Road To Net Zero
Road To Net Zero Feature
Roadmap to decarbonised heating: Are we on track?
Global urgency demands net-zero emissions by 2050 to combat climate change. Addressing the building sector, primarily heated by natural gas, is crucial, as it constitutes nearly one-third of UK carbon emissions. Chris Caton from Ideal Heating explains
S
cientific consensus is that the world must reach net zero by 2050 to prevent the worst effects of climate change. A key step towards net zero in the UK is reducing emissions by 68% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.
So far, the UK has made significant cuts to its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions, which have fallen by 48% since 1990.
WHY DECARBONISING HEATING MATTERS In the UK, the building sector is the second largest emitter of GHGs, with most of these emissions resulting from heating and hot water demand in homes being fulfilled by natural gas. In total, the heating of homes and workspaces makes up almost a third of UK carbon emissions. Decarbonising heating in our buildings – primarily through the replacement
of natural gas boilers with heat pumps – is therefore a key government goal. But with any change comes uncertainty and let’s not underplay the extent of this change: almost 80% of homes in the UK are currently heated by natural gas. Every time the government makes an announcement about heat pumps, uncertainty and confusion abound. Te latest major government announcement – at the time of writing – was in September 2023 when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak advised of delays to some
climate targets – including the phase out of off-grid gas boilers, in a bid to save people money during the cost of living crisis. For many, this has been viewed as a watering-down of the UK’s net zero policies. But what impact will this, and more recent developments, actually have on the decarbonisation of heating in buildings?
WHAT’S ACTUALLY CHANGED? Te headline news is that a 20% exemption to the phase-out of all fossil fuel boilers has been provided, and the phasing out of fossil fuel heating installations for off the gas grid properties in England – set in the government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy for 2026 – has been pushed back to 2035. Furthermore, it will include an exemption for off-gas grid properties where there is no suitable low carbon heating solution. Tis essentially means an 80% phase-out by 2035, rather than 100%. All other Government policies on heating remain the same as before, with the
target of deploying 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 unchanged. Te Future Homes Standard and the Future Building Standard will still be introduced in 2025 in England to ensure new buildings are built to be as efficient as possible. Te Clean Heat Market Mechanism, which applies to the whole of the UK
44 | HMMFebruary/March 2024 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
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