Budget 2020: RICS response to climate change commitments

The chancellor’s Budget 2020 speech was disappointingly light on specific net zero announcements across the built environment. Given the Treasury’s major role in decarbonisation, we would have liked to see the budget give more focus and certainty on its sector roadmaps to achieving net zero. An overhaul to the energy performance of the UK’s buildings is required: prior to the speech, we urged the government to prioritise the decarbonisation of the UK’s existing housing stock as one of the most cost-effective routes to achieving net zero ambitions.

However, a package of funding was allocated to mitigation measures, including investment in speculative carbon capture and storage technologies and maximising the benefits of natural solutions. The £640m Nature for Climate fund will seek to enhance carbon sequestration through a programme of tree planting and restoration of peatlands in England. Although this is a welcome measure, the scale of the effect on the UK’s carbon emissions remains to be seen.

Natural solutions

In response to the persistent challenges of flooding across England, the chancellor announced an intention to double funding for flood defences. While RICS welcomes the decision to allocate £5.2bn over five years, which will help to build new flood and coastal defence schemes, this will not mitigate the need to address flood adaptation across the built and natural environment. More properties need to be protected, and where this is not possible, properties need to be equipped with appropriate resistance and resilience measures, and householders should be supported in this regard. RICS believes that Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDs) have a role to play in managing water flows and that their benefits should be promoted.
 
We urge the government to make a greater ‘invest to save’ commitment, and in addition to the provision of hard solutions where deemed essential, commit further resources to natural flood management techniques and the creation of viable ecosystem markets. RICS believes that land managers have a key role to play in lowering flood risks. Decisions made on farms and by land managers directly affect water flow and water quality.

Natural flood management alternatives that can act as a carbon sink rather than a carbon emitter should be prioritised, which will have the additional benefit of contributing to net zero carbon ambitions. 

Low carbon infrastructure

Although we are disappointed about the delay to the National Infrastructure Strategy, we fully support the focused drive for low carbon and resilient infrastructure and look forward to exploring the role of the second edition of the International Construction Measurement Standards in helping the government achieve this ambition.

Tackling transport is a major component of the net zero agenda, and while building the network for the growth of electric vehicles is part of the solution, it must be in tandem with the announced and committed investment in upgrading existing public transport infrastructure and the drive for more active travel.