House of Commons - Communities and Local Government Committee

Select Committee on Communities and Local Government Committee Written Evidence

Memorandum submitted by the Sustainable Development Commission

The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee for its new inquiry on Existing Housing Stock and Climate Change.

The SDC is the Government's independent watchdog on sustainable development. The Commission reports directly to the Prime Minister and to the First Ministers of the Devolved Administrations. The SDC is an advisory Non Departmental Public Body. The SDC's remit is to advocate sustainable development across all sectors in the UK, particularly within Government (including the Devolved Administrations), review and report progress towards sustainable development, and build consensus on the actions needed if further progress is to be achieved. Our work is guided by the five principles of sustainable development, as outlined in "Securing the Future", the UK Government's sustainable development strategy.

The SDC considers the issue of existing housing and climate change to be central to the CLG's sustainable communities agenda. The Department for Communities and Local Government has a wide range of levers relating to carbon emissions of existing stock. 99% of the housing stock is already built, with less than 1% added per year. Carbon emissions from energy use in the home make up 27% of national emissions. The Government has accepted the need to reduce carbon emissions by at least 60% by 2050, and the Stern report noted the imperative to take action this decade.

The SDC considers that the Government should be more proactive in enabling and encouraging owner occupiers and landlords to significantly reduce carbon emissions in their homes (and other buildings). While the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC) has achieved improvements in domestic energy efficiency, emissions from households continue to rise. It is not clear whether sufficient policies are being put in place now for the Government to deliver on its target of reducing CO₂ emissions by at least 60% by 2050.

In our submission we include a package of our most up to date evidence on the case for a major policy focus on refurbishing existing homes and our recommendations for taking this forward.

STOCK TAKE

Our analysis of the context, opportunities, barriers and existing evidence on housing refurbishment was submitted to CLG in July 2006 in our Stock Take report (see Annex A). It considers the potential to improve efficiency of existing homes with regards to carbon, water, materials and waste. The study was commissioned in 2004 by ODPM to "provide advice on the policies, incentives and deterrents and on regulations that might be made under the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004 with particular regard to existing stock (the buildings themselves in their context). This will be done in the light of current policy and practice, and existing research (eg Warm Front, Decent Homes, Building Research Establishment, ODPM, and Housing Corporation)".

Our report recommended that the Government develop a holistic policy framework to tackle resource efficiency of existing housing. Central to this was the proposal for the development of a standard for low carbon, low water use refurbishment using low impact materials and minimising waste to landfill. We proposed that this standard be developed as a Code for Sustainable Existing Homes, and implemented across the stock tenures through a package of incentives and regulation. We proposed that this Code standard could be central to: the Energy Performance Certificate, linked to incentives; a new sustainable social homes standard (successor to the Decent Homes standard); a Green Landlords Scheme; and refurbishments within the Housing Market Renewal and other regeneration programmes.

We also recommended that the Government:

₂

— Equalise VAT on refurbishment and new build to overcome the current distortion that encourages developers and home owners to demolish and replace homes instead of refurbishing existing buildings to high environmental standards.

— Use the enabling powers of the Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act 2004 to make sustainable development the driving force behind revised Building Regulations.

— Raise public awareness on all household resource efficiency issues.

The Stock Take contract with ODPM included a period of fruitful engagement with the Department and launched the high profile CLG/Defra/HMT/DTI Review of Sustainability of Existing Buildings towards the end of 2005. We look forward to positive outcomes from this review process.

Stock Take still forms the basis of the SDC's position and advice to Government on improving the resource efficiency of existing homes. But we continue to improve our evidence base through research and stakeholder engagement. Products of our recent work are also attached to this submission.

BARRIERS

The SDC has been working with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) and the Building Research Establishment (BRE) along with a group of stakeholders to identify the barriers to a "home carbon reduction revolution". The key barriers to progress may be categorised as:

— Energy efficiency improvements are seen as low priority by owner occupiers and landlords: there is low awareness of energy consumption and its contribution to climate change, there are split incentives in rented property, the construction supply chain is fragmented and unreliable, grants and subsidies on offer are not clear, and occupants are not aware of the actions they need to take.

— Policy and fiscal barriers deter action: VAT is a disincentive to action, planning policy on energy efficiency improvements in conservation areas is unclear, and the initiatives available to owner occupiers and landlords are fragmented.

— Government currently gives low priority to raising environmental standards of existing homes compared with new build.

NOTE ON NEIGHBOURHOOD RENEWAL, HOUSING REPAIR AND EQUALISING VAT

A focus on existing homes and neighbourhoods would lead to a number of benefits, including better neighbourhood conditions and a bigger supply of affordable homes. As mentioned above, there are a number of barriers to improving the environmental performance of existing stock. This note sets out the arguments that for neighbourhood renewal to happen, barriers to maintaining and improving the existing stock should be removed and incentives improved.

CASE STUDIES

We have identified the need to demonstrate the extent to which emissions reductions are possible across the varied UK housing stock from pre-1919 terraces to 1960's tower blocks. Our case studies demonstrate that all housing types can have their emissions cut by about 60% using conventional technologies alone.

The case studies do show however that significant intervention is required with a total overhaul of the thermal performance of the entire building envelope and upgrading of all heating and electrical systems to maximise efficiency, as well as installation of microgeneration. Almost all these case studies incorporate significant refurbishment as well as energy efficiency works. All homes presented here have benefited from improved indoor environments, living conditions and drastically reduced utility bills. Many are occupied by "pioneers" in this field who have reduced emissions yet further through pro-environmental behaviour.

There is a need for more case studies to raise awareness of the potential to transform existing "leaky" homes to exemplar low carbon homes, and the materials and techniques required. The efforts of the Sustainable Energy Academy[143] to encourage and promote a network of up to 1000 exemplar homes around the UK are very positive in this regard.

These case studies should demonstrate to the Committee the "art of the possible"—that the UK is not limited by the types of buildings it has but by the current lack of programmes to implement the necessary changes. We would urge the committee to visit some of these case studies, for example 78 Carshalton Grove, Sutton.

COMMUNITY HEATING

In 2007 the SDC has undertaken research to establish the opportunity to improve the carbon efficiency of multiple existing homes at a neighbourhood scale. Our research has focused on the opportunities for and barriers to retrofitting low carbon community heating systems to existing homes in existing communities. It suggests that low carbon community heating systems using combined heat and power (CHP) are an important tool in reducing carbon emissions from our existing housing stock.

We have found that at least 5.5 million of the UK's homes could benefit from community heating with CHP with the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 5Mt per year at a capital cost of around £30 billion. Priority homes for this technology are existing flats and older urban terraced homes. Community heating can be particularly useful in "hard to treat" homes, and those which are in conservation areas. Although community heating schemes may initially be fuelled by natural gas, such schemes would be relatively easy to covert to zero carbon fuels, such as biomass or hydrogen, in the future.

Significant intervention would be required by a number of public sector policy makers and private sector players to deliver this scale of low carbon community heating as the capital costs are very high. The SDC proposes that non-domestic public sector buildings should be used as "anchor loads" to create an initial viable community heating network at low risk to investors, which can then be extended to existing homes.

INTERNATIONAL DOMESTIC CARBON REDUCTION PROGRAMMES

There is a lot of interest currently in the innovative German CO₂ Building Rehabilitation Programme, which aims to bring all pre-1984 dwellings up to the current German new-build energy standard over 20 years through a system of loans, grants and tax incentives. We include a summary of this programme and lessons that may be learnt for the UK for the Committee's information.

Energy efficiency and CO₂ emissions reductions measures in existing housing are also increasingly considered as a major way of meeting France's Factor 4 target that aims at reducing CO₂ emissions by 75% by 2050. We present a summary of the most recent programmes and evolutions on this issue, including a brief note on the current Grenelle de l'Environnement campaign and summit, for the Committee's information.

FORESIGHT PAPER

The SDC has been asked to submit a paper to the Government's Foresight Sustainable Energy Management in the Built Environment (SEMBE) project, reviewing the state of science on the role of demolition in improving the environmental performance of existing stock compared with renovation. Our paper will be forwarded when completed for the Committee's information.

INQUIRY QUESTIONS

(i) The significance of existing housing compared to new build and the different levels of performance each display

Existing homes will comprise the vast majority of homes far into the future and the majority of these are not of a high environmental or energy efficiency standard but could and should be brought up to that standard. Existing homes are almost all located within existing communities which, without constant regeneration are liable to decay into run-down areas that can lead to unsustainable social and economic problems. Decaying town centres mean residents seek homes out of town and developers respond to that demand.

Homes already built account for 99% of our total housing stock. Estimates vary of the proportion these will represent in 2050, but a conservative estimate is that 86% of the current stock will still be in use in 2050, making up two thirds of the total stock (depending on the rate of demolition of existing homes, and building of new homes). The SDC strongly favours programmes for improving the resource efficiency of existing homes, rather than seeing widespread demolition and new build as the more appropriate option. If the existing stock can be made more efficient at a more reasonable cost we can realise many environmental and social gains.

There is a wealth of data available about the performance of the English housing stock within the CLG's English House Condition Survey, as well as models of the housing stock developed by BRE and Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute. There is insufficient in-use performance monitoring of refurbished homes or new homes, which would be useful to improve the accuracy of these models. These models show that the average energy efficiency of existing homes is low, and their related carbon emissions are high. But that there is still significant potential to improve their performance.

The English House Condition Survey[144] (EHCS) 2005 report finds that social sector housing is more likely to have effective insulation than privately-owned housing. The average SAP rating of both owner occupied and private rented homes is 46, while local authority owned homes have an average SAP of 55, and Registered Social Landlord homes have an average SAP of 59.

The Case Studies included within this submission demonstrate the improvement in performance that may be achieved in existing homes, which we recommend are replicated across the stock.

(ii) The respective roles of residents, homeowners, landlords, local government, central government and the energy industry in promoting and delivering greater energy efficiency

In our advice to Government on existing stock in 2006 ("Stock Take"), we outlined the roles each of these players should take to promote and deliver carbon reductions across the housing stock. At present, the Government is still without an overall strategy for decarbonising the existing housing stock, whilst delivering sustainable communities—the SDC considers this to be a key priority.

Owner occupied housing remains the particular challenge for delivering carbon emissions reductions. This makes up around 70% of the housing stock. We recommend that the Government engage with home owners to co-develop an approach to policies for reducing carbon emissions from existing homes.

Public awareness of the need to take action in their own homes is alarmingly low. A recent report[145] shows that:

— The public consider the local community and themselves as individuals to be minor actors—only 4% perceive they have a large influence to combat climate change, while 33% feel they have none. There is also a mismatch between the size of the problem relative to the actions the public are encouraged to take. Communications often play straight into this disconnect, focusing on the minutiae and steering away from big actions.

— A sense of collective action is fundamental, particularly in view of concerns over fairness and the potential for "free riders" to take advantage of individual sacrifices. Indeed, 54% say that they would do more if others did as well.

— 40% identify recycling as the action they believe would be most effective in reducing climate change; 34% say developing cleaner engines for cars; 11% flying on holiday less; 4% conserving water. No significant percentage of people recognises that improving the thermal performance of their home would lead to major emissions reductions.

It is vital that central and local Government communicates to the public the importance of carbon emissions that come from existing homes, and develops a holistic policy framework to encourage and enable people to take action. For example, all homes will need to undergo significant refurbishment over the next 50 years, either through a major refit or gradual improvements. The Government should make sure that it can capitalise on this opportunity to make homes carbon efficient at the same time.

The Government has recently outlined an ambitious timetable for the decarbonisation of new homes, but there is no parallel strategy for existing homes. Without this clear indication of policy direction, the respective roles of occupants, owners, private sector and government are not clear.

Central Government has a role in supporting research and innovation. For example, the SDC welcomes the Technology Strategy Board's interest in supporting research into solid wall insulation. Although we have gathered together a series of case studies for this submission, there is a national shortage of exemplar demonstrations of low carbon refurbishments, and the SDC recommends that the Government should fund a series of high profile demonstrations, through the Housing Corporation and local authorities. Monitoring of actual in use performance of refurbished homes is vital to learn how measures work and how occupants interact with technologies installed.Social housing is a useful demonstrator, and can be used as a tool by the public sector to lead by example and develop supply chains for installers and products.

Local Government has a role in facilitating area-based carbon reduction projects such as group refurbishments and community heating projects. The public attitude evidence above suggests that there is untapped opportunity in collective action, which local authorities are well placed to encourage.

(iii) Energy performance certificates

The SDC welcomes the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC), which have the potential to enable significant action in reducing household carbon emissions. The EPCs currently provide householders with advice that leads to some support for improvements, however, without much clearer incentives and/or regulation to encourage action, EPCs will deliver little improvements on their own. The SDC welcomes the inclusion of recommendations on way to improve the home's energy efficiency in the EPC.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the data collection that under pins the EPC may need modification as it does not take into account insulation retrofitted to solid walls or floors.

The SDC recommends that the scope of EPCs be widened to cover wider sustainability considerations including water efficiency in due course.

(iv) The provision of information for households and prospective house buyers, including energy performance certificates

Evidence suggests that house buyers are interested in the sustainability performance of homes.[146] The introduction of EPCs will improved the information available to prospective house buyers.

However, the information included in the EPCs on recommended improvements only includes cost effective improvements, which will not generally reduce average household carbon emissions by 60%. This will not give households a clear message on the scale of improvement required. There is not currently sufficient support for installation of solid wall insulation, secondary or double glazing and floor insulation for owner occupied households. This lack of support may give a poor impression to the public as EPCs get rolled out more widely.

CLG ministers appear to be eager to provide more support to households to take action on improving their homes, but as yet no new policies or initiatives have emerged to support recent announcements.[147]

(v) Government efforts to reduce carbon emissions from existing housing stock whether in private or public ownership and other related programmes including Decent Homes

There is huge potential in encouraging the private sector to deliver carbon reductions in existing homes, particularly energy companies and financial institutions. The current Government obligation on energy suppliers, the Energy Efficiency Commitment, has been successful in delivering high numbers of cost effective measures such as cavity wall insulation, energy efficient light bulbs and A-rated appliances (such as fridges).

This model is however unproven for delivering major interventions on the scale seen in the Case Studies above. The future stages of this policy, through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and potential Supplier Obligation programmes will be key to delivering carbon emissions reductions in the existing housing stock.

The Decent Homes policy has helped to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes and has levered in a significant amount of Energy Efficiency Commitment activity. But the Decent Homes policy was not designed to make significant progress in this area, and any future standard for social housing and vulnerable occupants should have a much greater focus on improving resource efficiency as well as ensuring homes can cope with a changing climate without jeopardising the health, safety and wellbeing of occupants.

(vi) The technologies available to reduce emissions and the Government's role in facilitating relevant further technological development

The range of measures that are regularly installed through the Energy Efficiency Commitment are well analysed and readily available to consumers.

However, some of the technologies that will be needed to achieve the 60% or greater cut in carbon emissions need further development. Dealing with "hard to treat" homes which are off the gas network, have solid walls, and lack under floor insulation must become a priority. The SDC is particularly interested in the Government's role in supporting innovation and implementation of solid wall insulation, microgeneration and community heating. The SDC welcomes the Technology Strategy Board's interest in supporting research into solid wall insulation.

(vii) The costs associated with reducing carbon emissions from existing housing, who should meet those costs and particularly, in respect of low-income households, interaction between carbon emission reductions and the Government's ambitions to reduce poverty

The costs associated with "cost effective" energy efficiency measures such as those installed through the Energy Efficiency Commitment are well known. There is financial support from energy companies to home owners and landlords to install these measures as an incentive to catalyse action. Energy companies are encountering increased transaction costs in recruiting households for the programme and in installing measures.

The cost of reducing carbon emissions from an average home by at least 60% are not so well known. Practitioners[148] suggest the cost of installing all the necessary measures could be in the region of £25-30,000 per home. If all these measures should have been installed by 2050, it is potentially more cost effective to install multiple measures in each home at one time, to avoid repeated transaction costs of recruiting households.

The CLG interim report[149] suggests that the focus should be on cost effective measures with a simple payback within 5 years. The SDC would argue that priority measures should not be determined by this means, but by the measures that are needed to achieve the desired goals: carbon reduction by at least 60% by 2050 and affordable warmth in healthy homes.

Fuel poverty is most prevalent in solid walled and off-gas properties. This suggests that solid wall insulation with community heating in towns or renewable technologies in rural communities have the potential to significantly reduce this problem and should be made priorities for action.

(viii) The specific challenges which may arise in relation to housing of special architectural or historical interest

Housing of special architectural or historical interest presents a key challenge. Bodies with an interest in buildings with special architectural and historical characteristics will need to be fully engaged in the process of developing policies with regard to improving resource efficiency of existing homes. English Heritage, the Government's statutory advisor on the historic environment, is beginning to proactively develop evidence and guidance on enhancing energy efficiency whilst preserving historic character.

The SDC has identified several case studies where the homes had historical features and tried to meet carbon reduction and heritage conservation goals. The shortage of clear guidance on the acceptable ways to upgrade homes that are listed or in conservation areas is likely to limit homeowners from taking action.

Measures which do not compromise the heritage aspects of a building, such as connection to a community energy system, should be prioritised for conservation areas.

The SDC wishes the Committee well with the inquiry and would be keen to give oral evidence as the inquiry proceeds.

ATTACHED: (NOT PRINTED)

Annex A: SDC Report: Stock Take: Delivering improvements in existing housing.

Annex B: Notes on Neighbourhood Renewal, Housing Repair and Equalising VAT.

Annex C: Case studies of exemplar existing housing refurbishment.

Annex D: Community Heating CHP for Existing Housing.

Annex E: International domestic carbon reduction programmes.

GERMAN RESIDENTIAL HOUSING ENERGY REDUCTION PROGRAMMES

There are approximately 17.3 million residential buildings, plus around 1.5 million non-residential ones (ie office buildings, schools, hospitals, administration buildings . . . ) in Germany. Thanks to the generally sound fabric structure of the buildings, as well as broader social and environmental concerns, the debate that was held over the existing housing stock in Germany did generally not consider the demolition option and focused instead on refurbishment opportunities.

Hence, existing buildings will deliberately constitute the overwhelming majority of the housing stock for several decades and they have been clearly identified and presented by the country's policy makers as a tremendous potential for CO₂ emissions reductions.

Challenging domestic programmes have been launched and extended for several years now, powerfully promoting energy-efficient refurbishments and delivering considerable CO₂ emissions cuts.

As we believe that much could be learnt from those experiences if the Government's 2050 target of a 60% reduction of carbon emissions on existing levels is to be achieved, we are presenting here the summaries of two major programmes currently running in Germany and whose implementation has been extended on the basis of their monitored successes:

The CO₂ Building Rehabilitation Programme of the Kreditanstallt fur Wiederaufbau

The KfW CO₂ Building Rehabilitation Programme (CO₂ Gebaudesanierung programme) is an increasingly looked up programme which feeds on previous similar programmes achievements and aims to bring all pre-1984 dwellings up to the current German new build energy standard over 20 years through a system of comprehensive low-interest loans and grants for home-owners.

16/08/07 meeting with Mark Schroeder, Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, UCL

Mark Schroeder, is a PhD student at the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, UCL, who currently researches the lessons UK housing and energy policies could draw from this successful KfW CO₂ Building Rehabilitation Programme. His research outline is briefly outlined in this note.

The Low-Energy Standard for Existing Buildings programme of the DENA

The Low-Energy Standard for Existing Buildings Programme of the German Energy Agency (Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbhH, DENA) is an ambitious demonstration programme launched in 2003 and expanded in 2005 that is refurbishing 2,230 housing units of all types throughout all Germany's Lander (regional states) up to the German Low-Energy House standard of 60 kWh/m2/a of primary energy requirement.

THE CO₂ BUILDING REHABILITATION PROGRAMME (CO₂ GEBAUDESANIERUNG PROGRAMME) :

Policy:

In order to tackle the challenge of climate change and to meet its CO₂ emissions reduction commitments, the German government has decided in 2006 to extend a very effective programme designed in the late 1990's: the KfW CO₂ Building Rehabilitation programme. Its goal is to improve existing residential sector energy efficiency by, over the next coming decades, upgrading up to contemporary energy efficiency standards all pre 1984 homes.

Target:

Energy conservation in the building sector has become one of the Federal Government's housing and building policy priorities of the current parliamentary term.

The extended CO₂ Building Rehabilitation[150] programme is to provide a major impetus to this process. The scope and ambition of this strategic programme are thus considerable: around 1 billion euros per annum are to be allocated to this new 20-year programme concluding in 2025, the intention being that 5% of housing would be refurbished at top level standards each year.

The three major outcomes expected from the programme are:

— The extensive refurbishment of the existing stock

— The climate protection

— The creation and securing of jobs in the construction sector.

(i) Who: the programme and its audience:

Through the Kreditanstallt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW)—the German government-funded development bank that was created after the Second World War to support reconstruction projects in East Germany—the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban affairs[151] provides significant financial help and incentives for households' large scale energy-saving refurbishment projects.

The programme has been set to address a maximum of households: everyone undertaking rehabilitation of owner-occupied or rental buildings is eligible to apply for a loan from the programme:

— private individuals,

— housing associations, companies, operators of residential establishments

— local authorities, municipal associations

— other bodies and institutions incorporated under public law

(ii) What: Standard levels or packages, the programme's two categories:

The programme aims at advancing extensive energy efficiency measures in residential buildings used as primary residences. It provides for two options:

"Category A": Up to new build standards, and even 30% better

The funding provided in this category encourages refurbishments that are designed to achieve the efficiency standards fixed under the Energy Saving Ordinance (Energieeinsparverordnung-EnEV, 2004) for new buildings, or even surpass them. The average target is a cut of 40kg CO₂/m2/a in the house's baseline emissions.

When the application is submitted, it must be accompanied by confirmation by an expert that the purpose of the refurbishment is to reach this level. This expert must be an authorized energy consultant, close in function to British Home Inspectors. Once the work has been carried out, the expert has to confirm that it had followed the agreed plans for the funding not to be reclaimed by KfW.

This category A concerns buildings completed before 1st January 1984 only.

"Category B": Packages of measures

In this option, the funding is provided to various packages of technical interventions where CO₂ emissions reduction has proven the most effective over the last years. The main condition is that buildings must have been completed before 1 January 1995.

Packages 0 to 3 are assumed to automatically fulfil the requirement of a 40kg of CO₂/m2/a reduction. Its implementation does not require an expert's presence, but all its individual measures must be conducted completely on the entire building:

Package 0:

— Thermal insulation of the external wall

— Thermal insulation of the roof or the ceiling of the top floor

— Thermal insulation of the basement ceiling, of heated rooms with external walls that have contact with the ground

— Replacement of the windows

Package 1:

— Thermal insulation of the external wall

— Thermal insulation of the roof or the ceiling of the top floor

— Replacement of the heating system

Package 2:

— Thermal insulation of the roof or the ceiling of the top floor

— Replacement of the heating system

— Replacement of the windows

— Thermal insulation of the basement ceiling, of heated rooms with external walls that have contact with the ground or of walls between heated an unheated rooms

Package 3:

— Thermal insulation of the external walls

— Replacement of the heating system

— Replacement of the windows

Package 4 needs an expert intervention as it is has to contain at least three measures recommended by an expert from the following list:

Package 4:

— Thermal insulation of the external walls

— Thermal insulation of the roof or the ceiling of the top floor

— Thermal insulation of the basement ceiling, of heated rooms with exterior walls that have contact with the ground or of walls between heated and unheated rooms

— Replacement of the windows

— Replacement of the heating system

— Installation of a ventilation system

With this package, deviations from the scope of work are allowed but have to be confirmed by an expert after the work has been conducted. The house owners can only contract experts and energy consultants eligible within the framework of the programme, ie who have been authorized by the state or federal law.

The loans are granted on condition that the measures are carried out by professional teams and that relevant invoices specifying the labour costs are presented to the bank.

(iii) How: Funding opportunities, the loan and the grant variants:

The programme mainly has two variants[152] : the loan variant and the more recent grant variant.

The loan variant:

A subsidized low-interest rate loan up to 50,000 euros per housing unit: Based on previous experiences, loans have been proven more cost-efficient than subsidies and have been chosen as the major incentive for the programme.

If households having applied for the programme are willing to take out a loan to finance energy efficiency measures, the federal funding is provided to ensure them a long-term loan at a considerably reduce interest rate ( between 0 and 2.5%) that remains fixed for the first ten years and with the option of no-repayment for the first three years[153]. This allows homeowners to better plan for their future expenses.

Where necessary 100% of the total sustainable refurbishment investment, including ancillary costs, can be provided by the programme's financial assistance. The maximum amount that can be allocated per housing unit is 50,000 euros or 250 euro/m2 floor area.

Early repayments, including in instalments, is possible at any time, and the programme's funding can be combined with other programmes and public funding schemes.

A potentially significant repayment bonus for Category A refurbishments: If the refurbishment conducted within the programme to modernize an old building brings it up to the new building energy performance standards (a reduction of 40 kg of CO₂ per m2 of living space), 5% of the loan amount does not have to be repaid by the homeowners.

If the energy performance of the refurbished building is more than 30% better than that of a new building according to the EnEV standards, then this repayment bonus increase to 12.5% of the loan amount.

Application process: In this variant, private homeowners have to submit applications to their bank, which then is their intermediary with the KfW, whereas local authorities and the companies owned by them can apply for a direct loan from the KfW.

The grant variant:

From the 1st January 2007, individuals homeowners of single or two-families houses or private apartments in home ownership associations who do not want to take out a loan may apply for the grant variant.

As in the loan variant of the CO₂ Buildings Rehabilitation programme, financial support is provided to measures aimed at bringing energy efficiency of the refurbished homes up to the standard levels for new buildings under the latest Energy Saving Ordinance, to achieve energy performance that is at least 30% better than those levels, or for the implementation of packages 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4.

The amount of the grant depends on the planned category and amounts to 17,5%, 10% or 5%, and it cannot be combined with either the loan variant of the same programme or any funding of the KfW Modernizing Housing programme.

Application process: In this variant, applications have to be submitted by owners directly to the KfW.

(iv) Evaluation:

Extensive refurbishment:

According to an evaluation of the KfW CO₂ Reduction and CO₂ Building Rehabilitation programmes in the period 1996-2004, conducted in the framework of the AID-EE project[154] (Active Implementation of the European Directive on Energy Efficiency), approximately 881,000 dwellings have been refurbished within the two programmes' frameworks in the period 1996-2004[155]. Among those, 196,000 underwent comprehensive refurbishment measures through the CO₂ Building Rehabilitation programme.

The CO₂ Reduction loans, of on average €100/m2, were used to finance isolated measures while the CO₂ Building Rehabilitation ones, of around €248/m2, were used to fund combinations of technical interventions. The average loan per dwelling was of €8,317 for CO₂ reduction programme, and €20,643 for the CO₂ Building Rehabilitation programme.

The preferential interest rates of those loans were 50% lower than the average commercial interest rates of the time.

Climate protection:

The two examined KfW incentive programmes brought in the period 1996-2004 an overall reduction of 2.9 million tons of CO₂ emissions[156]. The equivalent gross amount of energy savings is 45PJ over the period.

Taking into account potential free riders who would have had refurbished their home even if the programmes had not supported them, the net contribution of the two programmes over the 1996-2004 period is evaluated at a 2.1 Mt reduction of CO₂ emissions for an estimated proportion of 30% free riders.

Although this is less than what was initially projected by the National Climate Protection Plan 2000 (the NCPP 2000 estimated a 5-7 Mt of CO₂ emissions' reduction), it is close to the 2004 re-evaluated estimates calculated by Prognos IER[157].

Creation of jobs:

According to the Aid-EE evaluation report, the two programmes secured 96,000 jobs in the construction sector in 2003[158]. This sector was an important one during the post-war reconstruction period and, despite the difficulties and high unemployment rates it has known for several years now, it remains a major employer in Germany.

(v) Information and advice:

The Federal Ministry of Transport, Buildings and Urban Affairs launched in parallel a vast information campaign called "Buildings refurbishment: Ensuring now the energy of tomorrow".

A website (www.energie-fuer-morgen.de) has been especially created to provide details on the implementation and outcomes of the CO₂ Building rehabilitation programme. A couple of meters show in real time the actual impact of the programme by displaying the amount of loans and grants that have been allocated and the CO₂ emissions reductions that have been achieved so far.

The KfW also provides advice to the homeowners who might be interested in the programme through its Infocenter, its Berlin, Bonn and Frankfurt Advisory Centres, and at some trade fairs[159].

(vi) The programme's extension to other buildings: social investment and energy efficiency improvement:

Encouraged by the success of the CO₂ Building Rehabilitation programme, the German government has decided in January 2007 to open a similar funding opportunity for the energy efficient refurbishment of non-profit organisations, local authorities and associations of local authorities' buildings that had been completed before January the 1st 1990.

Those structures can now apply for KfW financial help to support energy efficiency measures in schools, adjacent gymnasiums, day-care centres for children and buildings owned by non-profit organisations that are used all-year-round.

Like the former programme, assistance is allocated on condition that the implemented measures either bring these buildings up to the requirements of the Energy Saving Ordinance for new-build developments or form a package including interventions on insulation, the renewal of windows, heating or lighting systems, and the improvement or installation of ventilation and air conditioning system.

The funding share of the KfW can represent between 70 and 100% of the eligible investment costs.

MARK SCHROEDER[160], RESEARCH STUDENT AT THE BARTLETT SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LONDON, MEETING OF 16/08/07:

(i) The scope of the research:

The research's structure:

After a review of the similar role played by the existing housing stock in nationwide energy consumption[161] and CO₂ emissions in Germany and in the UK, as well as of the evolution of domestic legislations that regulate the environmental impact of existing and new housing developments in both countries, Mark Schroeder's research project focuses especially on this KfW CO₂ Building Rehabilitation programme and, to a lesser extent, on the Swiss and Austrian PassivHaus concepts.

It finally aims at applying its findings to the UK building stock in order to investigate how the UK regulations and incentives framework could benefit from the German experience.

Partners, fieldworks and database:

In order to evaluate the success of this specific KfW programme on the basis of field data, he is collaborating with a German housing association, the Wankendorfer Baugenossenschaft, which owns and manages around 13 500 dwellings in the Schelswig-Holstein Land (North Germany). He also benefited from the support of ProKlima- Der Enercity Fonds, a German trust specific to the Hanover region that funds research on climate change mitigation technologies such as the PassivHaus components.

Detailed information, like the scope and cost of technical interventions as well as utility bills pre and post refurbishment, based on a large sample of around 3,200 refurbished dwellings, have been provided by the housing association. The impact of the refurbishment has been further monitored by fieldwork on 99 dwellings -half of them refurbished, the other half being nearly identical building kept in their original condition- using data loggers and purposely installed heat meters.

The data analysis is then to allow an assessment of the programme effectiveness (Has it been properly implemented?) and efficiency (Has it delivered the expected energy savings and carbon cuttings?), in both its energy policy and technical interventions aspects.

The last step of the research will be to apply those findings to the UK building stock by using a carbon emissions model like Johnson's, and sort out what necessary incentives, sanctions and interventions could be inspired by the German experience for the existing UK building stock.

(ii) Some findings:

The Wankendorfer Housing Association`s dwellings that had benefited from the programme reduced their CO₂ emissions by an average 60%. Mark suggested to visit those dwellings to learn in detail about the KfW programme.

There is a small gap between the projected savings and the measured ones: apparently, while the buildings built before the 1970's achieve more than what the projections had predicted, the buildings built after this decade tend to achieve less than the expected result.

Housing associations compete on having a modernised stock: rehabilitated dwellings that have good energy performances are supposedly valued by the market.

Whereas in Britain 70% of the homes are actually owner-occupied, with a 7 year average turn over, this proportion gets down to 35% only in Germany. In other words, the ownership is more concentrated, with a lower rate of turn over, hence proprietors may have more incentives to refurbish their homes.

In any case, the reduced-interest loans given by the KfW under the CO₂ Building Rehabilitation programme are beneficial for the potential buyer of homes having such loan attached to it as its rates are far lower than the average mortgage ones.

THE "LOW-ENERGY STANDARDS FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS"/"EXISTING LOW-ENERGY HOUSES" PROGRAMME (LESEB):

i. The LESEB programme:

The Low-Energy House standard: In Germany, the Energy Savings Ordinance (EnEV) has created a Low-Energy House standard for buildings whose primary energy requirements do not exceed 60 kWh/m2/a[162]. The label can be obtained by new built or refurbished properties and accounts for around 30 to 50% less than the statutory EnEV requirements for new buildings.

DENA's LESEB programme : As part of its Zukunft Haus umbrella campaign, the German Energy Agency (Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbhH, DENA) conducted a "Low-Energy Standards for Existing Buildings" programme that aimed at producing exemplar sustainable refurbishments that abide to those Low-Energy Standards. Priority was given to:

— the reduction of energy needs,

— the improvement of efficient energy conversion,

— and the integration of microgeneration fittings.

The measures implemented include the following:

— innovative building insulation,

— avoidance of thermal bridges,

— triple glazing,

— high-efficiency heating systems,

— implementation of ventilation technology and heat recovery, and

— implementation of microgeneration.

LESEB objectives and partners: The main objectives of the programme were to use monitored and replicable best-practice projects to:

— invite emulation through tested, adaptable and economically feasible refurbishment recommendations,

— encourage the emerging market of energy-saving technologies for refurbishment,

— and initiate regional competence networks in sustainable refurbishment,

At least one refurbishment is being implemented in each state (Land), some of them hosting more initiatives than others. The refurbishment projects were accompanied by extensive public education campaigns and public relations.

The projects are implemented by housing construction companies, coordinated by the German Energy Agency (DENA) and supported financially by the KfW on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (BMVBS). The chemical company BASF AG and the Federal Association of the German Gas and Water Industries BGW have also been associated to the project.

ii. The programme's phases:

The programme was divided into two phases, a pilot project from November 2003 to 2005, and a second extended phase that has started in early 2006 drawing from the very positive results of the first phase and still continues.

The pilot phase refurbishments : During the pilot phase, a total of 19 housing companies renovated around 880 flats in 33 buildings to the low-energy home standard. In the buildings tested, the pilot phase evaluation showed that on average, the energy consumption of the refurbished houses has been cut by around 80%: The refurbished flats have an energy requirement of 3l of fuel oil/m2/year against 20l of fuel oil/m2/year before refurbishment and 7l of fuel oil/m2/year in standard new EnEV buildings, making them on average 45% more effective than those standard new-built developments.

Source: DENA, http://www.bmvbs.de/Bild/original_989637/bild.jpg

The second phase refurbishments: The second phase involve more than a hundred participants and concerns a more diverse set of buildings. In addition to multiple-family buildings, the "Low-Energy Standards for Existing Buildings" programme now includes detached and semi-detached houses as well as listed buildings in order to show that improvements can be made to all type of houses.

iii. Measures:

For each of the three priorities, a series of measures are implemented according to the specific requirement of each project.

Reducing the energy needs: Insulation and glazing: The buildings' envelopes are improved to reduce heat losses. As long as it does not temper with conservation regulations, external walls are fitted with 200 mm thick insulation and roofs and basement ceilings are insulated. For the windows, a minimum of double glazing, and in most cases triple-glazing or passiv-haus windows, is used.

Improving the efficiency of energy conversion: Heating and ventilation systems: The remaining required energy is provided by efficient installation engineering. In all projects, heat is generated by condensing gas boilers, Ground Source Heat Pumps or wood pellet boilers.

In addition to CHP district heating systems, small-scale CHP are also used. Heat generation is complemented by efficient ventilation, especially by controlled heat recovery ventilation fittings.

Technologies used in the 2nd project phase

In 45 per cent of buildings, solar energy systems were also used.

Source: DENA, http://www.bmvbs.de/Bild/original_989638/bild.jpg

Integrating microgeneration: Renewable energy resources have been integrated in over half of the refurbished buildings. Most of them have solar thermal installation for water and, to some extent, space heating. Some buildings also use biomass, others photovoltaic or geothermal heat exchanger installations.

iii. Results:

As part of the whole "Low-Energy Standards for Existing Buildings" project, a total of 143 buildings are being refurbished to exemplary level of energy performance. This accounts for approximately 2,230 housing units, with an area of more than 138,000m2 being improved.

49% of the refurbished buildings are owned by housing associations and the remaining 51% are privately owned. The projects are monitored and evaluated throughout the refurbishment works.

The LESEB programme has been included as an evidence in the wider KfW CO₂ Building Rehabilitation Programme and is expected to be extended after 2007 to include public buildings (schools, gymnasiums, etc).

SUSTAINABLE REFURBISHMENT OF THE FRENCH EXISTING HOUSING STOCK: CURRENT SCHEMES AND INITIATIVES

OVERVIEW OF FRENCH EXISTING HOUSING STOCK

(i) The French housing stock

In 2005, the French housing stock consisted of 31.3 million of dwellings, including 17.7 million individual houses and 13.6 million flats.[163]

65% of the current housing stock were built prior to the 1975 first thermal regulation. The fabric of those dwellings is generally very energy inefficient: in 1973, the average consumption by dwelling was 372.5 kWh/m2/year whilst now the average consumption of all homes has fallen to 260 kWh/m2/year[164], although the number of electric appliances per household is ever increasing.

As in the UK, existing dwellings will still constitute the vast majority of the domestic housing stock in 2050. Although around 300,000 new dwellings have been constructed per year since 1990, the housing renewal rate is slightly less than 1% per year. Hence, it is estimated that dwellings built prior to the year 2000 thermal regulations could represent from 60 to 75% of the French housing stock in 2050.[165]

(ii) Energy

The energy statistics for France and the UK differ significantly because French official statistics on energy and carbon emissions group residential and service sectors together, as "Buildings". Despite this difference, the actual energy consumption and carbon emissions' patterns across the two sectors are actually quite similar in both the countries.

In France, as in the UK, the building (residential and non-residential) sector category accounts for the biggest amount of final energy consumption (43.6%), more than the transport (31.5%), industry (23.1%) and agriculture (1,8%) sectors.[166]

The housing (residential buildings) sector's energy consumption has increased by 30% from 1975, partly because of the growing number of dwellings. Housing today accounts for more than 70% of the energy consumption of the whole building sector.[167]

(iii) CO₂ emissions

Similarly to the UK, the whole building sector in France, emits 23% of French domestic green-house gases emissions, second only to the transport sector. This accounts for roughly 123 million of tons of CO₂ emitted per year.

Among this, 30% are due to non-residential buildings and 70% to dwellings.

CURRENT SCHEMES DESIGNED TO FOSTER SUSTAINABLE REFURBISHMENT WORKS IN EXISTING HOMES

(i) Tax credit: the "Tax Credit for households' main residence equipment expenses in favour of sustainable development and energy savings"[168]

Since 2005 and until 2010, part of a household's expenditure on energy saving measures can be deducted from the household's income tax. The eligible measures include:

— the installation of improved insulation and/or heating control devices;

— the installation of microgeneration and/or more energy efficient fittings; and

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To be eligible, the measures have to be implemented in the household's main residence, and the residence has built at least two years previously.

The amount of tax credit linked with each measure varies from 15 to 50% of the expenses depending on the measure implemented. The overall amount of the expenses that can be claimed can not generally exceed €8,000 per capita, plus an additional €400 to €600 for each dependent person living in the home.

(ii) ANAH's grants

Around 26 million dwellings are considered "main residences" and are the main target of the National Environment and Energy Agency[170], and the National Housing Agency[171] refurbishment programmes.

ANAH's funding scheme for sustainable refurbishment measures:

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— Improving the insulation of walls, roofs, basements, and windows (double-glazing or secondary glazing).

— Installing more energy-efficient space and water heating systems (condensing boilers, solar water heating systems).

— Installing microgeneration fittings (Ground Source Heat Pump, solar PV, woodfuelled boiler, etc).

— Installing monitoring and controlling devices (individual meters, low-flush toilets, etc).

	Measure installed	Grant provided by ANAH*
Insulation	Thermally and acoustically insulated windows	€80
Heating systems	Condensing boiler	€900
	Wood-fuelled boiler	€900
	Solar water heating system	€900
Microgeneration	Air/water thermodynamic system	€900
	Ground source heat pump	€1,800
	CHP	€1,800
Connexion to the gas, electricity, or community heating networks		From 15 to 70% of the total cost (excluding VAT)

* The grant's amount is doubled when the fittings installed are used by at least two dwellings eligible for ANAH support

— ANAH and ADEME 11/09/07 joint conference on sustainable refurbishment:

ANAH and ADEME held on Tuesday 11 September 2007 a one-day joint conference on sustainable refurbishment.

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Based on case studies, it focused on the different means and schemes available to foster both the implementation of sustainable refurbishment initiatives and the formation of skilled professionals in this field.

Speakers included ANAH's director, the head of the Department of Urbanism, Housing and Construction, a delegate from the German Energy Agency (DENA), as well as representatives from French research institutes, housing associations and urban regeneration firms.

(iii) The French Buildings' Thermal and Energy Performance Improvement Schemes (OPATBs)[174]

As in the case in the UK building regulations, the current French Reglementation Thermique2000 and Réglementation Thermique 2005 set standards and binding requirements for all new

residential and non-residential buildings, as well as large refurbishment operations, but not for the refurbishment of the existing stock.

On 20 February 2002 however, ANAH and ADEME, along with the Planning and Environment Department and the State Secretary for Housing, had announced the creation of a new voluntary scheme aimed at reducing, at the local level, both the energy consumption and the CO₂ emissions of existing residential and services buildings: the OPATBs.

The OPATBs schemes' objectives

Whilst specifically designed to foster sustainable refurbishment initiatives, the OPATBs draw heavily on the highly successful Housing Improvement Schemes (OPAHs[175]) that have been regularly implemented since the 1990's.

OPATBs are initiated by local authorities and encourage owners of all buildings categories (residential, non-residential, public, private, etc) to undertake sustainable refurbishment works on their property after the standard assessment of its pre-refurbishment energy efficiency. The refurbishments undertaken deal mainly with:

— The improvement of buildings' fabric and insulation.

— The upgrading of heating and ventilation systems.

— The installation of microgeneration fittings.

OPATBs benefit from funding from ANAH and ADEME, and have sometimes been eligible for grants from county and regional assemblies.

If efficiently conducted, they can sustain a niche market accessible for local builders, reduce residents' fuel bills and running charges, increase residents' comfort and local builders' skills, provide social services with a way to help preventing fuel-bills-linked debt, and contribute to the local Sustainable Community Strategies.

The currently implemented OPATBs

16 Local Authorities have been selected as pilot sites by ADEME to implement the first OPATB schemes. They are in charge of leading, forming and informing stakeholders, including by providing, whenever possible, a one-stop-shop for all stakeholders. The selected Local Authorities range from city councils (communes) to metropolitan authorities (Etablissements Publics de Cooperation Intercommunale).

There are currently 5 OPATBs whose conventions have been signed and that are implemented.[176] The evaluation of the schemes implementation in 2005, showed promising results in the reduction of energy consumption and CO₂ emissions of buildings.

For instance, the SIPEHM received subsidies worth 1.4 million euros to conduct 4 million euros-worth of refurbishment works that have so far achieved 2,000 MWh/year energy savings and managed to cut targeted buildings' CO₂ emissions by 400t of CO₂/year.[177]

A three-day-conference will be held on 14, 15 and 16 November 2007 at Celon to evaluate the progresses of the existing OPATBs so far, to foster the sharing of experiences and expertise in the implementation of those schemes and to spread awareness about the schemes among locally elected representatives and planners.[178]

(iv) PREBAT Demonstrateurs: a research programme to support sustainable refurbishment initiatives

The PREBAT Research Programme[179]

Created as a part of the Climate Plan (2004)—the French strategy to tackle climate change at the domestic level—the five-year Research and Experimentation Programme on Energy in Buildings results from a joint agreement between five of the then Ministries and several national agencies and Trusts concerned with buildings and housing issues.[180] It has been provided with a €15 million/year budget[181] and is set up to run from 2005 to 2009. The research programme is divided into four groups:

— Technologies.

— Socio-economy.

— Existing Housing.

— New Built.

The "Existing Housing" group

This group is responsible for proposing research directions and exemplar case studies for the different types of buildings that constitute the French existing housing stock. It currently focuses on encouraging flagship buildings projects (Bâtiments Démonstrateurs[182]).

Since summer 2007, a series of calls for projects has been launched throughout the 22 regions of metropolitan France. Once the calls will have been answered and the eligible flagship projects selected, the PREBAT will participate in their implementation.

The objective is to create a significant sample of low-energy low-CO₂ refurbisheddwellings of all buildings type by 2009[183] and use their monitored results as a basis to formulate wider test-based recommendations for public and private actors of the building and housing sectors.

The Flagship Buildings (Ba®timents De«monstrateurs) initiative

To be selected, the refurbishment projects ought to achieved a maximum energy consumption equivalent to the RT2005 standard for new-built development.

They would ideally aim at a space heating-related energy consumption per dwelling inferior to 50kWhep/m2 by 2010 and an overall energy consumption per dwelling reduced down to 80 kWHep/m2 by 2020.

The selected projects will benefit from PREBAT financial support throughout their implementation, from feasibility studies to monitoring and evaluation reports, in order to ensure the highest energy performance post-refurbishment.

(v) The Energy-Building Trust (Fondation Ba®timent Energie[184])

The Energy-Building Trust

The Energy Building Trust has been created by four major actors of the French building sector—Arcelor, EDF, Gaz de France and Lafarge—with ADEME CSTB's help, and has been recognised as an e«tablissement d'utilite« publique[185] in 2005.

It provides funding for research programmes and major refurbishment works that aim at reducing the energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in the building sector.

The EBT's projects linked with sustainable refurbishment

The first three projects the EBT selected in April 2006 focused on the refurbishment of the existing housing stock and are currently being implemented[186]:

— ADELIE: the ADELIE project aims at creating a network of skilled builders that would be both experienced in refurbishing houses to high energy efficiency standards and able to convince and provide households with reliable propositions for the refurbishment of their property.

— MITECH: the MITECH research programme focuses on the improvements that can be made to the dwellings' fabric to up-grade their energy performance.

— ODMIR 4: the ODMIR research programme aims at defining innovative ways of achieving the Factor 4 scenario in existing housing, including by the design of models of specific schedules and refurbishment packages according to households varying financial capacities.

LE GRENELLE DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT

(i) Objectives

On 6 July 2007, shortly after the creation of the new Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development and spatial Planning,[187] minister Jean Louis Borloo has announced the launch of a large campaign of studies, reports and consultations on sustainability issues: the Grenelle de l'Environnement.

This widely publicised campaign is voluntarily presented as a demonstration of the new government's political endeavour in favour of sustainable development. It strives for adopting by the end of October a national action plan of 15 to 20 measures and providing those measures with sufficient financial and human support in order to tackle the main issues that would have been raised and agreed upon during the campaign's various phases:

(ii) Process

The whole process is currently bringing the State, the Local Authorities and delegates from the trade unions, employers and associations together to investigate and discuss the issues, and opportunities.

Six groups have been established, each focusing on specific though rather large topics:

— The Group 1 has been charged with reporting on the ways to tackle climate change and reduce energy needs.

— The Group 2 reports on biodiversity and natural resources conservation measures.

— The Group 3 reports on creating a healthier environment.

— The Group 4 reports on the ways of adopting sustainable production and consumption patterns.

— The Group 5 reports on how to built an ecological democracy.

— The Group 6 reports on ways of promoting sustainable development that would ensure high employment and competitivity rates.

Each group is formed of 40 members and is split into three to five workshops. The groups are chaired by independent people drawn from various backgrounds and whose experience and expertise is widely acknowledged.

They have been appointed by the government to identify key barriers and potential solutions (legal, social, financial, economic, technologic, etc) to the issues dealt with by the group they chair in order to gradually shape the different options that will be submitted to consultation at the end of September.

(iii) The Group 1's "Buildings and Urbanism" Workshop's pre-report

Group 1

The Group 1 is chaired by Professor Jean Jouzel, an eminent climatologist who is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's, and is co-chaired by the economist Professor Nicholas Stern, author of the Stern report on the economic impacts of climate change.

It has been split into three different workshops:

— Transport and travel.

— Buildings and Urbanism.

— Energy and carbon capture.

The Buildings and Urbanism Worshop's pre-report

In early September, a pre-report on the existing housing stock has been submitted to the minister Jean Louis Borloo by the members of the "Buildings and Urbanism" Workshop.[188] The workshop has been headed by the chairman of ANAH, Philippe Pelletier. It gathers delegates of the Scientific and Technical Centre for Buildings,[189] ADEME, the Department of Urbanism, Housing and Architecture, and representatives from several working unions and employers of the building sector.

Workshop members agreed to advocate the need for the existing 30 million dwellings to be at the forefront of tackling French sustainability and carbon emission targets.

The recommended scenario

The Workshop participants advocated sustainable refurbishment of existing dwellings and identifies three major and urgent steps:

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₂

— The reduction of the average energy consumption of the whole existing stock to 150 kWh/m2/year by 2020.

— In the long run the goal is to reduce the energy consumption of all dwellings by at least 30% every 10 years. This would give an average energy consumption of the existing stock of around a 100 kWh/m2 in 2030, around 70 kWh/m2 in 2040 and around 50 kWhep/m2 in 2050.

According to early estimates, widespread insulation works alone could generate more than €10 billion in economic activity by 2020, and ADEME has assessed that at least 100,000 new jobs are being created by the increasing demand for thermal insulation following the introduction of the 2000 and 2005 Thermal Regulations.[191]

Notwithstanding the complexity of the housing sector and the financial and human implications of implementing this scenario, the pre-report made 28 specific recommendations, among which are:

— criteria for all public financial support for refurbishments to a minimum level of energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas emission reductions; grants are awarded depending on the performance level achieved;

— the creation of a very low interest rate loan available for whole-house sustainable refurbishments;

— the massive increase of public funding towards the most deprived households living in under-performing dwellings and potentially exposed to fuel poverty;

— from 2012 onwards, the strong incentive, if not compulsory, to include the installation of microgeneration in all energy efficiency upgrading works;

— the creation of a maintenance guide specific to individual houses and the improvement of the existing guide for multiple house building;

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— the potential reduction of taxes on rents when dwellings have been refurbished to a higher energy efficiency level;

— the simplification of the legal status of co-owned multiple occupancy homes (HMOs) to ease the implementation of sustainable refurbishment measures; and

— the indexation of the housing tax on the dwellings' energy performances.

The pre-report also advocates the launch of a programme targeting building professionals, with builders in the programme being specifically identified as such. The creation of expertise networks would be facilitated, and whole-house refurbishment packages would be designed in partnership with the different trade unions to provide households with skilled and trusted teams able to conduct comprehensive cutting-edge energy efficient refurbishments.

The Ministry has not publicly commented on this pre-report yet.

143 www.sustainable-energyacademy.org.uk Back

144 http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/321566 Back

145 Ipsos MORI, 2007, Tipping point or turning point? Social marketing and climate change. By Phil Downing and Joe Ballantyne. Accessed from:http://www.ipsos-mori.com/publications/srireports/pdf/turning-point-or-tipping-point.pdf Back

146 WWF survey: http://www.wwf.org.uk/news/n_0000001276.asp; and Sponge, 2006, Eco Chic or Eco Geek? The Desirability of Sustainable Homes. Accessed from:http://www.spongenet.org/library/Eco%20Chic%20Or%20Eco%20Geek%20Exec%20Summ.pdf Back

147 http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/409655; and http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/ministerpledgessupport Back

148 http://www.innovationsforthebuiltenvironment.co.uk/files/paul_ruyssevelt_eb_conf_e1_27.2.07.pdf Back

149 CLG, 2006, Review of Sustainability of Existing Buildings The Energy Efficiency of Dwellings-Initial Analysis. http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/154500 Back

150 http://www.kfw-foerderbank.de/EN_Home/Housing_Construction/KfWCO₂Buil.jsp Back

151 Bundesministerium fur Verkher, Bau und Stadtentwicklung (www.bmvbs.de) Back

152 http://www.bmvbs.de/en/artikel-,1872.983302/The-programme-to-reduce-CO₂-em.htm Back

153 so called "redemption-free grace years" Back