The UK Green Building council has published their views on the UK budget.

Paul King, the UKGBC CEO, was especially critical of the U-turn in the Zero Carbon homes.

A new home, from 2016 will no longer have to make a net zero addition to the carbon footprint of the overall housing stock – which contributes approx 27% of the UK’s total emissions. The change of policy will result in the direct mitigation of only around 2/3 of emissions from the typical home over the course of a year.

In Paul’s words:

“In the space of two weeks, this government has gone from a firm commitment on zero carbon homes, to a watered down policy. A zero carbon home will no longer do what it says on the tin. The world leading commitment that new homes would not add to the carbon footprint of our housing stock from 2016 has been scrapped despite a remarkable consensus between industry and NGOs in support of it.

“Thanks to a crude de-regulation agenda we now have a policy that is not only anti-green but anti-growth.  Low carbon construction has been one of the few sectors showing genuine green shoots of growth. This U-turn will result in loss of confidence leading to lower investment, less innovation, fewer green jobs and fewer carbon reductions. It is a backward step by a government that wanted to be seen as ‘the greenest ever’

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