Emissions from Housing Were Up 3.2% in 2008

Posted under Blog by Ruth

Emissions of carbon dioxide in the UK fell by an average of two percent in 2008. However, levels of greenhouse gas emitted from residential property rose 3.2 per cent according to the latest government figures released.

This data was published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, showing that carbon emissions in total were 532.8 million, down from 543.6 million in 2007.

Despite this overall loss, the carbon emitted from UK households rose by around 2.5 million tonnes.

Editor of the Green Building magazine, Keith Hall, found the figures ‘hard to believe’ that emissions had still increased despite the number of government measures put in place to reduce them. He added ‘clearly, far, far more needs to be done if we are to make the cuts in CO2 emissions from housing which are needed - and fast’.

Government measures put in place in 2008 included an altering of building regulations to improve energy efficiency, the introduction of loft insulation schemes around the country, and the fact that we were just six years away from the deadline for zero carbon housing.

The government is helping to tackle the problem in 2010 through schemes such as the boiler scrappage payout, grants awarded to local communities to install green measures and more.

Homeowners are also starting to see the benefits of making their properties more energy efficient. Installing uPVC double glazing can help to reduce amounts of heat lost through windows and keep energy bills down. With Ofgem recently reporting that fuel costs are set to rise dramatically, people are now looking to reduce energy bills as well as emissions.