<p><span>The government must commit this year to a “robust definition” of the Future Homes Standard, legislated “well ahead” of 2025, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has stated.</span></p> <p><span>Publishing its 2020 progress report to parliament on the UK’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions over the past 12 months, the CCC, chaired by Lord Deben, wrote that some steps had been taken towards securing a net zero policy, “but this was not the year of policy progress that the Committee called for in 2019”. </span></p> <p><span>But the coronavirus recovery was a “defining moment” to combat the climate crisis, the CCC said.</span></p> <p><span>The progress report set out recommendations to individual government departments. For the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the department should “implement a strong set of standards that ensure buildings are designed for a changing climate and deliver high levels of energy efficiency and low carbon heat for new and existing buildings”. </span></p> <p><span>This included a call for MHCLG to settle upon a “robust” definition of the Future Homes Standard - ensuring no fossil fuels are used in new homes – giving a timing schedule of this year.</span></p> <p><span>The department should also this year “close loopholes” which allow …