Current policies determining how Victorian cities are being built will not achieve the Paris Agreement commitment of net zero emissions by 2050, new research from the University of Melbourne has revealed.
The study, published in Climate Policy and led by the University's Dr Anna Hürlimann has shown that while progress is being made, critical gaps in Victorian and national built environment policies are jeopardising efforts to meet global climate targets and protect communities from further climate change impacts.
"The built environment accounts for up to 72 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Our research shows that while there have been some improvements to the policies governing this sector, they don't come close to ensuring we're building our cities in a way that will meet our net zero target," said Dr Hürlimann.
The study evaluated 96 built environment policies across local and state Victorian levels, as well as the national and international policies that feed into them, and found 76 per cent of policies lack an explicit target to reduce emissions, only 15 per cent have targets that align with the Paris Agreement's global climate goals, and there isn't a dedicated oversight body to ensure policy effectiveness.
"The Victorian government has recently instigated changes to the Planning and Environment Act to account for climate change. The changes will come into effect this year, but we need to make sure they are accompanied by supporting policies to guide and support the work of urban planners and other built environment professionals to ensure the goals are implemented," said Dr Hürlimann.
Researchers warn that without embedding robust, consistent, and enforceable emissions targets across the sector, it will be difficult to achieve our Paris Agreement commitments and avoid the impacts of climate change.
The research calls for reform to Victoria's built environment policy framework, including mandatory inclusion of science-based emissions reduction targets across built environment laws, regulations, and strategies and establishing an oversight body to manage and monitor policy progress.
