New research shows that many council planning services are enthusiastic and committed to pioneering local low carbon solutions but face “very challenging circumstances”.
According to a study commissioned by the Committee on Climate Change, the planning system is a key tool for achieving net zero and resilience to climate change at the local level, but it is not delivering on its potential.
A survey of 105 planning practitioners found that most local plans are not fit for purpose when considering carbon emissions, or climate mitigation and adaptation more broadly.
For example, only a quarter of existing local authority plans address embodied carbon, only 4 per cent include a policy for new zero carbon development (although half of respondents said they would like to implement one) and only 22 per cent contain a policy on renewable energy.
‘Councils delivering change despite national policy’
This is despite “considerable enthusiasm amongst the planning profession” to do more to support local climate action, and several examples where forward-thinking local authorities are attempting ambitious planning innovations.
“The planning system has huge potential as a solution to complex challenges around climate change. However, this report reveals a glaring disparity between what is actually climate-conscious planning and what is actually being implemented now,” said Neil Best, senior planner for net zero at the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE), which co-authored the research.
“[Councils face] a range of legal, policy, skills and resource issues, many of which stem from a lack of clarity on the priority that climate change should have. [There are] inspiring case studies from innovative authorities setting examples of best practice. But these are few and far between and are a case of councils delivering change despite national policy, rather than because of it.”
Local climate action plans
The findings are similar to Green Economy’s recent research on council climate action plans, which found that most local authorities do not yet have a good understanding of how to build a thriving local green economy – although there are several examples of councils who are leading the way across the country.
