Planning Week 2020: Is Net Zero Still Cool? Obstacle or Opportunity for the Growth Agenda

For some, ‘Planning in a Changing Climate’ is what Net Zero is all about, and the target is more vital than ever before. For others, Net Zero is so 2019 and in the brave new world of re-inventing the fundamentals of the planning landscape to accommodate ‘Build, build, build’, Net Zero by 2050 is just one more thing to fit in alongside beauty and gentle densification.

Michael Bedford QC and Estelle Dehon aim to unpick the substance behind the slogans and to explore what Net Zero means in practice for developers, policy makers, and regulators, both as a check on the Government’s ambitions for the planning system and as an opportunity for a green economy trying to recover from the Covid-19 induced recession.

They will explore the legislative and legal underpinnings of Net Zero, the case law, the policy implications, the challenges for delivery, and the ways in which Net Zero can be used to unlock growth by those with drive and imagination.

A copy of the slides can be found HERE.