Bid to make homes more efficient

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Homes should be made more energy and water efficient as well as resilient to flooding in order to cope with climate change, MPs have urged.

According to the the Environmental Audit Committee, planning approval should only be given to new housing developments if the homes are designed to tackle changes in the climate in future.

While constructing new homes builders should concentrate more on "green infrastructure" and include facilities for water storage, more trees and more open spaces to handle flash flooding and hot city summers.

The MPs said that adapting to climate change needs to become as much of a priority as cutting emissions.

Highlighting that the UK has already experienced rising temperatures, a report by the committee warned that in coming years the country could witness wetter winters, drier summers as well as heatwaves, storms and flooding.

Urging for a programme to "retrofit" homes to make them more suitable, the committee also suggested that spending on flood defences may have to increase from its current £600 million a year to £1 billion by 2035.

Tim Yeo, chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee, said: "We must act now to protect people, property and prosperity and safeguard the natural environment."

Copyright © Press Association 2010

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