The Environment Agency today urged the Government to apply rigorous green criteria to the development of the proposed National Policy Statements for energy, transport, water and waste infrastructure - or risk a "grey binge" of unsustainable infrastructure construction.

Chief Executive Barbara Young said the Government's new planning system proposals announced today could help to protect the environment and future-proof critical infrastructure from the affects of climate change - but only if the Government built green objectives into the core of its policies from the outset.

"The new planning system proposals present the opportunity to develop critical infrastructure that will serve us well for decades to come, and the Government has signalled its intention to put sustainable development at the heart of these proposals.

"But alternatively, a short term, narrow and backward-looking approach would lead to a 'grey binge' of infrastructure construction that would be out of place and stranded in a world that is carbon-constrained - and with a population that demands high environmental standards and good quality of life," Barbara Young said.

The Environment Agency set out three green tests for the National Policy Statements. Infrastructure policy must be:

Framed within the five principles of sustainable development established in the Government's 2005 Sustainable Development Strategy and subject to sustainability appraisal. This includes living within environmental limits; ensuring a strong healthy and just society; achieving a sustainable economy; promoting good governance; and using sound science responsibly.

Compatible with the carbon objectives established in the Climate Change Bill - to achieve a 60% cut in CO2 emissions by 2050 and 26-32% by 2020, and properly designed to adapt to the changing environment we will face - for example, the effect of rising sea levels on coastal communities - subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment to ensure consistency with conservation duties and other environmental objectives.

Barbara Young said: "The planning system is one of the major triumphs of the last 50 years. It must continue to be about achieving sustainable development, responding to climate change and protecting and enhancing the environment, in balancing the needs of the economy, environment and social progress. The Government must choose green - this policy will only work if it's about greening infrastructure development, and that means applying tough criteria for sustainability, climate change, and wider environmental impact."