The draft London Plan 2026 is out for consultation.

The GLA have published a new Draft London Plan and the consultation is open until 15 October 2026. It marks a significant shift from the current plan, offering a simpler more streamlined set of policies that promote a just transition to Net Zero.

Key updates compared with the current London Plan include:

• A move away from carbon emissions calculations which cannot be measured post-completion and a reliance on carbon offsetting to simple absolute energy performance targets.
• A new emphasis on affordable and low carbon heat for all –  with heating system selection based on cost and carbon content.
• The introduction of upfront embodied carbon targets to complement whole life carbon assessments for referable schemes.
• A stronger and clearer list of overheating mitigation measures which prioritises passive design, with shading encouraged on all windows receiving direct sunlight.

A shift to industry supported energy-based metrics and a focus on on-site energy generation

The draft London Plan is an opportunity to focus on the desired policy outcomes while reducing the volume of information required to be submitted. The use of predictive energy models and a change to energy-based metrics would also help to focus on tangible and measurable outcomes.

A new emphasis on affordable and low carbon heat for all

With heating system selection based on cost and carbon content.

The introduction of upfront embodied carbon targets

The evidence base was developed to offer routes to drive down embodied and Whole Life Carbon (WLC) in new buildings and consider opportunities for streamlining applications.

There is now enough data for residential and Class E commercial buildings to be able to introduce upfront embodied carbon limits with confidence.

A clear focus on passive design

The draft London Plan introduces a stronger and clearer list of overheating mitigation measures which prioritises passive design, with shading encouraged on all windows receiving direct sunlight.

The proposed operational and embodied carbon targets set in the new London plan were developed as part of the published technical and cost evidence bases:

• Evidence base for operational energy and carbon policies (click here)
• Evidence base for embodied and whole life carbon policies (click here)
• Industry input and growing consensus

A series of stakeholder engagement events were held with Local Authorities, industry consultants and experts, and property development organisations. The workshops discussed and identified a growing consensus on metrics and targets. A number of those consulted have already adopted the requirements evaluated in this evidence base, demonstrating that they are technically feasible and viable. The research is also aligned with the work underpinning the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UK NZCBS).

How the targets were arrived at

Energy, carbon and cost modelling was undertaken on a range of building typologies across a range of building fabric and system specifications. These were presented to the GLA as levels of performance for operational energy and upfront carbon that could be selected as policy targets.