Less buildings should be demolished if UK is to meet net zero, say MPs

A report by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has warned the government must reduce carbon emissions in the construction industry if net zero targets are to be met.

Currently, all buildings in the UK, including residential and commercial, are responsible for 25% of the country’s carbon emissions and urgent action is needed to reduce this.

To do this, the EAC has recommended that retrofitting and reusing buildings should be prioritised over knocking them down to keep carbon locked in.

While the government has said it is committed to this, recent reforms to permitted development rights, which appear to give incentives for demolition and new-builds, have left the committee concerned.

Environmental Audit Committee Chairman, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said: ‘From homes to offices, retail units to hospitality venues, our buildings have a significant amount of locked-in carbon, which is wasted each time they get knocked down to be rebuilt, a process which produces yet more emissions.

‘Ministers must address this urgently. Promising steps are being taken: for instance, the Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities Secretary of State recently paused the demolition and retrofit of Marks and Spencer on Oxford Street on environmental grounds.

‘But much more needs to be done, and baseline standards for action need to be established. Mandatory whole-life carbon assessments, and targets to crack down on embodied carbon, provide part of the answer. Constructors and developers can then determine which low-carbon materials, such as timber and recycled steel, they can use.’ 

Other recommendations include introducing a mandatory requirement for whole-life carbon building assessments which should be incorporated into building regulations and the planning system.

This would calculate the emissions and energy used in the construction, maintenance, demolition and day-to-day operation of the building, a measure already in place in countries like France and the Netherlands.

It’s also been recommended that the government should create carbon targets for buildings to align with net zero ambitions, with an introduction of whole-life carbon assessments by no later than December 2023.

While the EAC has strongly recommended the reuse and retrofit of old buildings, a persistent skills gap in energy efficiency and retrofit makes this difficult to implement in practice.

The committee has therefore reiterated previous advice to build a retrofit strategy and upskilling programme and said training in whole-life carbon assessments should be available through the education system.

Photo by Sophie Grieve-Williams