MPs have been asked to back amendments to the Infrastructure Bill which would help strengthen the “meaningless” Zero Carbon Homes standard after the bill was watered down last year.
The Solar Trade Association, WWF and the Renewable Energy Association, with support from Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, all support a Labour amendment to reinstate the Zero Carbon Hub’s initial recommended carbon performance for new homes.
The coalition of organisations argues that current proposals, which allow developers to pay money into a fund rather than install carbon-cutting measures onsite, would mean that homeowners would not enjoy the benefits of carbon-cutting measures yet would still foot the bill.
Leonie Greene, head of external affairs at the Solar Trade Association explained why the current Zero Carbon Homes bill is potentially missing out. She said: “With global temperatures at a record high this is not the time to step back from decarbonising our built environment. Solar technology is now affordable and particularly cost-effective to install at the new build stage where it can be made visually very attractive.”
Emma Pinchbeck, head of climate and energy policy at WWF, added that the time was right to implement a true Zero Carbon Home bill, stating: “At a time when people are struggling to pay their energy bills and the UK is showing climate leadership on the global stage, we should be legislating for better housing not worse. Reducing emissions from our homes is critical in tackling climate change and doing so from newly built homes is much easier, and cheaper, than retrofitting at a later date. It just doesn’t make sense to make keeping our homes warm and reducing our carbon emissions harder than it needs to be.”
Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association warned that, in its current guise, “Zero Carbon Homes is in danger of becoming meaningless”. She continued: “The watering down of the standards means that homes built after 2016 will need retrofitting in the future, storing up problems which will be more expensive to deal with.”
The STA has calculated that it would cost a few hundred pounds extra in building costs to install solar PV compared to the government’s current weaker proposals. However, the association argues that difference in cost would easily be recovered by the homeowner through their lower energy bills.
The group is hoping to convince the Lib Dems to back the proposed amendments to Zero Carbon Homes. Skorupska explained that the Lib Dems have promised to build homes to the Zero Carbon Standard in their pre-manifesto, she added: “this is a chance to live up to that before the election”.
Greene echoed Skorupska’s call, concluding: “We're urging the Lib Dems to get behind the Labour drive to reinstate meaningful Zero Carbon Homes in the Infrastructure Bill. There is still a window of opportunity before the next election for the Lib Dems to deliver a really meaningful win."
