Eco-town plan insufficient to meet carbon targets

The government's plan to build ten eco-towns may not be as effective in combating climate change as originally thought.

According to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) the focus of the scheme should be to improve existing housing stock, rather than concentrate their effort on new properties.

"We have serious concerns about it [government eco-town plans] because we feel this is a top-down policy; the real challenge is not with new buildings - the government has done quite a lot to improve standards of new build - the challenge is actually what you do with the existing buildings," said Brian Berry, director of external affairs at FMB.

The eco-towns scheme forms a central tenant of the government plan to build three million new homes by 2020.

It is hoped the towns will include up to 250,000 houses and assist the government in its target in cutting carbon emissions by 60 per cent before 2050.

But while the new towns will act as an international energy efficient showcase, they will not be sufficient to cut carbon emissions.

"Two-thirds of the eco-homes will be with us in 2050, and the target is to cut carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2050," continued Mr Berry.

"So if you have got the existing buildings still standing at that time and the existing buildings – not just in the residential sector – are contributing 27 per cent of carbon emissions."

Homeowners should instead be urged to modify their own property.

"We feel the government ought to be putting more incentives to people to encourage householders to upgrade their homes and make them greener and more energy efficient," said Mr Berry.

Reducing or abolishing the VAT on energy efficient repairs, cutting the stamp duty on carbon neutral homes, or reducing council tax on green properties, are all policies suggested by the FMB as a way of cutting emissions in the UK.