The role of planning laws and development control systems in reducing greenhouse gas emissions: Analysis from New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

Integrating emissions reduction into planning and environmental laws is a crucial mechanism in helping sub-national states or provinces play a role in climate change mitigation measures. In states like New South Wales (NSW), the absence of an integrated approach to considering and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a critical law and policy gap that needs to be addressed. This chapter focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) and sets out how planning and development control systems can be part of the solution for achieving emissions reduction targets. It highlights two major structural barriers to taking effective action to reduce emissions in NSW, Australia's most populous state. The first is the lack of legislated or binding greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, supported by regulatory infrastructure or agency responsibility for reducing emissions. The second is the lack of integration between the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the land-use planning system. This chapter focuses on the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) because most greenhouse gas emissions from NSW are authorised by planning and development approvals (explicitly or otherwise). It considers six key stages of the NSW planning system that are relevant to greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Within each of these key stages, the chapter illustrates how greenhouse gas emissions are currently dealt with and how the law can be improved to help reduce emissions. Overall, the aim of this chapter is to make clear that planning and development agencies and decision-makers need stronger laws and guidance on achieving emissions control. It concludes with 14 recommendations to address this problem.