Government response to EAC report
On 30 September, the UK Government published its collective response from numerous Departments, including DLUHC and BEIS, to the Environmental Audit Committee’s (EAC) report ‘Building to net zero: costing carbon in construction’, released earlier this year and discussed in our previous blog post.
The Part Z authors have identified the following key messages and commitments within the response:
“[Government] must intensify [its] efforts and eliminate virtually all emissions arising from the built environment […] to meet [its] legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050”.
“[Government] agree[s] with the Committee that whole-life carbon assessments (WLCAs) are likely to have a significant role to play in delivering decarbonisation across the [built environment] sector” and “would likely provide incentives for industry to develop and use low carbon materials”.
“Government intends to consult in 2023 on [its] approach and interventions to mainstream the measurement and reduction of embodied carbon in the built environment.” Note that no further definition of actions and timelines is provided within the Government’s response.
“[Government] commend[s] the leadership shown by industry in developing and building confidence around the BS EN 15978 standard, PAS2080 and the RICS Professional Statement for assessing whole life carbon in the built environment. [It] also recognise[s] calls from stakeholders that WLCA in the built environment will benefit from the creation of a level playing field. [It] will look at whether Government endorsement of specific standards, methodologies or tools for assessing whole life carbon is appropriate." The Part Z authors note that everyone in the industry that we have spoken to have indicated that only regulation will provide the level playing field needed.
"Research and analysis will be carried out to understand the full practical, technical and economic impacts of the potential interventions. This will be particularly important for minimising impacts on SMEs and ensuring that interventions deliver for the climate but do not undermine other objectives to level up the country and deliver more, safer homes. [The] planned consultation in 2023 will therefore consider the outcomes of this analysis and research." Note that the proposed Part Z requires mandatory reporting of whole life carbon from 2023, a date chosen to help the UK meet its commitment to reduce carbon to 68% below 1990’s level by 2030.
In summary, while the Government appears to indicate that it is open to considering the recommendations put forward by the EAC report, such as “ratcheting carbon targets” and “endorsement of standards, methodologies or tools” to support the “creation of a level playing-field” for WLCA, it deems it “too soon to commit to specific proposals”. Government has pointed out that it remains confident that it can achieve its net zero commitment with the current carbon reduction pathway to 2025 and does not intend to bring the Future Homes Standard forward to 2023, as was instead encouraged by the EAC. However, it also appears to acknowledge that its current plans defined in the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy (that is set to develop a range of policies “including product standards, product labelling, and public and private procurement initiatives” by mid-2020s), the Transport Decarbonisation Plan and the England Trees Action Plan alone will not be sufficient to meet its targets. The Part Z authors stress the urgency of bridging the gap identified.
It appears that the 2023 consultation represents the next key milestone in the Government’s pathway to defining the outstanding ‘who, what, when and how’ required to deliver its net zero ambition for 2050. The Part Z authors have offered their guidance and technical expertise to help Government conclude this work as soon as possible.
