There is no Government policy requiring the assessment or control of embodied carbon emissions from buildings. As a result, no progress has been made in reducing these emissions within the built environment. This inaction remains despite the built environment making up 25 per cent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions and the UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution, made at COP26, committing the UK to achieve a 68% reduction in the UK’s carbon emissions by 2030. This is only eight years ...

There is no Government policy requiring the assessment or control of embodied carbon emissions from buildings. As a result, no progress has been made in reducing these emissions within the built environment. This inaction remains despite the built environment making up 25 per cent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions and the UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution, made at COP26, committing the UK to achieve a 68% reduction in the UK’s carbon emissions by 2030. This is only eight years away. This is an extremely short time frame within which to start assessing and substantially reducing embodied carbon emissions. The first step must be Type: conclusion | Number: 1 | Paragraph: 69 | Response status: accepted Government response: The Government is committed to meeting its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and we recognise that embodied carbon can account for a significant proportion of a building’s whole life carbon emissions. As the Committee notes, reducing these embo