Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 24
As currently drafted, revised (draft) EN-1 does not provide the “step change” needed to deliver...
Recommendation
As currently drafted, revised (draft) EN-1 does not provide the “step change” needed to deliver the required scale of new NSIPs at a sufficiently rapid pace to deliver the Government’s net zero aims. This is largely due to ambiguity in the drafting about the relative weight of ‘climate change’ relative to local impacts to be taken into account in making planning decisions. We recommend that revised (draft) EN-1 be further amended to make the Government’s commitment to net zero more explicit and to provide a clear and unambiguous direction to the Secretary of State to prioritise the importance of climate change in decision-making.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states that NPSs will start with a presumption in favour of granting consent to applications for energy NSIPs and draft EN-1 has been updated to introduce a new policy presumption known as a critical national priority (CNP) for offshore wind.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
24
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted in Part
Draft EN-1 already re-affirms the government’s commitment to net zero. EN1 sets out that the government’s objectives for the energy system to ensure our supply of energy 6 https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1602/energy-national-policy-statements/publications/ 7 https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2022-02-22/debates/5EE2D484-5E06-4320-AAB1-2C4DA951C84F/ RevisedEnergyNationalPolicyStatements always remains secure, reliable, affordable, and is consistent with meeting the UK net zero target by 2050 for a wide range of future scenarios, including through delivery of our carbon budgets and Nationally Determined Contributions.8 Under the Planning Act 2008, the relevant Secretary of State must have regard to the desirability of mitigating and adapting to climate change when carrying out a review of a National Policy Statement. The UK’s climate change framework sets the overall level of ambition with the government determining how best to balance emissions reductions across the economy. Any net emissions increase from a particular policy or project is managed within the government’s overall strategy for meeting our carbon budgets and the net zero target for 2050 under the Climate Change Act 2008, as part of an economy-wide transition.
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