As we navigate our day to day lives, the climate crisis may not feature on our list of concerns for the near future and may seem quite far away. However, we have very much started feeling the impacts of the changing climate on varying scales. Here in the UK we’re already experiencing more extreme weather events and research suggests that the probability of higher levels of rainfall, which can lead to flooding, has increased significantly due to climate change. Do you remember the July 2022 heatwave, when temperatures touched over 40°C? The UK Met Office says that "2022 was a record-breaking for weather and is a sign of the UK's changing climate."
We all play a part in tackling climate change and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
Reducing our emissions begins at home. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) (August 2022) Opens in a new window approximately 26% of UK greenhouse gases come from households and this, along with an energy crisis, means the need to make our homes more efficient has never been greater. The UK has the oldest housing stock in Europe, and possibly the world, this coupled with our built-up environment, dealing with our emissions is difficult.
While we can make sure we’re not adding to the problem by ensuring new build homes are built with sustainability in mind, there’s an estimated 26 million homes Opens in a new window in the UK which will need to undergo retrofitting to meet the emissions commitments. Retrofitting means making modifications to upgrade the existing stock of buildings in order to increase their energy efficiency. Upgrading our housing stock not only has an important part to play in reducing greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, but also in adapting to cope with the growing physical effects of climate change which can no longer be avoided.
It is also important that the energy and heat sources for the buildings are decarbonised, so that we switch from emissions-intensive fossil fuels to zero-carbon-emissions energy sources. The UK Government has thus also set targets around decarbonisation of buildings. Full details of the Government’s plans on delivering against the targets can be found via the link below.
New regulations
Introducing regulations is key for the UK government to be able to meet its emissions targets This has already started and initial legislation around EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) ratings for properties is well established, with higher standards yet to come. Find out more about what this means for you via the link below.
