housing a low carbon society an ODPM leadership agenda on climate change “green alliance... Housing a Low Carbon Society An ODPM leadership agenda on climate change by Joanna Collins Published by Green Alliance, May 2006, £15 Artwork and print by Upstream – www.upstream.coop Printed on Revive Silk – 75 per cent post-consumer waste. ISBN 0 9549757 8 2 © Copyright Green Alliance 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Green Alliance. Within the UK, exceptions are allowed in respect of any fair dealing for the purposes of private research or study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of the licenses issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. This book is sold subject to condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it was published and without a similar condition including the condition being imposed on subsequent purchaser. Green Alliance 36 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0RE tel: 020 7233 7433 fax: 020 7233 9033 email: [email protected] website: www.green-alliance.org.uk Green Alliance is a registered charity number 1045395 Company Limited by guarantee, registered number 3037633 Green Alliance Green Alliance is one of the UK’s foremost environmental groups. An independent charity, its mission is to promote sustainable development by ensuring that the environment is at the heart of decision-making. It works with senior people in government, parliament, business and the environmental movement to encourage new ideas, dialogue and constructive solutions. 1 This pamphlet is supported by the 1 y following organisations t e i c o s Association for the Conservation of Micropower Council n o Energy b National Energy Foundation r a BioRegional National Trust c w o Bill Dunster Architects New Local Government Network l a British Wind Energy Association g SERA Labour Environment Campaign n i s Campaign to Protect Rural England Sponge Sustainability Network u o Chartered Institute of Housing The Royal Society for the Protection h Combined Heat and Power of Birds Association The Wildlife Trusts Energy for Sustainable Development Town and Country Planning Energy Saving Trust Association Friends of the Earth UK Business Council for Sustainable Greenpeace Energy Groundwork Woking Borough Council Gusto Homes Woodland Trust Labour Housing Group WWF-UK London Borough of Croydon acknowledgements Green Alliance wishes to thank the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the National Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Woodland Trust and WWF- UK for their support of this work. Very many thanks also to Tracy Carty, Guy Thompson,Warren Hatter, James Cooper, Ian Christie, Chloe Meacher, Zoltan Zavody, Paul King, Jo Wheeler, Andrew Allen, Simon Marsh, Hugh Ellis, Leonie Greene, Rob Shaw, Syed Ahmed, David Westbrook and John Perry for their guidance and comments on drafts, and to all the participants of the seminar held in January 2006 to discuss the pamphlet. “Across every sector of business, climate “The time is right to bring together policy change offers as many if not more on regeneration and sustainable business opportunities than the world development. Disadvantaged wide web. The opportunity within the neighbourhoods suffer most from run- housing sector is to create developments down local environments, high levels of which deliver high quality lifestyles with pollution, fuel poverty and lack of low environmental impacts. These facilities. We now have a once in a lifetime sustainable communities will have the opportunity to revive existing ability to change the mindset of the communities and model new ones in a people living within them and visiting way that makes a significant leap into a them, leading to a more sustainable more sustainable future” lifestyle for all. If government sets the Tony Hawkhead, Chief Executive framework and incentivises the market, Groundwork progressive developers will deliver” Steff Wright, Chief Executive Gusto Homes “Most people now accept that climate change is happening and that the causes are primarily man-made. No longer can it “Local government can be pivotal in be treated as a side-line environmental establishing sustainable practices. Using issue. The consequences of inaction will their powers of community well-being, affect our economy and society at large. powers to trade, their developing strategic The planning system is ideally placed, and planning roles, and their ability to co- provides the necessary framework, to ordinate across the full range of public start making the transition to low carbon services, local authorities should form the communities” vanguard of the UK’s progression to a Gideon Amos, Director sustainable future” Town and Country Planning Association Chris Leslie, Director New Local Government Network “Working with local government and across central government, ODPM can affect “The National Trust is already seeing the significant change on the journey towards impacts of climate change on our gardens, a low carbon Britain. This will include the buildings, coast and countryside. The explicit measures promoted by this ODPM now has a leading role in helping pamphlet as well as the simple, albeit people find local solutions to the huge hard, work of developing the capacity and challenges climate change poses for understanding of sustainability across communities and the environment” government and public services” Fiona Reynolds, Director-General Hywel Lloyd, Chair The National Trust SERA Labour Environment Campaign “If everyone around the world lived as we “Housing affordability has shot up the do in the UK today, we would need three political agenda, yet little priority has planets to support us. Sustainable, One been given to the long term cost of Planet Living needs to be made easy, domestic energy use for households and affordable and attractive for people. the environment. We should think about ODPM can do more than most government homes in the same way we’re starting to departments to make this a reality by think about cars and electrical appliances. delivering a policy framework and The ODPM needs to take the lead in progressive regulation that puts reducing the environmental impact of sustainable development first. The homes housing through energy-conscious and communities that result from planning and investment” decisions made today will determine the Neil Sinden, Policy Director lives of people, and their environmental Campaign to Protect Rural England impacts, for generations to come” Paul King, Campaign Director One Million Sustainable Homes, WWF-UK “The climate change review has shown that the domestic household sector is one of the slowest to make its contribution to “The ODPM has a crucial role to play in meeting the target of reducing carbon tackling climate change, given the emissions by 20 per cent by 2010. It is significance of the housing sector and of critical for ODPM to take the lead in its programmes in investing in it. Housing putting the UK back on track to meet the professionals are keen to see the ODPM 2010 target. An increased emphasis on take action which reflects the great energy efficiency combined with micro- importance of this issue, and will give it renewables could have a huge impact their backing in the work we do” here” David Butler, Chief Executive Tim Lunel, Chief Executive Chartered Institute of Housing The National Energy Foundation “Climate change threatens disaster for the “Homes account for 27 per cent of UK world’s wildlife and for many animal and carbon emissions. Some one third of plant species in the UK, unless we take homes that will exist in 2050 have yet to dramatic action to curb it. The ODPM has be built, with most adding to, rather than a crucial leadership role in ensuring that replacing, existing stock. The government local government, planners and has put the UK on a path to reduce its developers play a full part in tackling the carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2050. causes and impacts of climate change” If we are to achieve this in housing, we Graham Wynne, Chief Executive need to accelerate improvements in the The Royal Society for the Protection energy performance of both existing stock of Birds and new build” Nick Eyre, Director of Strategy Energy Saving Trust 4 contents y t e i executive summary . 5 c o s n 1 an ODPM leadership agenda on climate change . 7 o b r a c 2 goals . 9 w o affordable low carbon innovation . 9 l a decent homes, decent climate . 13 g n i s climate-proof communities . 14 u o local leadership on climate change . 17 h 3 tools for change . 19 building standards . 19 new build . 21 existing stock . 22 planning for sustainable communities . 24 local government . 27 4 invest-to-save: a spending review for housing a low carbon society . 30 annex 1 summary of recommendations . 32 annex 2 notes and references . 35 executive summary 5 This pamphlet focuses on what the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) y t e can do to tackle climate change through a leadership agenda centred on housing i c o and the communities in which people live. s n o b the case for action r a c Climate change is the most significant public policy issue we face.The w o government has committed the UK to reducing carbon by 60 per cent by 2050. l a Securing major reductions in carbon emissions from UK households, which are g n i currently responsible for 27 per cent of carbon emissions, is a considerable but s u o critical challenge if we are to meet this target and tackle climate change effectively.