Carbon neutral targets looking ambitious
March 7, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
The government’s plans to make all new homes carbon neutral by 2016 have been given a huge vote of no confidence.
A survey of mortgage intermediaries, published by UCB Home Loans, has found that two thirds believe the target will not be achieved.
With just nine years remaining until the government’s target has to be achieved, the intermediaries pointed to the fact that fewer than 30 homes in the UK are currently carbon neutral.
This makes the 2016 target seem laughable and intermediaries were just as damming when asked if they thought the country would reach its carbon emission targets.
The government has set itself the task of reducing emissions by 60 per cent by the year 2050 but 44 per cent of intermediaries think that a target of 50 per cent would be ambitious.
“The views of intermediaries are important, because they are responsible for arranging a large proportion of all home loans – including new build developments,” said Keith Astill, managing director of UCB Homes Loans. “They deal directly with homebuyers and so are ideally placed to make a judgment.
“Whilst part of the reduction in carbon emissions will need to come from industry, the research indicates that most people are not yet aware of the actions that they will need to take if the UK is to meet its targets on carbon emissions.”
The research found that 98 per cent of intermediaries believe homeowners do not know the size of their carbon footprint even though the 21 million homes in the UK are responsible for 27 per cent of the country’s emissions.
