The UK has a target of a 12.5 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases as part of the Kyoto Protocol. The 2003 Energy White Paper (EWP) sets a more challenging long-term target of a 60 per cent reduction by 2050 while maintaining reliable supplies and ensuring homes are adequately heated. A key part of the government's policy is to increase the proportion of energy supplied through renewable or low-carbon sources. Coupled with the EWP are significant changes to Part L of the Building regulations, which comeg into effect in January 2006 and demand buildings with lower energy demand.

The TCPA welcomes the Government’s acceptance of the potentially catastrophic implications for global ecosystems of climate change. However, we are concerned that while the science is well understood and the likely actual climate changes well documented, there remains a significant gap in the perception of the general public and policy makers as to the urgency required to address this crisis.

Cross-governmental action is required now, and on an unprecedented scale, to deal with the climate change challenge. The town and country planning system has a major and positive contribution to make in meeting this challenge.

The TCPA's policy position on planning and climate change is set out in   Climate Change (Jan 2003) (Adobe PDF format, 40Kb)

Planning and Climate Change Campaign

Climate change is potentially the most catastrophic challenge of our time. Doing nothing is not an option. We must act now to prevent the worst. This means effecting a real change in the way we plan our communities. The planning system has a crucial role to play to prevent further damage through the provision of sustainable energy, energy efficiency, food security, high quality housing, green spaces and integrated transport, as well as helping us adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate chaos.

Planners already make a significant contribution through policy- and decision-making. Often this relates to adaptation measures – such as flood prevention – but increasingly planners are taking steps to reduce dangerous greenhouse gas emissions that will cause further climate change.

As well as setting targets on renewable energy and carbon emissions, Government has identified climate change as a priority in a number of planning policy statements, and considers the UK Sustainable Development Strategy to be material to the planning process. However, there are growing calls for a single comprehensive statement on climate change, which communicates the vital importance of this issue to decision-makers. Such a statement would embed climate change in decision-making and would have a significant impact on the planning system, the actions of developers, architects, local authorities and individuals.

The TCPA is campaigning together with organisations listed below to urge government to demonstrate the value of planning in combating climate change through a cross-departmental statement. Read the MP's briefing from the Parliamentary Briefing held at the House of Commons on 14th December 2005.

The TCPA's Climate Change Conference will provide an opportunity for government to commit such a statement.

A series of articles on different aspects of planning and climate change has appeared in Planning magazine. Click here to view the articles (file size 3.9Mb)




Other Current Work

The TCPA is focussing on two key aspects of climate change:


Prevention

• We are in the process of preparing a new policy statement setting out our vision for a sustainable energy system

• The second in the series of 'By Design' guides will be published early autumn. Focussing primarily on the Sustainable Communities Plan growth areas, Sustainable Energy by Design follows on from the very successful Biodiversity by Design

Adaptation

• The TCPA is the lead stakeholder in the Adaptation Strategies for Climate Change in the Urban Environment (ASCCUE) research Project
  ASCCUE is one of a series of research projects under the Building Knowledge for a Changing Climate programme funded jointly by the UK Climate Impacts Programme, EPSRC and the DTI. The aim is to enhance understanding of the likely impacts of climate change to enable better decisions and policies to be made relating to adaptation