The UK Green Building Council is to work with the new London mayor Sadiq Khan to drive down carbon in the wake of the zero carbon homes policy defeat in the House of Lords.
Julie Hirigoyen, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council, said that the government’s legislative landscape is in danger of locking in carbon emissions for future generations, but hoped that by working with “devolved administrations and the new mayor of London” a strong business case for driving down carbon would present itself.
The intent comes after the zero carbon homes amendment in the Housing & Planning Bill was defeated by the government in the upper house by a margin of just four votes. The Bill gained Royal Assent yesterday (12 May).
Other industry figures have also expressed a desire to work closely with the mayor on housing.
Patrick Flaherty, chief executive for Aecom UK & Ireland, said: “Key to this will be building a coalition of the willing with local authorities around the capital that want to share in economic growth and are prepared to look beyond their own local housing needs.”
Eddie Tuttle, principal policy & public affairs manager at CIOB, said: “There needs to be pan-government collaboration across the GLA, Whitehall, Westminster and local authorities both in and outside Greater London if any effective action is to be taken – the mayor’s powers only go so far after all.”
He added: “The declining number of housing starts, the changing role of housing associations following reductions in social rents and public attitudes towards density and development – with the green belt as part of that – all require addressing.”
As long as the cost of “green” power generation continues to go down to a level which is affordable it cannot but grow and become the norm rather than the exception!
The vital question is when will so many Governments realise the fact that it is high time they stopped holding down the huge potential of already proven new technologies including the whole range of natural and non-air polluting forms of power generation and that our hydro-carbons can greatly serve the by-products industry far into the future!