Evidence session: Monday 21 June, 4.00pm
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee holds the
opening session of its new inquiry into local government and the
path to net zero on Monday 21 June when it takes evidence from
representatives of the Local Government Association, Royal
Institute of British Architects, the Green Alliance and UK 100.
The UK Government has committed to a target of net zero
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In November 2020, the
Government set out its ten point strategy for achieving this
including measures to improve energy efficiency in new homes and
installing 600,000 domestic heat pumps a year by 2028.
There are also a range of areas within the remit of local
authorities that could play a role in the UK’s efforts to reach
the net zero target including local transport, recycling and
waste disposal.
In this opening session, the Committee will get an overview of
the key issues to be investigated over the course of the inquiry.
This will include the balance between setting ambitious national
standards and allowing for locally led solutions. It will
consider how homes, which account for 15% of the UK’s current
emissions, can be made carbon neutral through building standards
and retrofitting. The session will also look at the wider role of
local government in driving net zero targets.
Witness schedule
Panel 1 (4.00pm):
- Cllr Rachel Blake, Member of the Environment, Economy,
Housing and Transport Board of the Local Government Association
(LGA) and Deputy Mayor for Regeneration and Air Quality for Tower
Hamlets
-
, Founder,
UK100
- Polly Cook, Housing Spokesperson for the Association of
Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT)
and Chief Officer Sustainable Energy and Air Quality at Leeds
City Council
Panel 2 (5.00pm):
- Colm Britchfield, Researcher, E3G
- Philippa Borrowman, Policy Adviser, Green Alliance
- Andrew Forth, Interim Director Policy and Public Affairs,
Royal Institute of British Architects
