Has the Government Successfully Implemented Low Carbon Refurbishment - Dissertation Example

The government’s success or failure to address the problem of upgrading the existing housing stock in the UK was determined in this paper by first establishing a reference point, a time, and a date when the objectives and targets were communicated. DEFRA (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) supported and actually funded a study that led to the updated report on “Carbon Emission Reduction Efficiency Improvements to the UK Housing Stock”, by L D Shorrock, J Henderson, J I Utley, and G A Walters.

This was shown in the BRE Report BR 435, December 2001. The BRE (Better Regulations Executive) is a part of the Dept. of Business, Innovation, and Skills, which leads the regulatory reforms agenda across the UK. There is a need to know the principles that guide the BRE because those principles can likewise be used as a basis for saying there was a failure or success in addressing the issue of upgrading the present housing stock in the UK. BRE maintains five (5) principles of good regulation. These are (1) transparency, (2) accountability, (3) proportionate, (4) consistent, and (5) targeted.

And BRE aims to do its role to simplify regulations without having to aggravate business sectors and causing excess additional costs. One other communication coming from the BRE stated a commitment to regulate well, by simplifying and reducing costs as a result of imposing regulations. The more important objectives were to facilitate business growth and economic prosperity. According to Lucas (2009, p.2), BRE has to strike a balance between enforcing legislation and facilitating business. Prioritizing objectives according to value pointed to the more important factors, namely, cost reduction, business growth, and economic prosperity.

Meeting the housing needs also has greater value than being accurate with reductions in the percentage of carbon emissions per house. Background of the Problem The December 2001 report forecasted that by 2005, there would be a reduction in the carbon emission per year by as much as 22 MtC/yr. (million tons of carbon emission per year) if appropriate measures were implemented. But not all measures were cost-effective.