Monday 12 May 2008

Zero carbon means that a home's use of energy results in net zero carbon emissions. The report helps to explain what this will mean in practice for house builders, marking the first major step in establishing a clear path towards zero-carbon housing in the UK.

"Realising the government's target for all new homes to be built to zero-carbon standards by 2016 will be a challenge, but with the right regulatory and support framework in place, it is eminently achievable," said Simon McWhirter, manager of WWF-UK's One Planet Homes campaign, which aims to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions and other environmental impacts from the UK's housing stock.

"WWF-UK is optimistic that the findings from the Task Group will dispel confusion over the definition of zero carbon, investing more developers with the confidence to build to the very highest levels of sustainability. We hope this will help deliver practical zero-carbon homes well ahead of the 2016 deadlines," he added.

The report, The Definition of Zero Carbon, which will be presented to Ministers this week, will form the backbone to the government's consultation on the definition of zero carbon later in the year.

It specifies that zero-carbon homes will not only have to meet very high standards of energy efficiency through the design of a building, but will have to ensure the remaining energy demand for the home is met from renewable sources. It strongly encourages micro-generation … technology such as solar panels fitted to the home. Developers, however, will be given some flexibility to provide energy from further afield if it is not practicable or is prohibitively expensive to generate renewable energy where the homes are built … but only if there is proof that the project is a genuine addition to the UK's provision of renewable energy.

Under a binding EU commitment, the UK must deliver 15% of its total energy supply from renewable sources by 2020 … meaning that some 40-45% of the UK's electricity supply must come from renewables by this date.

"If we are to meet this demanding target, it is essential that the ambitious programme for new housing to be zero-carbon acts as a driver to renewable energy generation," said Simon McWhirter.

To this end, WWF believes it is vitally important to maximise onsite energy generation: "Over-reliance on energy imported from offsite sources poses a risk that this zero-carbon homes policy will simply piggyback on existing renewable energy commitments."


For more information visit wwf.org.uk/oneplanet