Building for a Sustainable Future

DescriptionIn 2006, the zero carbon homes policy was first announced by the chancellor of the day Gordon Brown. The in" rel="nofollow">intention was that by 2016 all new homes would be zero carbon and this would be achieved through a combin" rel="nofollow">ination of on-site energy generation makin" rel="nofollow">ing use of renewable sources and tighter energy efficiency standards within" rel="nofollow">in the buildin" rel="nofollow">ing regulations. In July 2015 government scrapped these plans and at the time Philip Sellwood the Chief Executive of the Energy savin" rel="nofollow">ing Trust stated “Under the Climate Change Act, we have to achieve at least an 80% reduction in" rel="nofollow">in the carbon emissions from our homes by 2050. We need to be buildin" rel="nofollow">ing homes now that are 2050 ready.” In April this year the House of Lords challenged the legitimacy of this and now zero carbon will again" rel="nofollow">in need to be debated by MPs in" rel="nofollow">in the House of Commons. Briefly discuss the history of zero carbon homes in" rel="nofollow">in the UK and comment on how successful you consider past attempts have been to encourage the buildin" rel="nofollow">ing of such homes. Movin" rel="nofollow">ing forward, do you consider we will have a new build housin" rel="nofollow">ing stock that is 2050 ready or are we still failin" rel="nofollow">ing deliver the sustain" rel="nofollow">inable homes of the future. Consider what drivers, for example, policy, in" rel="nofollow">incentives, education etc. you believe are required to achieve the necessary carbon reduction targets and how should these be put in" rel="nofollow">into practice.