of demolition, because it doesn t take into account the energy that was used to create the bricks, concrete and steel in the first place. our environment correspondent roger harrabin reports. another one gone. and another one gone. and another one bites the dust. we can t keep knocking buildings down. in the uk, we currently demolish around 50,000 buildings a year and we really must stop doing this. why s that? well, the answer is in this brick. it started life as a lump of clay. imagine how much heat was needed to make the brick and the emissions created in the process. now look behind me. how many bricks there? hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, maybe. who knows? but imagine the emissions created to make those bricks to create
the government says £12 billion has been made available to local authorities during the pandemic. there are calls for the demolition of buildings to be recognised as an environmental problem. the royal institute of british architects says making materials such as cement, steel and bricks for new buildings is increasing carbon emissions. it wants ministers to tell developers to refurbish rather than demolish properties wherever possible. 0ur environment analyst roger harrabin has more. another one gone. and another one gone. and another one bites the dust. we can t keep knocking buildings down. in the uk, we currently demolish around 50,000 buildings a year and we really must stop doing this. why that is? well, the answer is in this brick. it started life as a lump of clay. imagine how much heat was needed to make the brick and the emissions created in the process. now, look behind me, how many bricks there?