CPRE supports calls for government to build a resilient, green recovery

On 6 May 2022, the Committee on Climate Change laid out six principles for recovery from coronavirus. We support their calls for a greener, more resilient future.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has written to the Prime Minister and the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to propose steps for post-pandemic rebuilding. These include principles about ways that the nation can recover from the seismic impact of the coronavirus crisis but also deliver a stronger, cleaner economy.

The Committee urges that adaptations to climate change must form a central part of any recovery package, and we at CPRE support this. We’re also pleased to see the call for an immediate expansion of measures including tree planting, peatland restoration and policies that make it easier for people to walk, cycle and work remotely – all areas that we work and campaign in.

Crucial next steps

Our campaigns and policy director Tom Fyans said:

‘In the weeks and months ahead, as the government begins making choices about how to support our society in its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, it’s essential that it follows the guidance of its expert advisors. The Committee is right when it says that ‘reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change should be integral to any recovery package’.

‘Building back to a better society should also be done in a way that reconnects people with nature. We’re pleased that the Committee referenced the important role urban green spaces have played during the pandemic, and echo its call for investment in restoring parks and urban tree planting.

‘But we also call on the government to go further by investing in the promotion and enhancement of the wider countryside, particularly our Green Belts, which are the countryside next door for millions of people. This will help provide us with improved access to green spaces and the health and wellbeing benefits they bring.’

Six key principles

You can read more from the CCC about their proposals on their website, but the six ’resilience principles’ they’re calling on governments in all UK nations to prioritise in planning the pandemic recovery are:

1. Use climate investments to support economic recovery and jobs
2. Lead a shift towards positive, long-term behaviours
3. Take the wider ‘resilience deficit’ on climate change
4. Embed fairness as a core principle
5. Ensure the recovery does not lock-in greenhouse gas emissions or increased risk
6. Strengthen incentives to reduce emissions when considering tax changes.

We at CPRE, the countryside charity, will continue to represent and advocate for the role that the countryside can play in mitigating and preventing climate change, and support these calls that plan for a post-pandemic world that reduces impacts of a climate crisis as far as possible.

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