According to new research, carbon emissions released from the 3.3 million homes built in England between 1919 and 1939 that have not been privately retrofitted account for 12 per cent of the total 77 million tonnes of C02 produced each year by the country’s housing.
The report sets out how a mass ‘fabric-first’ retrofit drive could be achieved, from insulating walls to effectively deploying heat pumps, and it outlines effective funding mechanisms – from tax levers and grants, to allowances for landlords.
The move would reduce annual fuel costs for millions of families, cut the nation’s carbon emissions by 4 per cent as well as helping the government meet its net zero target by 2050.
According to the institute, 17 per cent of households in interwar suburbs – from Kingstanding to Becontree – were in fuel poverty last year. This was proportionally higher than the overall national rate of 13 per cent.
It said that poor insulation, solid wall construction, and high gas reliance in many interwar homes had left residents…
