Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing lifetime carbon emissions reporting for buildings.

The Government is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and recognises that embodied carbon can account for a significant portion of a building’s whole life carbon emissions. As steps to reduce operational carbon take effect, the share of whole life carbon emissions taken up by embodied carbon will increase.

My Department has commissioned research to build understanding of the impacts of measuring and reducing embodied carbon, summarise the data currently available, and to identify where any gaps or challenges lie. We have published the final report, Consideration of embodied carbon in new buildings, to share the insights with industry. The Government is considering its next steps on this matter carefully.