The transition to net zero presents unique challenges for the built environment, a sector that is both a significant contributor to carbon emissions and a crucial part of the solution.

Retrofitting existing buildings and constructing new energy-efficient homes is a key focus for policymakers, but significant barriers remain. Westminster’s ambition to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years is laudable, but across the UK, the sector faces challenges in construction skills, affordability, and technical innovation that must be addressed to achieve a just transition to net zero.

One of the most pressing issues is the retrofit challenge. The UK’s built environment is predominantly old and energy-inefficient. Achieving carbon neutrality in this sector has relied on deep retrofitting: installing energy-efficient insulation and renewable heating systems. However, the cost of deep retrofitting is typically prohibitively high, with comprehensive projects often exceeding the value of the buildings they aim to upgrade. This creates a dilemma: how can we make the existing housing stock more sustainable without increasing costs?

Compounding this problem is the construction sector’s critical skills shortage. Green skills are almost entirely construction trades, particularly those related to retrofitting and renewable energy installations. With an aging workforce across the UK, they are in short supply. The industry has struggled to keep pace with demand, and many of the skills needed to achieve a net zero built environment simply aren’t being developed at the scale required. Training construction workers to meet the needs of a green economy is essential, but the current system is largely based on outdated methods.

To make matters worse, the workforce needed to build new homes is already stretched thin. The construction workforce will need to double, yet there are no realistic plans for how this workforce will be trained, and where the necessary skills will come from. Without the right people with the right skills, the ambition of net zero homes remains out of reach.

In addition to skills, the cost of retrofitting existing buildings remains a significant barrier. As much as we talk about “fabric-first” approaches to building or retrofitting, this strategy is increasingly proving unaffordable for many projects. What is needed instead is a focus on energy technology, electrifying buildings and incorporating energy generation and storage to enable homes and commercial spaces to generate, store, and use their own energy more effectively. These solutions are more scalable and, increasingly, offer a more cost-effective route to decarbonising the built environment.

Finally, collaboration between national and devolved governments is essential. The challenges faced by the built environment are national in scope, but they require local solutions. Policies must be aligned across Westminster and Holyrood to ensure that funding, regulation, and innovation are coordinated. The creation of the National Energy Systems Operator is a promising step in this direction, but more needs to be done to ensure that both national and local governments work together to support retrofitting, the accelerated deployment of energy generation and storage, and construction of new energy-efficient homes built for the energy market of the future.

The path to a just transition to net zero in the built environment is fraught with challenges, but it is not insurmountable. The focus must be on training a skilled workforce, lowering the cost of retrofits, and integrating smart, scalable energy solutions into both new and existing buildings. Only then can we meet our ambitious climate targets and ensure that the transition to net zero is fair, equitable, and achievable for all.

John Forster is Chair of Forster Group

Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk