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The government is in danger of missing its target to make all homes carbon-neutral by 2016, the National Housing Federation (NHF) warned today.

According to the organisation, which represents non-profit housing associations in the UK, private sector developers are not doing enough to ensure that the goal is met.

The government set out measures designed to cut carbon emissions from new homes in July, with around a quarter of all emissions currently caused by the way people use energy in their properties.

NHF chief executive David Orr claims that 92 per cent of new homes built by housing associations already meet minimum sustainable standards, but insists that just two per cent of homes built by private developers do so.

Speaking on the Today programme Mr Orr said: "That means that we're running two different supply chains, which means that the cost of environmental sustainability is greater than it should be and it means that it's harder for all of us to deliver against the objective."

He also stressed that individuals would benefit financially from living in carbon-neutral properties, adding: "It reduces the cost of living in your home."

Mr Orr claimed that living in such a property could cut a household's fuel costs by "at least two-thirds", describing the saving as "a huge prize".

In response the government insisted that it was introducing regulations for the private sector in regard to its 2016 target to make all homes carbon neutral.

A spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government added: "We also think it is important that the public sector leads the way; that is why we have said that the homes built with public money should cut carbon emissions even faster to demonstrate what can be done.

The department spokesperson acknowledged that there was a "strong body of opinion" in the private sector that more needed to be done to achieve the goal, but said that housebuilders were among those who had signed up to the commitment.