‌England and Wales’ heat-leaking homes unleashing same amount of CO2 as Denmark emits every year

New analysis has found that more than a decade of stagnation on upgrading the country’s poorly-insulated housing stock is leaving nearly 30 million tonnes of CO2 pouring into our atmosphere each year

‌England and Wales’ heat-leaking homes unleash the same amount of avoidable greenhouse gas CO2 as Denmark emits annually.‌

New analysis from Friends of the Earth has found that more than a decade of stagnation on upgrading the country’s poorly-insulated housing stock is leaving nearly 30 million tonnes of CO2 pouring into our atmosphere each year.

They also warn that only 45% of homes across England and Wales are meeting sufficient energy efficiency standards (EPC C and above) which ensure homes are adequately retaining heat and preventing needless carbon emissions – far below what’s needed to help curb climate breakdown and end the scourge of cold homes.‌

The group called on the Labour government to publish its promised Warm Homes Plan and set out how it will tackle the interlinked cold homes and climate crises. It said it will not only lift millions out of hardship and ensure no one goes cold in winter, but also make our housing fit for a zero carbon future.

Anna Roguski, senior climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:“When we talk about emissions that are contributing to climate change, we often think of transport or big fossil fuel projects as the main drivers – but our heat and energy-leaking homes are some of the biggest culprits. So much in fact, they’re adding the same amount of CO2 to our atmosphere as a small country. That’s astounding, especially when it’s a totally preventable problem.

“What makes this all the worse is that people are genuinely suffering through the lack of action to upgrade the UK’s housing stock, because homes that emit CO2 also lose heat easily, and that makes them expensive to keep warm."‌

The rate of progress on rolling out insulation and other vital energy saving measures has stalled since 2012, after then Prime Minister David Cameron rowed back on a number of progressive green policies.

According to analysis by Carbon Brief, this has added £22bn to the nation’s energy bills since 2015, demonstrating the strong economic argument for tackling our heat-leaking homes beyond the urgency of the climate crisis, say Friends of the Earth.

At the current rate of upgrading homes, the campaign group finds it would take a staggering 90 years for the remaining 55% of homes to be brought up to a suitable standard.‌

The constituencies with the highest proportion of poorly insulated homes are Birmingham Yardley and Dwyfor Meirionnydd in Wales coming out on top with 78% of homes below EPC C each, followed by Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley, Southend West and Leigh and Castle Point in Essex all with 74%.

Friends of the Earth said the Energy and Health Secretaries, Ed Miliband and Wes Streeting, should pay particular attention to our inefficient housing stock, not only because it is both a climate and public health issue, but because both have nearly two thirds (65%) of homes within their parliamentary constituencies rated in the worst categories for energy efficiency.

Both constituencies rank highest for proportion of poorly insulated homes among all of those held by Labour cabinet members.

Friends of the Earth Anna Roguski added: "We cannot afford to waste a second longer in rolling out a national insulation programme – not for people facing another winter of high energy bills, and not for our climate. The new Labour government’s promised Warm Homes Plan must be a radical departure from what we’ve seen over the last decade of decline and get to the very heart of these dual crises.”