Clive Docwra is managing director of McBains
The government’s pushback on net zero policies is, like Construction news he reported, a source of confusion and frustration for the construction industry.
Cast your mind back to less than two years ago, when former Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, declaring: “Climate change is long overdue for humanity. It’s missing one minute to midnight on the doomsday clock and we must act now.”
“Prime Minister’s announcement won’t help: industry needs encouragement, not discouragement”
Fast forward to Rishi Sunak’s speech on September 20, and many of Johnson’s announced commitments were shelved in one fell swoop.
Although Sunak argued that the UK has so far exceeded carbon targets, experts met this with scepticism, with the UN climate chief responding that no G7 country had yet “delivered more”. about the climate
This is also true for the construction industry. A Construction Leadership Council (CLC) progress report published last month found the sector was on track for less than half of its (then) government-backed net zero priorities. The Prime Minister’s announcement will not help on this front: the industry needs encouragement, not discouragement.
However, I believe that as an industry we have a responsibility to act. As a UN report found last year, the buildings and construction sector accounted for about 37 percent of energy and process-related CO2 emissions in 2021. To cite the report, this turns the sector into an area of immediate action.
So while Sunak may be rolling back government commitments, it is imperative that construction continues to reach net zero.
Progress so far
Last month’s CLC report shows that progress has been made. My fear is that even areas where the CLC found the industry to be on the right track could now be set back because of the government’s new position.
For example, the shift to zero-emission vehicles could be derailed by delaying the ban on new petrol or diesel vehicles until 2035, while the dilution of the phase-out of gas boilers may mean that industry investment for increasing training in ecological skills stops. . If this is the case in areas where we are ahead, what hope is there for areas where the CLC says we are already behind, such as supporting the development of innovative low-carbon materials?
With the next climate summit, COP28, approaching in November, the pressure to further reduce emissions will not go away. In addition, construction companies will still be asked what they are doing to reduce carbon as part of the process when they are submitting new projects.
What are the areas where the industry can still make a difference, based on where we’ve come so far? First, new building projects should continue to prioritize the use of sustainable materials and energy efficiency in building design and transporting materials to site. The UN report shows that progress has been made in increasing the energy efficiency of buildings to unprecedented levels in recent times, increasing by 16% in 2021 compared to 2020 levels.
Second, we look at building innovative financing mechanisms to mobilize private sector capital for climate-related investments, such as more public-private partnerships.
And finally, it is necessary to increase the modernization of the existing building stock to improve energy efficiency. This may not be an area where much progress has been made, largely due to a lack of government incentives, but this may be a good point for decarbonisation, given that 80% of buildings by 2050 will already be they have built
In an ideal world, the government would signal certainty and finality about net zero – Sunak’s announcement risks discouraging investment. We need the government to set a clear timetable for the decarbonisation of the built environment to accelerate rather than slow the pace of change.
In the meantime, while the industry needs to do more, we’ve come too far to stop now. Let’s not let uncertainty derail our efforts.
