Jun 28 2006
The Royal Institute of British Architects has welcomed the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006, which received Royal Assent last week. The Act aims to reduce carbon emissions and fuel poverty through a series of measures designed to encourage microgeneration and other renewable energy technologies.
The Act represents a success for the RIBA, which robustly supported its passage through Parliament as a Private Member’s Bill. The RIBA’s A Manifesto for Architecture – published at the last General Election and setting out the institute’s campaigning priorities – demanded that the planning system should be sympathetic to domestic renewable energy generation. The Act does just that: it provides for a review of general permitted development orders to facilitate the installation of microgeneration, and for building regulations to facilitate microgeneration in new and refurbished buildings.
Speaking today, Sunand Prasad (RIBA Vice-President for Policy and Strategy) said:
“This is a significant success for the RIBA Manifesto, which called for legislation to give people the incentives and encouragement to do their bit to combat global warming. The combination of smarter regulation and improving technology means that architects are now well-placed to help people to help themselves and the planet. We congratulate Mark Lazarowicz MP for introducing this Bill and for securing Government support.”