'New deal' risks fuelling emissions and eroding building standards

Green campaigners and housing experts warn Boris Johnson's recovery plan could swiftly become a liability

Boris Johnson's plan to build tens of thousands of new homes risks locking in high carbon emissions for decades to come, if they are built to today's poor efficiency standards instead of being designed for net zero carbon.

The prime minister's plans to build, build, build" form the centrepiece of his new deal" to lift Britain's economy out of the coronavirus recession. About 12bn will go to building 180,000 new homes to relieve the housing crisis, while new hospitals and schools will be constructed to improve degraded public services.