CCC details investment priorities

In its latest Annual Report to Parliament, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has for the first time set out recommendations to each government department detailing what will be required from them to achieve a net-zero carbon society by 2050.

This details the urgent steps that must be taken in the months ahead to initiate a green, resilient COVID-19 recovery, to be delivered through strong coordination across Whitehall. “Doing so will propel the UK towards more rapid climate progress and position the country as an international climate leader ahead of the pivotal COP26 climate summit in Glasgow next year,” states the CCC.

The Committee’s new analysis highlights five clear investment priorities in the months ahead. The majority of these emphasise heavily the role of energy efficiency, particularly in buildings.

Above all, the CCC is seeking “low-carbon retrofits and buildings that are fit for the future.” There are “vital new employment and re-skilling opportunities across the country, if Government supports a national plan to renovate buildings and construct new housing to the highest standards of energy and water efficiency, to begin the shift to low-carbon heating systems, and to protect against overheating.”

The Committee proposes a “roll-out of ‘green passports’ for buildings and local area energy plans to begin immediately.” A ‘green passport’ is a digital passport providing detailed guidance on the actions required – and already undertaken – to improve a building’s energy efficiency and comfort, based on building fabric and operational data.

“The CCC sees a role for these passports to include recommendations on low carbon heat alongside this, and for the platform to be expanded to cover issues such as indoor air quality, flood resilience, water efficiency and overheating. In doing so, passports would set out a customised and holistic retrofit roadmap for each home.

Passports would be transferable between building owners and help to maintain sight of long-term decarbonisation/resilience goals. They would capture Energy Performance Certificate data digitally, and augment it with other data over time
Chairman Lord Deben, the former Conservative environment secretary, stated that “in the immediate term, bringing forward funding for renovating public sector buildings can set an important standard and cut public energy bills – and targeted support for SMEs to improve energy efficiency can help boost productivity.