In a speech today (2 July 2021) at London Climate Action Week,
(Parliamentary Under Secretary for MHCLG) has
recognised the vital work of councils to mobilise their efforts
to combat climate change and meet our ambitious net zero targets.
The UK is a global leader on climate change, and in 2019 became
the first G7 country to put into law the ambition for net zero by
2050. Our ambitious planning reforms will help us meet this
target.
Minister Hughes said councils’ expert knowledge of their
communities allow them to help deliver net zero across energy,
housing and transport in ways most suited to people in their
area.
By joining up across functions such as public health, planning,
housing and air quality, they can get wider benefits from
decarbonisation, such as reducing inequality, community
integration and a green economic recovery.
Most councils are already taking some form of action. Minister
Hughes cited innovative work across the country - including in
the capital, where the London Plan includes measures to ensure
the environmental ambition of major developments is included at
the start of the design process.
Plymouth meanwhile has installed solar panels on council
buildings, saving up to £1.4 million on its energy bills. It is
also providing grants to help 500 fuel-poor families make their
homes more energy efficient.
Leeds has introduced co-buying schemes for home upgrades, to
reduce the cost for families of making their homes more energy
efficient. And Hampshire has invested in digital tools to ensure
it factors carbon impacts and climate risk into all its
decisions.
Minister Hughes said:
The COVID-19 pandemic has raised many fundamental questions
about the way we live our lives. As we have all worked from
home, we have spent more time in our local neighbourhoods and
built ties with the people who live around us.
Building back better from this pandemic means not only ensuring
that new development is greener and better for the environment,
but that it supports healthy, happy and flourishing
communities.
He added that the government’s planning reforms emphasise
environmental outcomes, not just processes.
This reflects the call from the Climate Change Committee for
councils to collaborate with communities and businesses, and with
each other, to deliver local projects that support net zero.
MHCLG’s achievements to date include:
-
Our National Planning
Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out how councils should
ensure new developments are not vulnerable to climate change.
And our Planning for the
future white paper is clear that environmental concerns
and our transition to net zero should be embedded in the
planning system.
-
The Future Buildings
Standard consultation set out proposals to reduce the
risk of overheating in new residential buildings by
introducing a new overheating mitigation requirement in the
Building Regulations.
-
From 2025, the Future Homes
Standard will ensure that new homes produce at least 75%
less CO2 emissions than homes built now.
-
The government has made over £1 billion available to councils
to increase the energy efficiency of low-income households in
England. So far thousands of homes have been upgraded, and
thousands more are signed up.
Minister Hughes added:
The Planning Bill will establish a clear set of rules – from
where communities want homes to be built, to the high design
and environmental standards that must be met – while
complementing the commitments we are making in the Environment
Bill.
This includes making it mandatory for the vast majority housing
and developments to achieve at least a 10% net gain in value
for biodiversity, ensuring new developments enhance the
environment, contribute to our ecological networks and conserve
our precious landscapes.
London Climate Action Week
is an annual event bringing together world-leading climate
expertise to help solve the climate emergency.
LCAW was established to create space for London’s climate
professionals and communities to come together and find solutions
to climate change. Now in its third year, LCAW is the largest
independent climate gathering in Europe.
