Welsh Homes Net Zero Carbon Hwb

The Welsh Government has set a target to reduce the level of carbon emissions of homes by 85% by 2050. Reducing energy use and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy will help secure the well‐being of future generations and assist in reducing poverty. Wales has 1.3m homes which emitted 3,716 kilotonnes of CO2 in 2019. The heating choice for the majority is from fossil fuels. Whilst Building Regulations establish energy efficiency targets for new homes there are no similar regulations yet in place to reduce levels of ‘embodied’ carbon contained in the building of new homes.

Social housing represents about a fifth of the homes of Wales. WG has set out a number of measures to address carbon reduction in this sector’s new and existing homes. Welsh Government now wish to establish an all‐Wales agency to help developers, landlords and owners reduce the amount of carbon in building and running homes.

The Zero Carbon Hub has been established for the purpose of supporting, informing and ultimately accelerating the decarbonization of the housing sector in Wales. The Hub will provide a central point and be an authority for net zero aims and housing performance, that is transparent, independent and for the public good. It will facilitate sharing of information and communication of lessons learned as well as identifying strategic skills and training priorities.

A steering group comprising of Local Authority, Social Landlord, Welsh Government, Community Housing Cymru (CHC) representatives is looking to procure a partner for the Zero Carbon Hub to deliver the intended outcomes.