Planning System Requirements for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

The planning system should therefore help to mitigate and adapt to climate change by: • shaping new and existing developments in ways that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and positively build community resilience to problems such as extreme heat or flood risk; • promoting sustainable patterns of development, including the sustainable re-use of historic buildings where appropriate, which reduces the need for motorised transport, encourages active travel, and facilitates travel by public transport in preference to the private car; • requiring the siting, design and layout of all new development to limit likely greenhouse gas emissions and minimise resource and energy requirements; • avoiding development in areas with increased vulnerability to the effects of climate change, particularly areas at significant risk from flooding, landslip and coastal erosion and highly exposed sites at significant risk from impacts of storms; • considering the energy and heat requirements of new developments when designating land for new residential, commercial and industrial development and making use of opportunities for energy and power sharing, or for decentralised or low carbon sources of heat and power wherever possible; • promoting the use of energy efficient, micro-generating and decentralised renewable energy systems; and • working with natural environmental processes, for example through promoting