Local Planning Authorities: Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy

EDM number 195 in 2007-08, proposed by Martin Caton on 12/11/2007.
Categorised under the topics of Climate change, Energy conservation, Environmental protection, Local government, Planning and Renewable energy.

That this House believes that climate change is a major threat facing the planet; notes that a very significant percentage of carbon dioxide emissions comes from buildings; believes that new initiatives are needed to reduce these emissions and that an important way to achieve this is through the planning system; therefore, notes with concern, that a number of local authorities have been prevented from specifying high energy efficiency standards in their local development plans, thereby undermining their efforts to set high sustainability standards; further notes that the latest draft of the Government's Climate Change Planning Policy Statement undermines the Merton Rule, which enables local planning authorities to use their development plans to require all new developments to include measures to generate at least 10 per cent. of their energy through on-site renewable energy technologies and which is being followed by 140 councils by requiring councils to avoid authority-wide blanket requirements for on-site renewable energy, thus preventing them from applying the Rule to all new developments; further notes that the Minister for Energy has expressed support both for the Merton Rule as currently practised and for councils being able to set higher energy efficiency standards; and therefore calls on the Government to bring forward proposals in the 2007-08 parliamentary session to give councils a statutory right to use their development plan framework to set energy efficiency standards.

This motion has been signed by a total of 120 MPs.