Communities 'should fight climate change together'

A best practice guide on environmentally-friendly urban planning has been launched by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) in collaboration with the Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA).

Entitled Community Energy: Urban Planning for a Low Carbon Future, the guide suggests low and zero-carbon technologies should be used as a basis for decentralised energy and power.

Using case studies and a hypothetical city model, the guidance considers the best combination of technologies for different scenarios.

Gideon Amos, chief executive of the TCPA, said the time has come for renewable energy to be provided by and for communities.

Enabling people to use small-scale wind or solar energy supplies could not only help the planet but also people's pockets, he added.

CHPA director Graham Meeks commented that the guidance is aimed at helping to facilitate the implementation of energy strategies that are "coordinated, efficient and cost-effective".

The guidance could be downloaded on the TCPA website, where the report authors state government targets to reduce emissions by 60 per cent by 2050 might need to be amended.

They cite scientific evidence that suggests the target should be changed to 80 per cent in order to avoid the "catastrophic" results of climate change.


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