The government’s response to the housing crisis has been to build more homes. M2020/Shutterstock” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/HBxx6AFOQ4sPgSnBrYonOA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_conversation_464/eceffda22b3111cf7a4c690d8ac114ca” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/HBxx6AFOQ4sPgSnBrYonOA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_conversation_464/eceffda22b3111cf7a4c690d8ac114ca”>The government’s response to the housing crisis has been to build more homes. M2020/Shutterstock
England’s housing sector accounts for 20% of the country’s emissions. Its stock is outdated and efforts to improve the energy efficiency of England’s homes are limited.
The country also has a housing crisis. Successive governments have responded to this by building more homes. The current government wants 300,000 extra homes built each year, coupled with adding energy-efficiency measures to existing homes.
But our research demonstrates that, based on current trends, England’s housing strategy could consume our entire carbon budget by 2050. This is England‘s share of the global emissions required to limit global heating to 1.5℃ by 2050, as agreed as part of the Paris Agreement. The majority would be consumed by the emissions of existing stock, with the remainder mainly arising from the construction of new homes.
Meeting society’s housing needs without causing lasting damage to the environment is a challenge. Retrofitting existing homes, providing social housing, reducing second-home ownership and disincentivising the purchase of homes as a financial investment are all possible solutions.
Addressing housing emissions
Around 54% of England’s homes are so energy inefficient that the Climate Change Committee – the UK’s independent advisor on climate change – recommends they must be retrofitted by 2028 to achieve national climate targets. Addressing the emissions of the existing stock is an important step.
This would involve radical energy efficiency measures and the decarbonisation of heating and electricity systems, such as widespread adoption of low-carbon alternatives such as ground source heat pumps and the installation of solar panels. We estimate that if the existing homes become zero carbon by 2050, the housing system would consume 38% less of the carbon budget than currently forecast.
Tackling the emissions from new homes is more complex. The conventional narrative surrounding the housing crisis is that it is caused by a shortage of housing. This creates a trade-off between the climate and the social priority of building homes.
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Consecutive governments have reacted by accelerated housing construction. This resulted in there being 1.2 million