A petition calling for new eco standards to be applied across the house-building industry has been handed in to 10 Downing Street - with the backing of 200 housing associations from across the country.

The petition, which was organised by the National Housing Federation (NHF), demands private developers are compelled to build new homes to the same tough environmental standards as the social housing sector.

Only housing associations are legally obliged to cut carbon emissions by 25% in all new homes, under new regulations introduced last year. Private developers have been given until 2010 to begin applying the same green standards.

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They will then work to a slower timetable of carbon cuts than housing associations as builders gradually move towards zero carbon housing from 2016.

The Federation claims the twin-track approach is keeping the cost of green building products unnecessarily high and will lead to millions of tonnes of carbon being released into the atmosphere from new privately-built homes.

The petition was signed by nearly 200 associations, which collectively manage one million homes.

NHF Chief Executive, David Orr, said: "With climate change high on the Government's agenda and gas and electricity prices going through the roof, building low energy homes is a no-brainer. The vast majority of privately developed new homes are not built to anything above the very minimum building regulations.

"The Government needs to review the timetable for cutting domestic carbon emissions and bring private developers in line with housing associations."

(CD/JM)