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Published: 07/11/2024
BCIS CEO James Fiske reflects on the government’s commitment to net zero targets and the missed opportunity to address embodied carbon.
Rachel Reeves is correct when she says there are ‘no shortcuts’ to delivering growth. But as our chief economist, Dr David Crosthwaite, has outlined, focusing solely on investing in public services and increasing the tax burden on businesses is unlikely to deliver the desired results. In the same vein, allocating £3.9 billion for carbon capture projects is not enough to ensure the UK significantly lowers its carbon emissions and the government reaches its 2030 net zero targets.
While it’s commendable the budget has confirmed investment in clean energy to kickstart green growth, it falls short in delivering a comprehensive mandate to measure and report embodied carbon. Without this, the industry lacks the coordinated strategy required to reach decarbonisation targets by 2030. The government has missed an opportunity to take the lead on mandating embodied carbon at a particularly crucial time. We now have a growing bank of data, as well as a consistent methodology and the tools to make this as easy as possible. Therefore, a mandate is the further incentive the built environment needs to measure and reduce. Otherwise, it will be harder for the industry to achieve the carbon reductions it needs to, which in turn will impact the government’s targets.
The government’s commitment to investing in household energy efficiency over the next three years for low-income households and renters is also commendable. But the Warm Homes Plan appears to still lack the budget required to upgrade 5 million homes. Indeed, the £3.4 billion the government has set aside as an initial sum is reduced from the £6.6 billion earmarked back in the summer. Neither amount will go far when the estimated £26,000 per home cost to raise EPC ratings and lower energy bills is taken into account. There’s also little detail concerning how the government plans to invest in training and upskilling to ensure we’ve a skilled workforce to deliver on these promises.
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