A new report by sustainable development consultancy Arup is calling on city leaders to take a localised or neighbourhood approach with retrofit solutions to meet UK net zero goals.

Since June 2022, all new residential buildings in the UK have had to comply with updated regulations. These include designs that are highly efficient, minimising the risk of overheating and are powered in a carbon-efficient way.

That’s all very well for newbuilds, but most homes in the UK were built before 1919 and by design are not energy efficient. Indeed, the majority are still powered by carbon emitting gas boilers.

According to the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), buildings and infrastructure account for nearly 25% of UK greenhouse gas emissions – and domestic buildings are the largest contributor.

The UK government’s English housing survey 2019-2020 also found that over three-quarters of household energy demand was for space and hot water heating.

Retrofitting our homes has for a number of years been...