Most householders won't upgrade their homes to make them greener and more energy efficient unless there is a financial incentive, warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Speaking at the Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum, Richard Diment, Director-General of the FMB said: "The Government's aim to retrofit every single home in the UK by 2030 as part of its heat and energy saving strategy to cut carbon emissions won’t succeed unless it provides a range of financial incentives to encourage householders to do so. The fact is that householders are simply too worried about job security and paying their bills to bother about whether their home is carbon friendly."

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Mr Diment suggested the Government could cut VAT to make homes more energy efficient, introduce council tax rebates and make changes to stamp duty.

He concluded: "At at time when unemployment is continuing to rise and over 300,000 jobs are expected to be lost in the construction industry, a comprehensive package to retrofit our existing homes would not only help achieve the UK's cut in carbon emissions but more importantly create much needed jobs in the construction sector and secure our skills base for when we do eventually come out of the recession."

(CD/GK)