PLANNING BILL AND CLIMATE CHANGE

That this House welcomes the Government's stated intention to integrate planning policy with the crucial commitment to address climate change; notes that the Planning Bill imposes a duty on local authorities to produce policy that contributes to the mitigation of climate change; strongly believes that this duty should be strengthened and imposed on Ministers when drawing up National Policy Statements (NPSs) and on the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC); further considers that the Committee on Climate Change should be a statutory consultee in NPSs and Major Infrastructure Projects processes; and urges that mechanisms are put in place to monitor and report on the discharge of this duty.