An exploration of the technical feasibility of achieving CO2 emission reductions in excess of 60% within the UK housing stock by the year 2050

The aim of this paper is to explore the technological feasibility of achieving CO2 emission reductions in excess of 60% within the UK housing stock by the middle of this century. In order to investigate this issue, the paper describes the development of a selectively disaggregated physically based bottom-up energy and CO2 emission model of the UK housing stock. This model covers both the energy demand and energy supply side and has been used to develop and evaluate three illustrative scenarios for this sector. The results of the scenarios suggest that it may be technically easier, using currently available technology, to achieve CO2 emission reductions in excess of 80% within the UK housing stock by the middle of this century. However, achieving these sorts of reductions will require strategic shifts in both energy supply and demand side technology.