In advance of Earth Day, the UK Government has set an ambitious target to reduce emissions by 78 percent compared with 1990 levels as it looks forward to hosting COP26 in November. The previous target for the UK was to reduce emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
The Sixth Carbon Budget is in line with a recommendation from the Climate Change Committee. It intends for the volume of greenhouse gases emitted over a five-year period from 2033 to 2037 to be limited, taking the UK to three-quarters of the way to reaching net-zero by 2050.
Green Homes
With the Green Homes Grant Scheme stopped prematurely in its tracks, it is essential that the upcoming Heat and Building Strategy is ambitious, long-term and comprehensive in its plan to upgrade our housing stock. This will help position the UK as a global leader in tackling climate change ahead of COP26.
Renewable Energy
To ramp up renewable energy development, we also need to see renewable energy projects being consented in a more timely manner. Hopefully, ministers will put more financial resources into the expert bodies which rigorously scrutinise new applications. And critically, we need to accelerate work on upgrading the electricity grid to allow us to maximise the benefits of renewable power for consumers.
Decarbonisation Through Infrastructure
A 2020 report found that to support decarbonisation, planting should be added to hard infrastructure and that planting should be added to hard infrastructure; structures should be viewed as “material banks” with components that are demountable, rebuildable, reusable and resaleable; and the cost of the entire life cycle of a structure should be considered – rather than just its initial capital costs. You can find out more about this here.
Retrofitting and Green Design
Greenery does not solely provide an aesthetic value but has a multitude of positive benefits. In urban environments, the presence of greenery can have a positive impact on our mental and physical health. Moreover, increasing greenery in our urban spaces will simultaneously contribute to biodiversity net gain and net zero emissions targets.
The Living with Beauty report sets out recommendations for re-greening our cities. However, there is a danger that ‘token’ greenery will lead to ‘greenwashing’. Greenery cannot offset a poorly designed development. Greenery should not be an afterthought. One way to introduce greenery with an effective purpose, is through green walls and roofs. Green walls are one innovative solution which combine the best of engineering acumen to provide structural integrity alongside eco-friendly planting options that can be as diverse as imagination allows.
Our Work at Ethical Partnership
At ethical partnership, our business is focused around our values. In everything that we do, we seek to protect and conserve the natural environment and finite resources of the planet and reflect this in the way we advise our clients, design schemes and select our partners.
We offer a comprehensive range of ecology and landscape services to both public and private sector clients to enable them to design developments and other schemes that are sensitive to the needs of wildlife, landscape and habitats. We help our clients protect and conserve local and global environmental resources, have been successful in securing standard and bespoke environmental permits and have an excellent working relationship with the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.
Contact us for information, find us on LinkedIn, and you can also check out our portfolio of work.