Inquiry launched into council’s role in net zero aims

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has launched a new inquiry to examine the UK's strategy for meeting the 2050 'net zero' target at a local level.

The government has committed to a target of net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, intending to achieve this through a combination of cutting the levels of green house gasses emitted and developing schemes to remove greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere.

Amongst the measures announced in last years Two Point Plan are plans to change building regulations to ensure new homes are ‘zero carbon ready’ and  to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028 to improve energy efficiency.

Local governments are responsible for a range of areas that could also play a key role in the UK's efforts to reach the net zero target. This includes local transport, recycling and waste disposal.

The inquiry will examine if the government's proposals for establishing planning guidelines and building regulations to reduce the UK's household emissions. It will examine if the current emphasis on heat pumps as a long-term solution to increase energy and ask if other options may prove more viable.

Clive Betts, chair of the committee, said: "The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee was one of the six parliamentary select committees that commissioned the citizens' Climate Assembly. Their findings demonstrated a strong appetite from people across the UK for tackling the causes of climate change, and making lasting changes to our day-to-day lives that will help achieve this.

"Given 15 per cent of current greenhouse emissions are caused come from heating and powering homes, how the government develops strategy in this area will make a significant impact on realising the target of net zero emissions by 2050.

"We have launched this new inquiry to see if the government proposals move quickly enough and if its strategy will make the changes necessary to make new and existing homes carbon neutral. We will also look more broadly at the policies within the remit of local government that will need to change to reduce or mitigate greenhouse emissions."