Even if not immediately under physical threat, the majority of global housing stock needs immediate attention. Energy inefficient homes cause huge environmental and social damage by using more energy than necessary for heating and cooling. This excess energy consumption, usually due to inadequate insulation, increases living costs which has a disproportionate economic impact on lower-income households.

“Fuel Poverty” occurs when households have above-average fuel bills that push them below the poverty line⁵. It is estimated that around 7% of the population of Europe struggled to keep their homes adequately warm in 2019 due to fuel poverty12. In the US, 25 million homes reported going without food or medicine in order to pay energy bills, while 17 million households had their energy supply put at risk or shut off due to non-payment13. The UK government spends an average of £27 million each winter in cold-weather payments to UK residents who cannot otherwise heat their homes adequately14.

As weather patterns become more severe and less predictable, this problem will be compounded environmentally and financially. Gas-heated, poorly-insulated homes will require more energy to regulate their temperature during more frequent extreme weather events, while energy prices will rise due to the cost of the transition away from fossil fuels towards electrification (currently a more expensive way to heat our homes) and the likelihood that taxes on non-renewable fuels will rise significantly in the years ahead.

As we recognise the importance of moving away from fossil fuel-based heating and cooling to reduce our negative impact on the environment, we must also recognise that there are inequalities in our ability to access alternatives. These inequalities include, but are not limited to, earnings and levels of disposal income (which undermine buying power), the proportion of people who do not own their home (who have less ability to directly influence their energy supply), and levels of understanding of alternative energy sources (which reduces the ability to make effective decisions).

Residential landlords, most particularly commercial operators who develop and invest at scale, have a crucial role – and responsibility – to help address this issue. Investment in upgrading of assets has both environmental and social benefits by reducing emissions and lowering fuel bills for renters.

On-site renewable facilities for self-generated energy also provide a great potential for reducing bills and improving living standards for households, as well as reducing load pressure for the wider grid. Solar panels and other new photovoltaic technologies raise the potential for passive domestic energy generation, with applications such as roofing slates and windowpanes. Ground source heat pumps also offer an energy efficient means of heating homes, saving money and carbon. While these can be more easily included in new build developments, retrofitting is also an option. The prices of these systems are high but are falling annually17, meaning they’re fast becoming a useful tool for making homes more sustainable and affordable to live in.

The major challenge we face is that current solutions to the climate crisis are often expensive and unpopular – with individuals and businesses. Innovation and creativity are required to develop solutions that are effective, affordable and implementable without requiring actions that will go beyond what people and businesses are prepared to accept. Attitudes are changing; money is increasingly being allocated to impact investment funds that target specific environmental or social benefits. In some areas this can already be shown to make good commercial sense19. In others, there is a greater element of belief that investment in making communities and cities sustainable will pay dividends in the end.