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Library
“London’s carbon reduction and climate mitigation dilemmas are complex and critical…”
June 2012: A new report outlining the imperatives for London’s future success has recently been published and contains views from around 100 leading thinkers about the future of cities into the second decade of the 21st century – including the following:
“While some challenges remain as intractable as ever, others have only surfaced more recently. The major policy area which has moved inescapably to the forefront since London:World City is that of climate change. In 1991 environmental concerns were primarily limited to air pollution, sulphur dioxide emissions, noise and litter. The implications of carbon dioxide emissions for urban life and urban policy had barely registered. Today London’s carbon reduction and climate mitigation dilemmas are complex and critical. There is increasing evidence that world cities will need to introduce rigorous climate-change-oriented provision in order to meet the security and ethical demands of an increasingly environmentally conscious citizenry.”
Delivering Energy Efficiency in London
31 May 2012: Think tank Future of London having been working with local authorities and other key energy efficiency delivery agents in London over the past few months considering how the Government’s Green Deal programme can be successfully implemented in the capital. The result of these discussions have been published today in a report entitled ‘Delivering Energy Efficiency in London‘. The role of local authorities and other local partners is – as DECC states on its website – “likely to be key in ensuring effective and intensive delivery of the ECO and Green Deal in particular areas.” Hence the findings by Future of London are of particular interest, and include:
- The capital faces a big challenge to make the most of the Government’s new approach to improving energy efficiency through the Green Deal and ECO programmes
- Contributing factors to the installation of energy efficiency measures being more difficult and costly in London include:
-The increased cost of parking and the congestion charge in London
– The particular characteristics of the London housing stock with a high proportion of solid wall properties and large blocks of flats that are harder to insulate
-The lack of accredited suppliers and installers within the M25
– And the increased difficulty with planning processes in London owing to the high volume of properties in conservation areas, and the need for external wall insulation on solid wall properties.
Ways in which boroughs could encourage consumer demand for the Green Deal include:
- Promoting the scheme through council media and public-facing staff such as social workers or housing officers;
- Using data from tax records, planning information and previous energy efficiency schemes to identify properties that could benefit from the Green Deal;
- Working with faith groups, tenants and residents associations and other community groups to promote the Green Deal and energy efficiency.
The research sets out some really interesting points which Government will need to ensure they take into account in their formulation of the Green Deal. These include:
- London contains an estimated 600,000 homes within conservation areas – almost half the national total – where planning laws are tighter in order to protect the character of historic buildings. One of the most efficient ways of insulating solid walls is through external cladding – in a conservation area this procedure is likely to require planning consent. At the very least, this will increase the time and bureaucracy involved in treating London homes, making it more likely that the ECO money will be directed to other regions.
- The number of high-rise buildings in London presents a similar problem that was frequently flagged up in interviews conducted with practitioners working across the Capital. 38 per cent of homes in London are in blocks of flats, nearly triple the amount in any other region. This can drive up costs in a variety of different ways.
- Much of the research on the Green Deal to date has suggested that a lack of consumer demand is the principle barrier to the scheme’s success. For example, even the Government’s own figures project a 93 per cent fall in the number of lofts insulated annually and a 67 per cent drop in the number of cavity walls.
- Boroughs have had difficulty giving away energy efficiency improvements for free, marketing the Green Deal will represent a considerable challenge.
- A participant suggested that ‘[Green Deal] assessors will need to be in people’s homes for about three hours. It’s a long time, and some residents will be uncomfortable with that’.
- It was also noted that, while some Boroughs had been interested in providing a loft clearance service as part of previous energy efficiency schemes, they had been advised against doing so by the Council’s insurance officers.
- experience of staff from an affluent inner London Borough interviewed as part of our research suggests that, for very different reasons, wealthier households may decline to participate in the Green Deal. They told us that “we have had little success reducing emissions from richer households because saving a few hundred pounds a year isn’t worth the hassle to them.”
Download the report here.
Affordable energy: what the experts say
May 2012: Friends of the Earth provide a quick run through of some of the issues associated with new power generation choices and the associated impact on consumers bills in this useful two-page briefing note.
Updated FIT Tariff Table
May 2012: Following today’s announcement by DECC over changes to the FIT programme for photovoltaics, Ofgem have published a table which sets out the tariff rates for the Feed-in Tariff scheme from 1 August 2012, for non-PV installations only. Download here.
How planning works: an introductory guide for councillors
May 2012: Local Government Association (LGA) guide for “new councillors or councillors who are new to planning following the publication of the National Planning Policy Framework. The guide will help councillors understand how planning impacts their ward and how they can use planning to help their communities address local issues.” Download here.
New approach to developing scenarios for future of low carbon cities
May 2012: “A new study has explored how cities can create a low carbon future by presenting an approach to stakeholder engagement that develops scenarios of an ideal city. Rather than projecting towards a low carbon target for the future, the study suggests that ‘backcasting’ to the present day from these scenarios may provide a useful goal-orientated approach to environmental planning in cities.” Read a summary of the new study here.
Europe’s future depends on cities resilient to climate change
14 May 2012: European Environment Agency (EEA) report launched considering the response required by EU cities to rising temperatures as a result of climate change. “In Europe, temperature is increasing, precipitation is changing and sea level is rising. However, the effects will not be uniform across the continent, according to the EEA report, ‘Urban adaptation to climate change in Europe‘. The report is the first Europe-wide assessment of urban vulnerability to climate change.” Read the full press release here.
Olympics2012-Energy and Carbon Lessons Learned
May 2012: The ODA have established a learning legacy website which “has the aim to ” sharing the knowledge and the lessons learned from the construction of the Olympic Park, to help raise the bar within the sector “. Included amongst the material posted there is a number of documents relating to the energy initiatives undertaken on site at the Olympics:
The Olympic Park Energy Strategy Case Study
Energy In Use Implementation Guidance for Project Teams sets out the ODA’s requirements and the standard tools, templates and methodologies for demonstrating compliance with the carbon objectives detailed in the ODA’s Sustainable Development Strategy.
The environmental impact of the thermal insulation used at the Olympic Park, where several contractors sourced and installed insulation materials which were considered to be healthier for the operative installing the product (and potentially future maintainers) and which came from natural sources, such as plant matter or recycled material.
Reducing embodied carbon through efficient design – As the operational carbon emissions from buildings are reduced through energy efficiency measures, the embodied carbon emissions in construction materials become more significant. Two key strategies were used at the Park to reduce the embodied carbon of venues and infrastructure.
Achieving the Part L target at the Aquatics Centre – the ODA target to exceed 2006 Part L Building Regulations by 15 per cent was not included in the Aquatics Centre’s original design brief, but was instructed by RIBA – the design team successfully incorporated the requirements by focusing on the building systems and fabric improvements.
The Velodrome, the most energy efficient venue on the Olympic Park – which has a designed energy efficiency improvement of 31 per cent over 2006 building regulations.
Carbon reduction in transport management– reviews the Olympic Delivery Authority’s (ODA’s) approach to reducing the carbon impact of its transport arrangements and associated lessons learned.
Posted in Library, News
Tagged Carbon Emissions, Embodied Carbon, insulation, Olympics
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All homes built on Olympic park to be zero-carbon
May 2012: The London Legacy Development Corporation has recently published a new sustainability guide for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park which sets out priorities against seven environment objectives which including requirements for:
- Zero carbon homes
- 15 per cent reduction in emissions from actual energy use by Park occupants over five years by promoting energy efficient home appliances
- 25 per cent reduction in operational emissions over five years in venues and parklands
- 100 per cent of homes will have smart meters to help people monitor their energy use
- Ensure 95 per cent of visitors to events and attractions arrive by public transport, cycle or foot
- 20 per cent of car parking spaces to have access to electric charging
- By 2020 60 per cent of household waste should be recycled or composted compared to a London average today of 32 per cent
- Energy efficient lighting throughout the Park
After the Games the Development Corporation will create a 225 hectare park with 102 hectares of open space, up to 8,000 homes, five permanent sporting venues, event spaces, 45 hectares of bio diverse habitat and a network of pathways, cycle routes and waterways. The document ‘Your Sustainability Guide to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’ can be downloaded via the following page or directly here.
How London compares to other leading cities on carbon/energy
May 2012: The World Bank have just published a report which focuses on Chinese cities and the need for these areas of growth to respond to the challenges of climate change. The report however also provides a comparison of London against a number of other world cities, looking at a range of low-carbon metrics (emissions per capita, CO2 intensity, energy consumption per capita and so on – see Tabl3 3.1 – pg 85) which may be of interest. The World Bank news story around the release of the report is available here, and the report itself – Sustainable low-carbon city development in China – can be downloaded here.
Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Energy Strategy
April 2012: A planning framework for the Vauxhall / Nine Elms / Battersea Opportunity Area has been finalised and is being adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance to the London Plan. The OAPF has been produced by the GLA in collaboration with Lambeth and Wandsworth councils, as well as TfL and English Heritage and followed a public consultation process that took place in the winter of 2009/10.
The framework sets out an ambition for around 16,000 new homes and a range of 20,000 – 25,0000 jobs and includes the creation of a Combined Cooling and Heat Power network. The technical appendices to the planning framework includes a Energy Strategy Masterplan (TA5) which states that “this report finds that the density and diversity of development in the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea (VNEB) Opportunity Area (OA) supports a strong case for the development of a low carbon district heating network (DHN). The scheme would supply low carbon heat to developments in the heart of Nine Elms, Battersea Power Station (BPS) and the New Covent Garden Market (NCGM) initially, with the potential to expand north into Albert Embankment and to the more industrial areas of the OA to the west in the future. It is estimated that such a scheme could save in the order of 18,000 tonnes CO2 per annum, with heat being derived from a combination of low/zero carbon sources,including combined heat and power (CHP) plant burning a blend of natural and renewable biogas and heat from a biomass hot water boiler.” Further detail and download energy appendix here.
Posted in Library, News
Tagged CHP, Community Heating, Decentralised Energy, Lambeth, Wandsworth
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New National Policy Planning Framework Launched
March 2012: The Government has released its final version of its National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) which has gone someway from the initial draft in addressing concerns over the absence of guidance to planning authorities on supporting the development of low carbon and renewable initiatives (as highlighted in an earlier article). The new requirements as set out in the NPPF are welcome – and copied below for information – but are far and away from the detailed guidance that was proposed to be introduced prior to the 2010 election on climate mitigation issues.
National Planning Policy Framework
Included within the 12 ‘core planning principles’ is:
- support the transition to a low carbon future in a changing climate, … encourage the reuse of existing resources, including conversion of existing buildings, and encourage the use of renewable resources (for example, by the development of renewable energy);
93. Planning plays a key role in helping shape places to secure radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, minimising vulnerability and providing resilience to the impacts of climate change, and supporting the delivery of renewable and low carbon energy and associated infrastructure. This is central to the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
95. To support the move to a low carbon future, local planning authorities should:
- plan for new development in locations and ways which reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
- actively support energy efficiency improvements to existing buildings; and
- when setting any local requirement for a building’s sustainability, do so in a way consistent with the Government’s zero carbon buildings policy and adopt nationally described standards.
96. In determining planning applications, local planning authorities should expect new development to:
- comply with adopted Local Plan policies on local requirements for decentralised energy supply unless it can be demonstrated by the applicant, having regard to the type of development involved and its design, that this is not feasible or viable; and
- take account of landform, layout, building orientation, massing and landscaping to minimise energy consumption.
97. To help increase the use and supply of renewable and low carbon energy, local planning authorities should recognise the responsibility on all communities to contribute to energy generation from renewable or low carbon sources. They should:
- have a positive strategy to promote energy from renewable and low carbon sources;
- design their policies to maximise renewable and low carbon energy development while ensuring that adverse impacts are addressed satisfactorily, including cumulative landscape and visual impacts;
- consider identifying suitable areas for renewable and low carbon energy sources, and supporting infrastructure, where this would help secure the development of such sources;
- support community-led initiatives for renewable and low carbon energy, including developments outside such areas being taken forward through neighbourhood planning; and
- identify opportunities where development can draw its energy supply from decentralised, renewable or low carbon energy supply systems and for co-locating potential heat customers and suppliers.
98. When determining planning applications, local planning authorities should:
- not require applicants for energy development to demonstrate the overall need for renewable or low carbon energy and also recognise that even small-scale projects provide a valuable contribution to cutting greenhouse gas emissions; and
- approve the application if its impacts are (or can be made) acceptable. Once suitable areas for renewable and low carbon energy have been identified in plans, local planning authorities should also expect subsequent applications for commercial scale projects outside these areas to demonstrate that the proposed location meets the criteria used in identifying suitable areas.
156. Local planning authorities should set out the strategic priorities for the areain the Local Plan. This should include strategic policies to deliver:
- the provision of infrastructure for transport, telecommunications, waste management, water supply, wastewater, flood risk and coastal change management, and the provision of minerals and energy (including heat);
162. Local planning authorities should work with other authorities and providers to:
- assess the quality and capacity of infrastructure for transport, water supply,wastewater and its treatment, energy (including heat)…