Action that could reduce carbon emissions from new Northern Ireland buildings has been welcomed.
Finance Minister Conor Murphy unveiled a consultation on increased energy efficiency standards after visiting a passive house in Crawfordsburn to see first hand the benefits.
He said: “Improving the energy performance of buildings is vital in tackling climate change.
“The new standards my department is proposing are designed to ensure new buildings are greener, with lower emissions helping to protect the environment. Better energy efficiency measures will also help minimise energy bills for hard working families and businesses.”
SDLP energy spokesperson Sinéad McLaughlin has welcomed the move despite progress being ‘slow’.
It follows a warning from University of Exeter academics last month that NI must urgently adopt revised building regulations to avoid new homes needing expensive retrofits in “just another few years”.
The Foyle MLA said: “We must take climate change much more seriously and that requires much stronger regulation to enforce energy efficiency in new homes that cut carbon emissions.
“At present, housing developers can build new homes that continue to rely on the burning of fossil fuels that make the climate crisis worse. This is unacceptable.
“Owing to a quirk of history, responsibility for building regulations sits with the Department of Finance and its minister Conor Murphy.
“He must act decisively and quickly in adopting much stronger and more resilient building regulations.”
The consultation will run until 19 December 2021. Further details can be found at www.finance-ni.gov.uk/consultations.
