Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
First report - Building to net zero: costing carbon in construction
Environmental Audit Committee
HC 103
Published 26 May 2022
Recommendations
9
Accepted in Part
Para 77
We recommend that following the introduction of whole-life carbon assessments, the Government should develop progressively...
Recommendation
We recommend that following the introduction of whole-life carbon assessments, the Government should develop progressively ratcheted carbon targets for the built environment, to match the pathway to net zero set out in periodic carbon budgets. These ratcheting targets should be …
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Government Response Summary
The government will explore the potential of a maximum embodied carbon level for new buildings in the future, but emphasizes the need for a robust evidence base of building-level whole life carbon data, while also citing the importance of territorial emissions reporting and urging other countries to raise ambition on tackling climate change.
13
Accepted in Part
Para 91
We recommend that the Government should change the term embodied energy to embodied carbon in...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government should change the term embodied energy to embodied carbon in the National Model Design Code and provide a clear definition of embodied carbon and whole-life carbon in the NMDC based on the WLCN, Building to …
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Government Response Summary
The government is reviewing comments on the National Model Design Code and will assess these in light of reforms to the planning system, and are offering support on themes related to the coding process. However, they state that detailed guidance on how to assess embodied carbon should be defined separately to the NMDC.
23
Accepted in Part
Para 153
The Government must develop a coherent policy, joined up across Departments, to address the need...
Recommendation
The Government must develop a coherent policy, joined up across Departments, to address the need for increased tree planting to address biodiversity and climate change concerns and the need for sustainable commercial plantations using appropriate tree species to meet the …
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Government Response Summary
The government highlights the England Tree Action Plan, the Nature for Climate Fund, and the Timber in Construction Working Group to design a policy roadmap, which will report before the end of this Parliament, but notes that further research is needed regarding safety implications and the realistic supply of domestic timber.