In July 2007 the Government's Building a Greener Future: Policy Statement announced that all new homes will be zero carbon from 2016. Following up the commitment in the Policy Statement to consult further on the definition of zero carbon, in December 2008 the Government published Definition of Zero Carbon Homes and Non-Domestic Buildings: Consultation . This proposed an approach based on:
- high levels of energy efficiency in the fabric of the home
- a minimum level of carbon reduction to be achieved onsite or through directly connected heat
- a list of allowable solutions for dealing with the remaining emissions (including from appliances)
In his Written Ministerial Statement of 16 July 2009, John Healey, Minister for Housing and Planning, reconfirmed that all new homes will be zero carbon from 2016 and that the definition of zero carbon would be based on the approach outlined above. An updated Impact Assessment accompanied this Statement. The Summary of Responses to the Definition of Zero Carbon Homes and Non-Domestic Buildings Consultation was also published.
In Budget 2008, the Government also announced its ambition that all new non-domestic buildings should be zero carbon from 2019 (with earlier targets for schools and other public buildings). An announcement will be made later in the year about further work on zero carbon non-domestic buildings.
The Department has established the 2016 Taskforce, jointly led by the Minister of Housing and Planning and Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman for the Home Builders Federation, to identify barriers to implementation of the zero carbon 2016 target and put in place measures to overcome them. Further information can be found on the Taskforce webpage (see link on right).
The Government is also supporting the Zero Carbon Hub, an industry-led delivery body formed to take forward practical delivery of the zero carbon homes policy.