The built environment presents huge opportunities to slash emissions quickly, and cost-effectively. With the draft ERP2 containing just a line or two about buildings, there's a large gap to fill. Suffice to say, our response is a whole new chapter in itself.
Our key recommendations include:
✅ Improving the Building Code to deliver lower-carbon homes and buildings
✅ Phasing out fossil gas in homes and buildings, including ending new residential gas connections from 2026.
✅ Requiring energy labels on homes and buildings
✅ Correcting the ERP modelling to align with MBIE’s production forecasts.
✅ Removing the reliance on carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS)
✅ Strengthening ETS pricing
✅ Expanding the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme to subsidise electrification of home heating and cooking from 2027, converting 25,000 homes a year.
✅ Implementing a concerted programme, building on the successful replacement of coal boilers in schools and hospitals, to subsidise 10% of commercial buildings per year from 2026 to electrify space and water heating.
✅ Incentivising improved home insulation and home solar generation.
The recommendations aim to reduce emissions, reduce ongoing costs for families and Kiwi businesses. Many of our recommendations and policies were laid out in our recent report Closing the gap: Hidden emissions and untapped potential of buildings to reduce costs and deliver for carbon budgets.
On sharing our submission with partners and stakeholders, it’s heartening to hear their support and use of extracts for their own.
Read our full submission here.
Photo by Billy Joachim on Unsplash.