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East Of England Growth Disasterous, Say FOE

Posted: 29/10/2005

Greenhouse gas emissions will soar across the East of England unless the Regional Assembly amends its plan to promote large scale and rapid growth, Friends of the Earth East of England have warned, as the Examination in Public of the East of England Plan opens in Ely on November 1st.

In its East of England Plan, the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) proposes a large and rapid increase in the region's population, housing, road-use and air travel with far reaching effects for the region's look, feel, character and environmental quality. In the Plan EERA proposes a rising population, more houses and development pressures such as road building and airport expansion. Specifically, the Plan proposes:

*478,000 new homes;
*a 678,000 rise in population caused in part by inward migration;
*421,500 new jobs;
*a lengthy list of potentially damaging new road schemes; and,
*expansion of the region's airports including growing Stansted to take 40 million passengers a year.

Friends of the Earth East of England says that if people, households and businesses across the region are to play their part in tackling climate change, the Assembly must produce consistent policy measures and apply these to all parts of society. The only high level regional statutory policy mechanism which can deliver carbon dioxide cuts across the region is the Assembly's Plan.

But the East of England Plan currently fails to address climate change. The Plan contains no policy on climate change, no target for carbon dioxide reductions from the region and no action plan for how to reduce greenhouse gases in line with the Government target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% of the 1990 level by 2050. The Plan's main climate change concern is adaptation to its effects rather than working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mary Edwards, East of England Campaigns Coordinator said: "Unless it is changed, the East of England Plan will lead to a huge increase in the region's contribution to dangerous climate change, with large and rapid increases in housing, car journeys and air travel. The Regional Assembly must take climate change seriously, set a target for cutting carbon dioxide emissions, and ensure that all its policies, especially the East of England Plan, help the region to achieve this.

"Climate change is the biggest threat facing humankind. The Government has a target for cutting UK carbon dioxide levels by 60 per cent by 2050. Hitting this target should be central to the Regional Assembly's every policy. So far the Regional Assembly has been forced by Government to accommodate damaging demands for more housing and the expansion of Stansted airport within its Plan. But no matter how hard it tries to pretend otherwise, this is simply not sustainable. The Assembly should amend its Plan and tell Ministers that their current housing and aviation policies completely undermine their own promises to tackle climate change."

An independent assessment of the draft East of England Plan has reported that the rate and level of the proposed growth is problematic. This report says: "The basic challenge underlying the whole RSS is that the rate and intensity of economic and housing development which the region faces is intrinsically damaging to the environment and threatening to many aspects of quality of life.

The assessment adds: "The sustainability appraisal of the Options Consultation stage of the RPG concluded that `airport expansion will be highly damaging to the environment and quality of life'. No subsequent events or information have given us any reason to change this assessment." (SA/SEA, 2004, p.73).

The Examination in Public into the Plan is the only opportunity to debate the Plan and question whether it is taking the region in the right direction to ensure human activity in the region does not worsen climate change, air and water quality or increase loss of wildlife species and habitats. Under Government rules, the public does not have a right to appear or be heard at the examination. Attendance is by invitation from the Panel of Inspectors.

Friends of the Earth East of England will be at the hearings to show how the Plan is forcing damaging development in the region which will worsen the region's environment and prevent the Government from meeting its own targets to reduce greenhouse gases in the UK and other policy aims on climate change, sustainability and living within environmental limits.

Friends of the Earth is campaigning for a new law obliging the Government to make year-on-year reductions in UK carbon dioxide emissions. A strategy to tackle emissions from transport must be part of this. More information: www.thebigask.com

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