More important than ever before that the construction sector decarbonises - Rob Gill

That scheme levies a daily charge of £12.50 on vehicles that do not meet its emission standards, including diesel cars over eight years old and petrol ones built before 2005.

Speculation about the government’s green intentions has also been fuelled by subsequent developments, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announcing a new phase in North Sea gas and oil exploration and production, with hundreds of licences set to be issued next month and in subsequent rounds. Mr Sunak’s official spokesperson has also said that all aspects of environmental policy are now “under review”.

In addition, cabinet minister Michael Gove has confirmed the government will delay introducing new minimum energy efficiency standards for privately rented homes and postpone making manufacturers meet the cost of collecting and recycling packaging.

The construction industry can make a massive contribution to carbon emission reduction – the UK is legally bound to have achieved net zero discharges by 2050 - at the level of individual developments and buildings.

Sector professionals can achieve decarbonisation through measures such as being selective over their choice of building materials and managing on-site operations carefully during building processes. They can also refurbish and retrofit existing developments using more environmentally friendly materials than were installed previously.

Professionals can additionally buy carbon credits, to offset any emissions which cannot be eradicated. Each of these is essentially a permit authorising a building to emit a ton of carbon, because the price paid for it nullifies the harmful effect by being invested in a project that delivers environmental benefits.

This is vital as the built environment supplies almost 40 per cent of all worldwide carbon emissions - making it easily the biggest single source of them - through a combination of embodied and operational discharges.

Embodied emissions are those locked-in during the construction process and comprise about 11 per cent of global outflows. Operational emissions are those generated during developments’ day-to-day running and account for around 28 per cent of worldwide carbon discharges.

Speculation about the government’s intentions regarding the green agenda followed significant criticism in recent weeks of its environmental record since Mr Sunak became Prime Minister last October.

Given these concerns and those reports of imminent substantial government backsliding, it is now more important than ever that the construction sector decarbonises, for the sake of future generations and the planet.

Rob Gill is the founder of Green Box Thinking, a carbon management consultancy for the construction industry.

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