The price of building a new home could increase substantially to meet new government green standards.
Head of communications as the Home Builders Federation Steve Turner has suggested that it would be unreasonable for buyers to be expected to pay the additional costs, which could amount to as much as £7,000.
"People are struggling to get mortgages now and they will not be able to afford that increase in cost," he said.
"The developer will look at it and say: 'We can't build there if that is going to be how much it is going to cost'. It is more of a threat to house building, as opposed to a threat to the end cost."
Yesterday (September 1st), climate change secretary Ed Miliband announced a new carbon emissions campaign entitled 10:10.
The aim of the new drive is to cut carbon emissions in the UK by ten per cent by 2010.