Zero Carbon Measures: Zero Movement?

Readers may recall recent Budgets which “greened” the house building process by offering tax incentives for carbon neutral developments. Other changes included a tightening in building regulations and the creation of a Code for Sustainable Developments. The plan is that by 2016, all new homes will have zero carbon dioxide emissions and become carbon neutral.

However a recent European Court decision (which is binding on our courts) throws the whole position in disarray.

The Kyoto Protocol (signed in 2005) requires us to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by 12.5% between 2008-2012. These measures are enmeshed in wider Government policies to improve our environmental position in the European and global markets and the UK is planning to go further.

Over a quarter of our carbon emissions come from homes, and those emissions are generated from space heating, water heating and electrical appliances.

A carbon neutral property offsets its carbon dioxide emissions by energy saving measures and renewable energy production.

Microgeneration and distributed energy is potentially a significant growth area, where individuals produce and store their own energy for their own needs. Wind turbines, solar panels, air to water heaters, digital thermostats, and electricity display units all contribute to energy saving and carbon dioxide reduction.

For new build properties to meet the Government’s 2016 target, developers are likely to need to install renewable energy sources on sites, and enter into separate energy contracts to comply with building obligations.

So where does the European Court’s decision come into this equation. The Leipzig/ Halle airport in Germany entered into an exclusive energy contract to produce on-site energy, but the courts deemed it to be anti competitive. The practical consequences are problematic, since for financial reasons, energy companies do not to want to enter into non exclusive contracts i.e. where other energy companies may be involved.

The knock on effect of the European decision for us may be that developers cannot secure renewable energy sources and fail to meet their offset targets. Government is now considering next steps and no doubt this is not the end of the story. Once again, it appears we have been floored by the conundrum of long term environmental damage and short term gain.

For more information or advice, contact Alastair Hargreaves or Andrew Dunningham

Published 14/07/2008. The author of this article is Alastair Hargreaves