The UK seriously takes the issue of climate change and has now legislated a net-zero emissions target by 2050. The energy UK uses in the buildings is key to the achievement of this target. Our homes contribute 22% of the UK’s emissions, so more needs to be done to stop our buildings from contributing to global warming.

The issue of climate change has also a deeper impact in social housing, which makes up just over 17% of homes across the UK and yet only contributes 10% of the residential sector’s carbon emissions, showing the good foundations that have been laid in mitigating carbon emissions in this sector. However, to meet the net-zero carbon target, we must largely eliminate emissions from all homes which means that business as usual is not enough. In May 2019, the Committee on Climate Change in its report Net-Zero: The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming recommended that the UK should set and vigorously pursue an ambitious target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to ‘net-zero’ by 2050, ending the UK’s contribution to global warming within 30 years. This target was subsequently adopted by the UK Government and came into force on 27th June 2019.