UK properties 'will need to be retrofitted to meet climate change targets'

Posted: 08 Mar 2010 10:27:08 GMT

In order for the UK to meet its target of an 80 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by the year 2050, the country’s housing stock will need to be retrofitted, one expert has advised.

Gordon Miller, founder of whatgreenhome.com, says that approximately 75 per cent of the existing properties in Britain will still be around in 2050.

"Clearly retrofitting and bringing the existing homes up to speed is absolutely critical if we are going to meet our own emissions targets and reduce CO2 emissions," he states.

Mr Miller's comments come in response to a recent announcement by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, which revealed a series of government measures to make British homes greener.

The new strategy hopes to encourage UK homeowners to use energy in their properties in a smarter way in the hope of cutting carbon emissions by 29 per cent.

As part of the measures, some six million homes will be insulated by the end of 2011.

The Existing Homes Alliance recently advised that all homes in the UK should be retrofitted by 2010 at a cost to the government of £6 billion per year.

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