Mr Stunell told a meeting at the Policy Exchange think tank that carbon reduction measures must be taken to "green-up" the country's existing housing stock to reduce its carbon footprint and reduce domestic energy bills.
He said that it was not enough just to address new build houses as roughly three quarters of the housing stock that will exist in 2050 has already been built.
Buildings account for more than 40% of the UK's CO2 emissions. Government’s target is to reduce this to almost zero by 2050. This is equivalent to refurbishing a city the size of Cambridge every month.
Mr Stunell outlined government measures to enable a step change in domestic retrofit activity that will cut carbon while also stimulating jobs and growth.
However, he argued that Whitehall alone could not deliver the necessary improvements and local people, businesses and community groups had to be empowered to shape their environment and promote local economic growth.
The Green Deal, which will become available in 2012, will help householders improve the energy efficiency of their homes at no upfront cost. Instead they can pay for the work over time, through the savings in energy bills.
The idea is that with the barrier of initial investment removed, there will be a mass take up of loft and cavity wall insulation, double glazing, new boilers and other energy efficiency installations.
Feed-in Tariffs are available to support homes in generating their own renewable electricity, and support for renewable heat will be available for homes. Looking to the future, Mt Stunell said that the government's zero carbon policy means that from 2016, new homes will need to be built to a zero carbon standard (and all non-domestic buildings from 2019).
Mr Stunell said: "Buildings are responsible for over 40% of the carbon emissions we produce each year. If we are serious about a revolution in the energy efficiency of homes, it is vital that we ensure that existing as well as new homes have significantly lower carbon emissions.
"A strong programme of retrofitting will green-up our existing homes through the Green Deal, part of our clear strategy for delivering not only more homes, but crucially more sustainable housing.
"We need a green revolution in housing that transforms our homes and becomes the central pillar in meeting our commitments to slashing carbon emissions. The government will put in place measures to help households green their houses - but industry and community need to step up to the plate and deliver them."
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