News News in brief


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EU change moves forward The EU has reached a formal agreement between all member states on the text of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). The next step is for the European Parliament to consider the revised text, propose further amendments and take a vote on it at its second reading. The CPR is expected to be adopted next spring. www.consilium.europa.eu


Sustainable refurbs advice A new study that considers how to increase levels of sustainable refurbishment in buildings is available from the National Refurbishment Centre (NRC). The report contains information from NRC workshops that were held around the country to find out what is needed to support a step-change in sustainable refurbishment delivery. www. rethinkingrefurbishment.com


Timber pledge ‘U-turn’ The coalition government has been accused by the Green Party of making an environmental U-turn shortly after promising to be the greenest government ever. In a written response to Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, it admitted it will not change the law to make it a criminal offence to possess or import illegal timber. www.greenparty.org.uk


Boiler fitting costs ‘inflated’ Energy suppliers have been accused of inflating their installation prices during a government scheme aimed at helping consumers replace their boilers. Figures obtained by The Guardian show that amounts charged by energy suppliers under the ‘boiler scrappage’ scheme were about one third higher than those charged by independent contractors.


Ministers urged to press on with plans for Green Bank


n


The coalition government must urgently plan for a


Green Investment Bank if Britain is to be in a position to move forward on developing a low carbon economy, says a new report. Ahead of the government’s


Comprehensive Spending Review announcement last month, the report from Aldersgate Group, an environmental and business lobby body, calls for the issuing of ‘green bonds’ that can be used to help finance energy efficiency loans for homes. Legislation is urgently needed to establish the Green Bank in 2011, and a shadow board should be set up without delay, it says. The report, Financing the future:


a green investment bank to power the economic recovery, also suggests that a Green Bank should be able to offer innovative financial products such as Green ISAs, which could ‘be a source of significant additional capital funding to drive forward low


‘Green bonds’ could be used to help fund energy efficiency loans for homes


carbon infrastructure investment’. ‘The government’s commitment


to creating a UK GIB is welcome, but requires follow-through to delivery with some urgency,’ the report says. ‘The combination of economic


damage from climate change, mandatory carbon targets, the aftermath of the financial crisis, and the short-term shrinking of the public sector, all make the GIB an idea whose time has come. Right now.’ The report also highlights a


Green Bank’s role in helping to progress other areas of the economy, including meeting legally binding low carbon and renewable energy targets; creating jobs and stimulating growth; growing the manufacturing sector; and growing the ‘Big Society’s idea by empowering communities to meet their energy needs and share in any profits generated by green energy. www.aldersgategroup.org.uk/ reports


Concerns delay EPC software by


six months The UK government has confirmed that the software needed to calculate an energy performance certificate (EPC) will be delayed by six months. The software was originally


intended to be released alongside the new Part L 2010 of the Building Regulations on 1 October, but it was put back ‘following concerns from the sector’, the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) said. A CLG spokesman added: ‘One


specific concern was insufficient time for third-party providers to develop software and get it approved for Part L 2010.’ The changes to the software will


Qatar has revealed its plans for its Lusail Iconic Stadium, a contender for the 2022 football World Cup. The stadium has been designed to be highly energy efficient and capable of performing in extreme summer climatic conditions. It will have a saddle-form roof, with a retractable central section, enabling the pitch to be either open to the elements or fully covered. FIFA is expected to decide in December where the World Cup will be hosted. www.qatar2022bid.com


now be introduced on 27 March 2011. Any buildings completed during the months up to this date would need to have another EPC calculation made from this date, the CLG said But ‘virtually no Part L 2010 buildings will be completed and need an EPC before 27 Mar 2011’, its spokesman added.


10 CIBSE Journal November 2010 www.cibsejournal.com


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