The ‘green recovery’ must also be delievred at a local level if it is to be a national success and this must be reflected in the Spending Review, according to Nigel Riglar, President of the Association of Directors of Environment, Place and Transport (ADEPT).
Responding to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ten-point plan to deliver an ‘green industrial revcolution’ Mr Riglar said: “ADEPT has been calling for some time for a green recovery from COVID-19. It is vital that the UK Government takes a strong lead on this in the run up to COP26 and it is good to see it recognised that green and growth can go hand-in-hand. A £12billion investment is welcome news, as is the proposed creation of 250,000 jobs, which will undoubtedly encourage significant and badly needed private sector investment into the sector. “
As reported by Highways News, the Prime Minister’s annoucement had both the electric vehicle transition and active travel as two of the priorities. The plan is to provide more ‘backing’ for the UK’s ‘world leading’ car manufacturing bases including in the West Midlands, North East and North Wales to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, and transforming the national infrastructure to better support electric vehicles. There is also commitment to continuing to invest in zero-emission public transport as well as cycling and walking.
“To be a national success, the green recovery must happen at a local level. Government must provide the powers and resources that councils need to deliver green recovery in every place, and this must be reflected in the Spending Review. We must decarbonise at the local level – planting trees is no silver bullet, and neither is a reliance on technology, we also need to encourage behavioural changes in the way that we all live and work, such as making it far easier for people to switch to active travel,” added Mr Riglar.
He went on to say: “Government must also provide a wider policy framework that will help to deliver the green industrial revolution. The recent Planning White Paper, for example, completely misses the opportunity to reform the planning system to deliver successful local places that will contribute to climate action and clean growth. And we are still awaiting the Devolution and Recovery White Paper to clarify the future roles of local and combined authorities.”
