What Goes Up Must Drive Emissions Down

Photo by GollyGforce is going nature nutty

There are some things you can't just "leave to the market", no matter how much the market would like that.

Scottish homes, for example. If we're going to tackle climate change then our homes need to be better insulated and built to a higher standard. There's no point in having a universal insulation scheme, like the Greens propose, if the new houses being built in this country have a woeful lack of insulation to begin with.

And we all know that house builders will try and cut corners wherever they can. So it's no surprise to see them crying over the new building regulations that Stewart Stevenson announced yesterday and which will come into force in October.

From Stevenson's own website, they are:

• Enhanced energy standards for new buildings - both homes and
  non-domestic - which will reduce emissions by 30 per cent on 2007
  standards and by 70 per cent compared to 1990
• Improved sound insulation to party walls and floors and the
  introduction of sound insulation testing to homes
• Better security features for homes including higher design
  specification for doors, windows and locks to deter opportunity crime
• New build schools must have sprinklers fitted to reduce potential
  loss or damage

Whoah, back up there! "New build schools must have sprinklers??" You mean at the moment there is no requirement for schools to have a sprinkler system? That's incredible!

But I digress. Naturally the trade body tries a bit of scaremongering with increased costs to housing and taking longer to build them.

They can scaremonger if they want, but if they built to a higher standard originally then there wouldn't be a need for the regulations.

But then that's "the market" talking. The public wants what the public gets.