CO2 abatement policies in elaboration of the RR2020 plan

The RR2020 plan provides an outline of how the Rijnmond industrial zone will physically develop in the period through to 2020. When the plan was drawn up there was no explicit inclusion of policies on CO₂ emissions reduction and climate change, however. Given the prominent policy focus on climate change today, there was a wish to remedy this situation. Rotterdam Municipal District therefore commissioned CE Delft to elaborate how the plan can be updated to incorporate policies to address climate change. To this end, two brainstorming sessions were organised in March 2008 with experts in the fields of physical planning and climate policy.

The general picture to emerge is that there are major opportunities for securing robust CO₂ emission cuts in the further elaboration of RR2020. The design of the plan (with its focus on concentrating traffic flows, housing construction, industrial estates and greenhouse horticulture) provides plenty of scope for achieving this aim.

A dedicated response is required on the following issues:

1. Further concentration of activities like offices and greenhouse horticulture.
2. Leadership on the deep subsurface, in particular physical planning for cold/heat storage.
3. Implementation of large-scale wind power.
4. Inclusion of more vigorous CO₂ abatement measures in ‘sectoral policies’ on housing construction, industrial estates and greenhouse horticulture.
5. Adopt CO₂ reduction as the prime criterion in RR2020 projects (such as ‘Ridderster’).
6. Convince all those involved in RR2020 of the importance of adopting
7. CO₂ emissions reduction as a guiding principle in physical planning.

Rotterdam Municipal District intends to include the results in its elaboration of RR2020 and the anchoring of the plan in the provincial authority’s ‘structural vision’.