Buildings account for 45 per cent. of total UK carbon emissions—27 per cent. from homes and 18 per cent. from non-domestic buildings—so reducing emissions from buildings will be a vital contribution to delivering our overall target of reducing UK carbon emissions by 60 per cent. on 1990 levels by 2050.
Despite recent growth in the number of domestic and office appliances, heating is still the major use of energy in buildings—around 75 per cent. of building energy consumption relates to space and water heating—so insulation, draught-proofing and efficient heating systems and controls are key to delivering significant energy efficiencies.
Existing programmes and policies such as Decent Homes, Warm Front, and the Energy Efficiency Commitment, and information and advice from the Government-funded Energy Saving Trust and Carbon Trust continue to encourage and support energy efficiency refurbishments of existing buildings. These programmes have already had a significant impact on the existing building stock. The latest annual report on the English House Condition Survey, published in June this year, found that the average energy efficiency rating of the housing stock had progressively improved from 1996.
In addition, we will shortly begin to roll out the requirement for Energy Performance Certificates and air conditioning inspections which will provide building owners and occupants, for the first time, with information on the energy performance of their buildings and what can be done to improve their performance.
We are currently consulting on proposals for a new three-year Carbon Emissions Reduction Target to run from 2008 to 2011 that would double the activity under the existing Energy Efficiency Commitment that comes to an end in 2008. We announced, in the Energy White Paper in May this year, our intention to introduce a new cap and trade scheme, the Carbon Reduction Commitment, for large organisations to provide a greater incentive for them to take up energy efficiency measures and to consult on a proposal to roll out advanced and smart metering services to all but the smallest business users.
We are also looking at how to further improve the targeting of advice to households to encourage energy efficiency improvements and we are reviewing what other measures could be taken to improve non-domestic buildings.