energy efficiency of a building. Band A is the most efficient and band G the least. The assessment is carried out by a qualified assessor and is based on the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) which looks at materials used, levels of insulation, and types of heating, as well as hot water and energy sources. The CCC has raised several concerns about whether the EPC is fit for purpose and there are currently a number of proposed reforms including replacing the SAP with a new methodology, the HEM (Home Energy Model).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a bid to educate myself on the UK Government\u2019s approach to decarbonising UK housing, I spent some time this week reading Housing and Net Zero, a research briefing produced by the House of Commons library in July 2024 (1). Here\u2019s a synopsis.\u00a0 The UK government has a legally binding target of reducing the UK\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government-policy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130,"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions\/130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeiladu.cymru\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}