Gov’t urged to boost housing stock efficiency

The government has been urged to find a new way of encouraging and funding energy efficiency measures for the existing housing stock.

A new report from the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) claims that improving the efficiency of some 25 million homes is necessary to reach national carbon emissions reduction targets.

While the report notes that the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) has led to installation of insulation at a significant rate, it called for more to be done.

Among the reports recommendations is making available green mortgages for improvements such as new windows or boilers.

Homeowners would be expected to pay back the loans as they made savings on their energy bills, while the loans would reduce the up front costs of making improvements.

"Government intervention is needed to create a market for low-carbon homes and industry is crying out for that certainty," said Paul King, head of the UKGBC.

"We’ve been throwing our money out of the window. Spiralling fuel costs and concern about climate change now call for a revolution in attitude."