“New Carbon Emission Targets Proposed” : The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has published its report on Delivering Low Carbon Infrastructure.

The review was carried out in response to its member’s quest for clarity on what the sector is currently doing to decarbonise itself.

The report highlighted a lack of cohesion in how carbon targets are set within the sector. Suggesting the requirement for an industry-wide capital carbon emissions target.

Noted in the report was the 2013 Infrastructure Carbon Review (ICR) initiative. Said report showed that the infrastructure industry is directly responsible for 16% of the UK’s total carbon emissions and influences a further 37%.

The ICR noted that by applying emerging best practices up to 4 million tonnes CO2 equivalent a year of capital carbon and 20MtCO2e/year of operational carbon could be saved by the year 2020. Total contribution of all direct and indirect carbon emissions from the infrastructure sector is projected to reach 80% of the carbon budget in 2025 and 90% by 2050. 53% of all carbon emissions could be traced back to the sector in 2010.

A guidance document for PAS 2080:2016 developed by the British Standards Institute (BSI) provides a framework for setting a baseline for carbon emissions and targets. However, the UKGBC report says it is not a methodology which is adopted consistently across the industry.

The review notes how some organisations are setting carbon reduction targets in line with Climate Change Act 2008 which commits the government to reducing total carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 1990. Yet as there is not an industry level target to work from, it is unclear whether the current targets set by infrastructure groups themselves, align with the 2050 target. The report concludes that, If an industry-wide carbon emissions target were to be set, how it would be monitored and reported on is “crucial” to its success.

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Source: The Ends Report