Earlier this month Government figures revealed that green taxes, as a percentage of overall taxation, fell again in 2006. Since Labour came to power taxes from pollution (as a percentage of total taxes) have fallen from 9.4 per cent to 7.3 per cent.

Friends of the Earth’s head of economics, Simon Bullock, said

“Previous Government promises to deliver a green budget have been extremely disappointing. We welcome the Chancellor’s speech today, but next spring’s Budget will be the real test of Mr Darling’s green credentials.”

“The Budget is a crucial weapon in tackling climate change, encouraging green solutions and delivering a low-carbon economy. The Chancellor must make it cheaper and easier for people to go green. This should include higher taxes on pollution and tax cuts and spending that encourage greener activities. Alistair Darling must put the right systems in place to ensure that cutting the UK’s carbon footprint is good for the economy, good for jobs and good for the environment.”

Friends of the Earth has repeatedly urged the Government to take green action in its Budgets. Earlier this year, our calls included:

Helping householders to cut carbon dioxide emissions by:

• Council tax and Stamp Duty rebates for people installing energy efficiency measures in their home;
• Increasing grants for installing renewable energy technologies;
• A guaranteed premium price (feed-in tariff) for people who sell excess renewable electricity generated from their homes to the National Grid;
• A cut in VAT for refurbishing homes to high environmental standards.

Helping motorists to drive greener cars by:

• Introducing a purchase tax for gas-guzzling vehicles, and lower taxes for low-emission cars;
• Introducing a £1billion a year Carbon Reduction Fund, to invest in greener alternatives to motoring, such as safe routes for children to walk to school, improved rural and urban bus services and world class cycling facilities funded by cuts to the road building budget.

Source: Copyright © Friends of the Earth | www.foe.co.uk

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What does a zero-carbon home actually mean?
The government’s definition of a zero-carbon home is one where there are zero net emissions from all energy used over one year. This means that energy needed for heating, lighting, hot water and all electrical appliances in the house, such as TVs and computers, must be obtained from renewable sources.

Why has the government set a target of all new homes to be zero-carbon by 2016?
The move is intended to give impetus to investment into zero-carbon technologies. Our homes create 27% of all CO2 emissions in the UK (153m tonnes per year), so action needs to be taken. The government also sees housebuilding as an easier sector from which to cut carbon emissions from than, say, aviation, so is putting in a lot of time and effort.

Is it achievable?
Many in the housebuilding industry say privately that it is too big a task. The major players tend to be a traditional bunch, and deal with change slowly. Most are already grumbling because Gordon Brown has recently told developers they have to build more homes each year. They claim they can’t build an increased number of homes and make them green at the same time.

In theory, architects and engineers already know how to make a home zero-carbon but it has certainly never been done on this scale before. There are some inspiring zero-carbon developments dotted around the UK, home to forward-thinking environmentalists and architects, but these are few and far between.

Last month, a major report said that the government needed to substantially boost the use of on-site renewable energy if it was to have any hope of achieving its much-vaunted zero-carbon homes policy from 2016.

The report, by the consultants Element Energy for the Renewables Advisory Board, said that the market for equipping zero-carbon homes with energy from renewables could easily be worth more than £2bn a year but that, under current policies, there will not be nearly enough firms supplying biomass boilers or solar panels in nine years’ time, which could slow down the pace of housebuilding.

So what progress is being made?
Architects are starting to design more energy efficient homes, requiring less power to heat and light them. This is done in various ways, including building south facing homes to harness the heat and light from the sun, and installing lots of insulation to keep the heat in.

A scheme called the Carbon Challenge has been set up through English Partnerships on behalf of the Department of Communities and Local Government with the aim of accelerating the housebuilding industry’s response to climate change.

The Carbon Challenge will assist housebuilders to develop the skills and technology needed to meet the goals set by the government for new housing development, and will act as a testing ground for the code for sustainable homes and the new planning policy statement on climate change.

Hanham Hall, near Bristol, is English Partnerships’ first Carbon Challenge site.

Will these new green homes be more expensive?
For the time being, almost certainly. A recent report by property agent Savills put the cost of building zero-carbon homes at up to £36,000 more than a traditional property. This extra cost, which housebuilders will pass on to the customer, comes from all the new technologies needed to make the home environmentally friendly. However, the more eco homes built, the cheaper the technology and expertise will become.

Didn’t Gordon Brown say that people buying zero carbon homes wouldn’t have to pay stamp duty?
Yes he did but there are several caveats. Firstly, Brown’s offer has a sell by date of September 30 2012 – five years from now. Secondly, the exemption only applies to homes under £500,000. Those over this price will pay a reduced stamp duty of £15,000. Thirdly, the Treasury is yet to give its exact definition of zero carbon. Many in the industry warn that the rules will be so strict that only a small number of homes will apply.

A recent Parliamentary answer by Brown’s right-hand man, Ed Balls, revealed that the Treasury’s projected annual cost of the exemption would be “negligible” from 2007-10, and would rise to £15m in 2011-12.

Will these homes look strange?
Probably. Only a few exist at the moment in the UK and they tend to look quite different from homes as we know them because of all the wind turbines and solar panels attached.

Prince Charles is currently looking into how to design a zero-carbon home that would look more traditional, like the homes at his Poundbury village in Dorset. The major housebuilders also say their aim is to create buildings that look as much like the homes we are used to as possible. However, many architects do warn that designs will change dramatically.

Can I make the home I live in now zero carbon?
Not really. It would take a huge amount of building work, and money, to even get near to zero carbon status. Old houses tend to be badly insulated and draughty, requiring more energy to keep them warm. You would need to fit a huge amount of expensive renewable energy generators, such as solar panels and wind turbines, to heat and light your old home.

Surely countries in Europe are doing this already?
Surprisingly enough, we are ahead of the rest of Europe on this. The green credentials of some European countries, such as Germany and Holland, are much better than ours in general. But no other country has set such stringent targets for its new homes as the British government.

What is the government doing to support people who want to have greener homes?
Earlier this month, the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, launched two “green homes” services aimed at providing residents with help and advice to reduce their household carbon dioxide emissions.

Under the London Green Homes scheme, people living in the capital will have access to two services – a free telephone helpline and website, and a personalised, paid-for home audit for those wanting to make more significant changes to their homes.

The programme has been allocated more than £4m for 2007-08 and aims to cut carbon emissions by 500,000 tonnes a year by 2010.

It complements the green home service announced in November by the environment secretary, Hilary Benn, which offers householders a “one-stop” energy advice service to save on bills and tackle global warming.

Source: Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited | www.guardian.co.uk