黑洞社区

Managing the fallout from allegations of parties at Number 10 has distracted the government from moving faster in achieving its net zero goals, ministers have been told.

Cundall partner and environmental lead Simon Wyatt said ministers had not come up with a plan to put commitments agreed at last November鈥檚 COP26 climate conference into action amid months of media scrutiny over the 鈥榩artygate鈥� scandal.

A redacted report by senior civil servant Sue Gray published on Monday found that at least 16 social gatherings had taken place in Downing Street during lockdown restrictions, with 12 currently under investigation by the Met police.

Wyatt鈥檚 comments come as backbench Conservative MP Duncan Baker prepares to propose a bill to parliament this afternoon which would amend building regulations to include mandatory assessments and limits on embodied carbon in projects.

The Carbon Emissions (黑洞社区s) Bill would require construction firms to 鈥渕easure, report and reduce against aligned targets of embodied carbon鈥� as soon as next year, according to Baker.

But Wyatt told 黑洞社区 that the proposals should have been made by ministers at the time of the COP26 conference rather than being left to a backbench MP to take up the cause more than two months after the Glasgow summit.

He said: 鈥淚t should have come before COP26 or if not before, immediately after, championed by the government with a raft of other measures.

鈥淏ut they don鈥檛 seem to have done anything after COP26 and that鈥檚 probably because they鈥檙e distracted by what鈥檚 going on in the media at the moment.鈥�

He added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 encouraging that this has been brought forward [by Baker] but it would be better if it was coming from someone like [business secretary] Kwasi Kwarteng and someone with a bit more profile.鈥�

Addressing embodied carbon, which is emitted by the production and use of materials, is also only 鈥渙ne part of the solution鈥�, according to Mace chief of staff Hannah Vickers.

She said: 鈥淲hile this will start the debate on [embodied carbon], what happens with operational carbon? You鈥檇 need similar legislation on that through the planning process.

鈥淗elpful as it is to have backbench MPs tabling specific motions you need the whole system to work because it starts to stifle development if you don鈥檛 have that designed as a system rather than specific interventions.鈥�

But Baker, who is the MP for North Norfolk and sits on the cross-party Environmental Audit Select Committee, said that embodied carbon is an issue which politicians 鈥渟till don鈥檛 talk about enough鈥�.

He said the government is 鈥渕issing a trick鈥� to reduce a significant share of the UK鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions by limiting embodied carbon in construction, which totals between 40 and 50 million tonnes each year - more than aviation and shipping combined.

He added he is 鈥渃onvinced鈥� that industry firms are ready for the regulations and are 鈥渢elling government that they want this鈥�.

The bill, which will be read out in the House of Commons after today鈥檚 Prime Minister鈥檚 Questions, has been based on a set of proposals on limiting embodied carbon drafted by five construction industry experts on net zero.

Known as 鈥楶art Z鈥�, the initiative is being backed by more than 100 industry heavyweights including Cundall, Laing O鈥橰ourke, Mott MacDonald, Willmott Dixon, Arcadis, WSP and Arup.

It is proposing mandatory reporting of whole life carbon on non-residential projects by January next year and on residential projects by January 2025.

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios net zero lead Tim den Dekker, one of the proposals鈥� five authors, said the dates were chosen because 鈥渨e feel that that鈥檚 where the industry is in its readiness鈥�.

He added: 鈥淲e鈥檝e picked a strategy that we think is sensible given how ready industry is and in terms of government鈥檚 speed in enacting legislation. We try to be realistic.鈥�

But den Dekker admitted that the authors had still not been invited to meet with government officials or ministers, despite the focus around net zero in the build up to COP26. 鈥淭hey know we鈥檙e here to talk to them and we鈥檙e ready to advise them. We鈥檇 love to,鈥� he said.

Vickers said that while she was not 鈥渙verly concerned at this stage鈥� that the government was losing focus on its net zero agenda, she said that the industry needed 鈥渃larity鈥� on which interventions the government intended to make.

鈥淲e do now need to see the regulations being drafted and for the government鈥檚 plans to start moving forward鈥�, she said.

鈥淵ou can appreciate the government鈥檚 attention has been focused very much on covid the last few months. 

鈥淚鈥檓 sure that鈥檚 not how they had anticipated the winter going but coming out of that now I think it is very timely to have this debate because I鈥檓 hoping this will then kickstart the government into actioning some of the stuff that they鈥檝e set out plans for.鈥�

Vickers added that ministers could row back on the amount of funding earmarked for reducing carbon emissions in construction 鈥済iven the state of the government finances鈥�. 

More than 拢70bn has been spent on the furlough scheme during the pandemic, with much of the government鈥檚 spending priorities now focused on social care and fixing the NHS backlog.

Baker鈥檚 proposal comes a week after COP26 president and former business secretary Alok Sharma said the agreements reached at the climate summit were 鈥渏ust words on a page鈥� and would 鈥渨ither on the vine鈥� unless governments around the world put them into action.