Conservative decision to axe ‘zero carbon homes’ plan added £500m onto cost of energy bills, Labour says

The Conservative decision to axe the zero carbon homes plan has added £500m on to the cost of consumers’ energy bills over the last five years, according to a Labour analysis.

Forcing developers to build zero carbon homes within a decade, the policy was first unveiled by the former prime minister Gordon Brown in 2006 and would have affected over 800,000 homes built since 2016.

Just months before it was set to be implemented, however, the policy was scrapped by David Cameron’s Conservative government, undermining the UK’s current efforts to reach its climate targets.