The UK will miss its CO2 emissions target for 2050 unless the way buildings are heated is fundamentally changed. This is according to a new report published by the Royal Academy of Engineering, which says the 80% cut in emissions set by the 2008 Climate Change Act will be missed.

The report, ‘Heat: degrees of comfort’, examines the challenges of matching our demand for domestic heating with the binding requirement to reduce our overall carbon emissions.

The report claims that switching the domestic heating load to electric would greatly increase the demand on the grid. It also says there would be more peaks in demand as more intermittent renewable technologies would struggle cope, would be more expensive and would stand idle for the summer months.

Instead, improving the state of UK housing should prioritised, as this may reduce the impacts of increased energy costs.