Britain unveils carbon-cutting plan

LONDON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The U.K. government announced a new carbon-cutting plan for homes starting in 2016.

U.K. Housing Minister Margaret Beckett announced the proposal, which would require all homes to be zero carbon emitters by 2016.

Beckett said more than 25 percent of the United Kingdom's carbon emissions are produced by housing. The new goals will help the government meet its overall goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

The new plan requires greater energy efficiency in the fabric of new homes and sets a minimum level of carbon reduction that developers must achieve on the site of new housing developments.

"Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world, and introducing zero carbon homes is an important part of our plans to tackle this," Beckett said.