Builders will need to build houses with less embodied carbon to secure approval as Australia – where houses emit 185 tonnes of CO₂ in construction on average – adopts rules to withhold planning consent from projects consuming too much carbon, the Green Building Council of Australia says.

It is not an immediate threat for the country’s home builders, but Australia had already taken its first steps to such restrictions in NSW, where tools measuring embodied carbon have been included in state planning requirements since 2023, council chief executive Davina Rooney said.