An influential group of MPs and peers have demanded a major government crackdown on carbon emissions from construction.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the timber industries called for a series of policy changes to increase demand for timber by focusing on sustainability requirements for building materials.
In a report published this week, the panel says 92 per cent of Scottish homes are built from timber, while almost four out of five in the UK still have masonry.
Using wood as a building material offers a “safe and effective means” of decarbonising the built environment, the report added.
“Timber does not need policies that artificially increase its use,” the report says. “The growing demand for wood in construction will come through sensible policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions, increasing the supply of affordable housing and stimulating circular and low-carbon economies.”
Among the suggested interventions ministers could take is a legal crackdown on construction-related emissions.
“If the government wants to achieve net zero by 2050, it must regulate embodied carbon emissions,” the report says.
“This can be achieved by extending the Building Regulations to include requirements to assess, report and reduce embodied carbon; introduce clauses in the National Planning Policy Framework with requirements for full life cycle carbon assessments to be submitted as part of pre-application consultations, full planning submissions and at completion practice; and set cap values on embodied carbon emissions for all developments.”
The group is also calling on ministers to use low-carbon MMCs [modern methods of construction]” for the construction of affordable housing.
Funding should be provided to the timber sector to “encourage expansion and assist with further research and development”, the report added.
The government has previously said it was “exploring” whether to set “a maximum level of embodied carbon for new buildings in the future”, but warned it would first need a “robust evidence base” of the “current baseline”. of incorporated carbon emissions. and decarbonization potential, according to Construction News’ German magazine The magazine of architects.
Operational carbon emissions are already regulated through Parts L and F of the Building Regulations, which prescribe minimum energy efficiency targets for new buildings.
APPG Wood Industries Chair Baroness Hayman of Ullock said: “Emissions to the environment are a major concern as they directly account for around 25% of total production of UK carbon Tackling these emissions is essential if we are to achieve net zero targets.
“APPG’s latest report aims to help policymakers in their bid to decarbonise construction, outlining what policies can be used to expand the use of wood in the UK.”
Plans for the UK’s largest timber development, a 700-home mixed-use estate in East Sussex, were unveiled earlier this year.
