Short version of Regional Plan for Climate 2022-2035

You are now holding the short version of the first climate plan to be implemented in Vestland county, Norway. In the plan, the County Council ratifies the ambition to be a leading driver of the climate transition in Vestland county. Time is short and the challenges are great, but we must do the job and look for opportunities. The plan sets the strategic direction for Vestland’s climate action and highlights the importance of cooperation and partnership in solving the challenges that we face. The short version is intended to provide an overview of the main themes of this plan, and contains the goal slogans, “How we will do it in Vestland” and the guidelines.

Note that this is an independent translation of parts of the implemented plan and has not been reviewed by the County Council.

Vestland will reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of net zero by 2030.*

*This goal applies to all sectors, whether or not they are subject to the Emissions Trading System

To have an efficient transport system in Vestland, based on low- and zero emission solutions and sustainable mobility

• We will facilitate a climate-friendly transport system by coordinating land use planning and transport planning, which will reduce the need for transport and make it easy to choose public transport, cycling or walking
• We will facilitate shared mobility which will reduce the need for private car ownership.
• We will be an instigator and implement low and zero emission solutions in mobility services, through public procurement, introducing new technological solutions and establishing infrastructure.
• We will facilitate the transition to low and zero emission solutions for all means of transport, both on the road, at sea and in the air.
• We will emphasize the need to take nature into consideration in land-use planning and wherever possible avoid destroying areas which are important to biodiversity.
• We will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from planning, building, operating and maintaining road infrastructure.

Vestland will use electricity and heat efficiently and reduce energy consumption.

• We will contribute to achieving the national goal of energy efficiency savings of 10 TWh in existing buildings.
• We will make active use of energy efficiency measures in our climate transition work, to free up energy for other climate measures.
• We will implement energy efficiency measures in the existing building stock.
• We will work with research and education institutions in the region to acquire knowledge about future solutions and work actively to share good examples.
• We will facilitate decentralized energy production and positive energy buildings and neighbourhoods throughout Vestland.
• Public institutions will take the lead and will demand and make use of energy efficient solutions in internal operations, and will set energy efficiency requirements in new bidding and procurement processes.

Sustainable and climate-smart agriculture in Vestland that strengthens and develops food production.

• We will work together to develop and use solutions in line with “The climate plan for agriculture 2021-2030” ( Landbruket sin klimaplan 2021-2030 ).
• We will help all farms in Vestland to use the “climate calculator” (klimakalkulatoren) and obtain advice on climate.
• We will work to increase the use of local resources in agriculture.
• We will stimulate green development through research and innovation.
• We will be a leading county in soil conservation, where the protection of agricultural soil is of primary concern in land-use planning.
• We will work to get the agricultural sector to take its share of responsibility for protecting biodiversity and protecting the cultural landscape and topsoil.
• We will work to help the forestry industry increase its value and process timber in a sustainable and climate-responsible way.

A business sector in Vestland with net zero emissions by 2030.

• We will increase the tempo of the climate transition by strengthening effective multi-level management through a robust framework of cooperation.
• We will reduce the biggest points of emissions from industry in line with the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
• We will build innovative infrastructure.
• We will initiate the development of green businesses and new green clusters and hubs, based on regional advantages.
• We will strengthen circular business models regionally through industrial symbiosis and sustainable use of resources.
• We will use new management tools to achieve net zero emissions.
• We will stimulate local and regional innovation and climate-friendly business development, and will reduce climate risk through public procurement processes.
• We will support the development of technology for carbon capture, use and storage.
• We will work to ensure that business development takes place in a way that conserves biodiversity and topsoil.

We will reduce our carbon footprint by protecting our resources through circular solutions, reduced consumption and less waste.

• We will know our carbon footprint, and take responsibility for reducing it.
• Public institutions will implement the climate-friendly and innovative purchase of goods and services with a low carbon footprint.
• We will encourage climate and environmental leadership in public and private institutions and businesses, through the use of networking and established tools, including carbon accounting.
• We will strengthen cooperation across sectors, to identify good business opportunities for products and services with a low carbon footprint.
• We will increase materials recycling and reduce landfill to a minimum. We will work to ensure that laws and regulations encourage reuse and recycling wherever possible.
• We will facilitate local sharing, borrowing and reuse schemes.
• We will preserve what we have, through the maintenance, repair, reuse and transformation both of products and building infrastructure.
• Public institutions will lead the way in sustainable construction, by using existing building materials, reusing, transforming and choosing materials with the lowest possible carbon footprint.

A safe place to live and a climate-robust society which is prepared for the consequences of climate change.

• We will develop climate-robust local communities, which individually and together are prepared for the consequences of climate change. The security and preparedness of our communities are important elements of this.
• We will cooperate with research communities regarding climate in the region to develop competence and knowledge to reduce climate risk.
• We will ensure that adaptations to climate change are sustainable, using the precautionary principle to avoid any negative consequences from the climate transition.
• We will take the lead in climate transition work and reduce physical climate risk through comprehensive and safe planning, in which we protect and preserve nature and prioritise nature-based solutions.
• We will give water more space, restore waterways and improve conditions for biodiversity, for a future with higher levels of precipitation.
• We will act to adapt our food production and drinking water provision to a changing climate, to ensure a secure supply for our citizens.
• We will protect and adapt roads and infrastructure around current and future climate change.
• We build flood tunnels where removing water is the only solution to secure infrastructure and community downstream.

By acquiring a good knowledge base, we will protect biodiversity and reduce climate risk.

• We will work actively to develop municipal and regional land-use accounts as a tool in the climate transition.
• We will develop a full overview of our carbon-rich land in Vestland, and the municipalities will understand the value of carbon binding on this land.
• We will develop land-use policies which will help to make our county’s land use carbon-neutral, where we will prioritise the further use of developed land, rather than building on virgin, cultivated or cultivable land.
• We will avoid the loss of important natural, landscape and cultural assets and avoid building on carbon-rich land and highly biodiverse ecosystems when tackling the climate crisis and nature crisis.
• In planning processes, potential areas for the restoration of nature will be identified.
• We will use natural ecosystem services in Vestland to regulate the climate and protect against extreme weather. We will prioritize nature-based solutions in adapting to a changing climate.
• We will protect coastal heathland through sustainable management and traditional agricultural methods.

Vestland will be an initiator for a fair climate transition that will benefit its citizens today and in the future.

• We will help to highlight and prioritize important societal connections between climate justice and public health work.
• We will lead by prioritizing climate action that promotes public health and climate justice in social development.
• We will assess the social consequences of our climate action.
• We will acquire more knowledge about climate justice and the indirect health consequences of climate policies and action.
• We will involve a wide range of citizens to identify needs when developing targeted and effective climate action.

Guidelines are rules which explain what is expected of regional and municipal planning in Vestland in order to ensure that the goals in this plan are followed up on. The guidelines are made on the basis of feedback and input from the participation process, national regulations and g uidelines on climate and energy planning and climate change adaptation .

Note that the guidelines are numbered from 1-23 in the original plan, on page 34 and 35.

Transport

• When developing cities and towns in Vestland, we must encourage a reduction in transport needs and encourage fossil-free means of transport.
• Regional and municipal planning must encourage more people to walk or cycle instead of driving a car.
• In municipal planning, we should plan to provide land in suitable locations for charging stations for zero emission vehicles.
• In the municipal and regional planning of harbours and docking facilities, we should ensure that there is enough land for shore power and charging stations for vessels.

Improving energy efficiency

• Regional and municipal planning must facilitate the efficient use of renewable energy in building structures.

Climate-friendly agriculture

• Regional and municipal planning must ensure that agricultural soil conservation is a primary consideration in land-use planning.

Sustainable business development

• In regional and municipal land-use planning, new developments must be sensitively implemented, conserving natural resources, protecting biodiversity and safeguarding national agricultural soil conservation goals. It should be a priority to ensure that any business development uses land that is already built on, in order to ensure that natural resources are used sustainably and cultivated land is protected.

• Regional and municipal planning strategies and the social element of the municipal master plan should include a carbon footprint status and consider the need to update knowledge, and the need for plans and measures to reduce this carbon footprint.
• Materials with the lowest carbon footprint from a lifetime perspective should be used in renovations and new buildings.

• Climate change should be a topic of consideration in regional and municipal planning, using as a base the high alternatives from national climate projections.
• In any work with the land-use element of the municipal master plan, the need to cancel or revise current zoning plans must be considered, in order to ensure that overall land use takes a changing climate into consideration.
• Regional and municipal plans should identify and manage various forms of climate risk in their planning.
• Regional and municipal planning must consider a changing climate and reduce the risk of damage associated with increased precipitation, flooding and rising sea levels. This will be achieved by avoiding encroachment on land close to the banks of waterways, streams and lakes and in the shoreline zone, and by allocating land for stormwater management. (For more detailed guidelines on stormwater management, see  the Regional plan for water management for the Vestland water region 2022-2027 and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate’s  Guidelines for handling surface water in land-use planning (pdf) ).
• The social element of the municipal master plan must contain a general evaluation of whether climate change will affect the plan’s long-term challenges, goals or strategies.
• In areas with infrastructure and housing prone to avalanche, landslide or erosion, consideration should be given in planning to the allocation of land for protection forests.
• In regional and municipal planning, nature-based solutions for climate change adaption must be considered and prioritised where possible.

• We should avoid any development on carbon-rich land such as marshes and bogs, wetlands and forests. If insufficient surveys have been performed, the precautionary principle must be used (cf. Section 9 of the Nature Diversity Act).
• Municipalities should survey ecosystems and carbon-rich areas which have a climate change adaptation and CO ₂  uptake function.
• In work on the land-use element of the municipal master plan, the need to cancel or revise current zoning plans must be considered, to ensure that overall land use protects carbon-rich land, cultivated and cultivable land and important biodiversity.
• In the regional and primary municipal planning processes, potential areas for the restoration of natural land must be identified and considered.
• Municipalities should prepare land-use accounts as a basis for the municipal master plan’s land-use strategies and land-use element.

• In regional and municipal planning processes which deal with the climate transition, the social and health consequences of the planned measures must be evaluated, in addition to the consideration of people with disabilities.
• In municipal and regional planning, there should be an emphasis on good and holistic solutions, which protect ecosystems and land which is significant to climate change adaptation and helps to improve the quality of outdoor areas.