Housing minister urges more UK builders to adopt sustainable methods used in Europe

Housing minister Yvette Cooper has urged builders to create more low cost, low carbon homes. She wants them to adopt the techniques being used in other European countries to meet the challenges of climate change and deliver substantial cuts in carbon emissions. "We beleive that new developments in the Thames Gateway and in areas like Northstowe can lead the way," she said.

Cooper was speaking following a recent visit to see sustainably designed housing projects in the Netherlands and Scandinavia. New buildings are already 40% more energy efficeint than those built before 2002, but Cooper wants to better those standards within ten years: "The homes we build today will house our children and our grandchildren for decades to come which means they need to be sustainable."