UK Green Building Council | New analysis has revealed emissions from buildings and infrastructure have fallen by barely half required to meet carbon cutting targets.
The report warns the UK’s built environment, the country’s second-largest source of carbon emissions, is falling dangerously behind the pace required to help meet the UK’s net zero commitment.
The report shows embodied carbon emissions falling by 14% since 2018 against the 24% reduction required. It means that, with its current trajectory, the industry is cutting carbon at around half the speed needed, a gap of around 20 MtCO2e each year, or equivalent to the emissions of heating nine million homes for a year.
To get back on track, the sector must now deliver a further 35 MtCO2e reduction by 2027, meaning emissions cuts will need to happen more than three times faster than they have so far.
The report highlights where the sector is accelerating and where it is falling behind in helping the UK reach its net zero target.
Operational emissions are falling through better energy efficiency and wider use of low-carbon technologies, the report showed. However, slower progress in embodied carbon reduction is cancelling out those gains.
The report also warned delays in decarbonising the electricity grid were undermining the shift to electrified heat and transport.
