Prime minister Theresa May has urged the construction industry to embrace new technology and modern methods of construction in order to at least halve the energy usage of new buildings by 2030.
The prime minister made the call as part of the launch of a series of ‘Grand Challenge’ missions during a speech at Jodrell Bank observatory in Macclesfield on Monday.
One of the missions is to at least halve the energy use of new buildings by 2030, as part of the ‘clean growth’ mission.
May said: “Heating and powering buildings accounts for 40% of our total energy usage.
“By making our buildings more energy efficient and embracing smart technologies, we can slash household energy bills, reduce demand for energy, and meet our targets for carbon reduction.”
“Meeting this challenge will drive innovation and higher standards in the construction sector, helping it to meet our ambitious homebuilding targets and providing more jobs and opportunity to millions of workers across the country.”
She predicted that work to meet the clean growth mission would be a catalyst for new technologies and more productive methods which can be exported to a “large and growing global market” for clean technologies.
