Policy and Legislation
UK Government Net Zero Strategy
The UK Government first legislated to address climate change in the Climate Change Act (2008, updated 2019) which requires the government, by law, to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. The Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener set out key policies to address this, particularly focusing on travel, decarbonising energy production and its use in homes and in industry, and nature recovery.
The government plans to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and oversee an expansion of electric vehicle use, as well as cleaner public transport and walking and cycling.
The government aims to feed the energy grid with more wind power and nuclear energy, to invest in carbon capture and storage where fossil fuels are still needed, and to driving the uptake of heat pumps and hydrogen boilers in homes, in order to reduce reliance on gas and oil.
The government will also support the move towards a circular economy, improving resource efficiency and reducing single use items, and eliminating biodegradable waste to landfill. This is a fast changing area of policy and legislation; WRAP has the latest information.
Finally, the Net Zero Strategy aims to treble woodland creation rates in England and to provide funding to restore areas of nature which have become degraded.
West Midlands Combined Authority #WM2041
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and is embedding climate action into its own policy across the metropolitan area. The WMCA is bringing people together to tackle these challenges together in partnership. The #WM2041 policy is (like central government) aiming to increase active travel and support cleaner mass transport in order to help the region move and to combat air pollution. Furthermore, through successive Devolution Deals, the WMCA has gained significant legal powers over transport delivery, allowing them to plan better mass transit systems which make the region more navigable and accessible for local people and visitors.
The WMCA is arguing for energy devolution, so that they can play their part in moving the energy grid away from fossil fuels in a way that meets the needs of businesses and residents in the West Midlands. As part of this, the WMCA is also working on upgrading existing homes and a zero-carbon standard for new build homes, to make them cheaper to run and healthier to live in.
The WMCA also has a tree planting programme, and is working to establish the West Midlands National Park, to make the region more resilient to extreme weather. The WMCA is also planning on a number of behaviour change campaigns around single use plastics, energy use reduction, waste and active travel.
WMCA is also investing to support reskilling and employment, for example through encouraging FE colleges and universities to incentivise people to go into careers linked with climate adaptation and natural environment. They are also working to provide business incentives and other fiscal mechanisms to incentivise growth and capacity.
Birmingham Route to Zero
Birmingham City Council (BCC) has set an ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2030. BCC is building social housing to higher environmental standards, and updating the Birmingham Development Plan to increase the environmental standards of newbuild homes.
BCC is working to implement the Birmingham Transport Plan which prioritises walking, cycling and mass transit over private cars in terms of investment and space allocation, and which focuses on making local neighbourhoods more pleasant for walking and cycling. This is supported by the city’s Clean Air Zone, which is already having a positive impact on air pollution in the city.
For energy, BCC is looking to convert its city centre district heat networks to use carbon neutral energy, and plans to support Tyseley Energy Park in its mission to deliver low and zero carbon power, transport, heat, waste and recycling solutions.
BCC will use the planning system to support trees and biodiversity more widely, and think strategically about planning an urban forest. All local authorities now have a legal requirement to produce ‘Nature Recovery Strategies’, which will support and drive this. They will support the WMCA on the West Midlands National Park concept, and improve local parks and green spaces for all.
