ANALYSIS
Committee on Climate Change report
ROAD AHEAD
Was the Committee on Climate Change right to say the UK Government’s strategy for tackling climate change
didn’t go far enough? A step change is certainly needed to meet carbon targets, says Heather Haydock
T
he second report from the Committee on
Climate Change (CCC), published last
month, clearly built on its inaugural
report. While the Committee has raised some
eyebrows in certain quarters by going further
than some might have expected, suggesting the
Government is not doing enough to reduce
emissions through its current strategy, it has
rightly stated that a “step change” is needed to
meet the UK’s ambitious carbon targets.
During the past five years, annual UK green-
house gas emissions have been falling by less
than 1%, while CO
2
has been falling at 0.6% a
year. However, in order to meet the carbon
budgets, this needs to almost double to 1.7% at
current targets or near treble by 2.6% if budg-
ets are revised following the COP15 talks at the
end of the year. While the recession is likely to
bring about a cut of around 2% it would be
foolish to see this as either a blessing or long-
term trend. It is important to maintain the
incentives for investment in low carbon tech- need to be overcome, for example incentivising
nologies so that we have the infrastructure in
place when the economy recovers.
The deployment of wind, carbon capture and
storage (CCS) and nuclear are all seen as impor- ‘
For businesses to willingly take
landlords to improve their properties.
up using electric vehicles there
Overall, the Committee does lay out some
remain three issues: investment in
very ambitious, yet achievable, targets with
interim milestones that can take us towards a
tant component parts in the low-carbon energy
infrastructure; a 70% reduction
low carbon economy. Equally, it is important to
mix. In the short term, the emphasis should be
battery prices coming to pass; and
keep up the pressure to deliver these mile-
on renewable sources of energy, and given the
uncertainty over the reliability of gas supply,
this is probably quite sensible. The report iden-
tified a 50% cut in carbon intensity (power unit
’
stones. The report highlights the need for an
whether there’s genuine appetite
effective mechanism for emissions trading as
the carbon price has fallen significantly in the
£250M pledged so far); an anticipated 70% second round of the EU Emissions Trading
output) as essential in making deep cuts in reduction in the price of batteries actually com- Scheme. This threatens to stifle investment in
emissions at moderate cost. An interesting ing to pass; and whether businesses genuinely just the innovation and green technologies we
aspect picked up by the Committee was that have an appetite for electric vehicles in the UK. need to adapt and mitigate.
there are 7GW of new generation wind projects It will be important to decarbonise our elec- Later in the year, the Committee will report
awaiting construction, and the need to get these tricity generation at the same time as moving to on the steps needed to meet the Government’s
built is becoming increasingly urgent particu- electric vehicles as otherwise the large-scale targets for emissions from UK domestic and
larly if we are to achieve the UK’s target of 15% rollout of electric vehicles will simply mean international aviation to be no higher in 2050
of energy from renewables by 2020. swapping one form of fossil fuel for another. than 2005. This will be a challenge but like our
Transport does need to be addressed, both by Buildings also came under the spotlight in commitments in emissions reduction for 2020
improving the efficiency of conventional vehi- the report and the focus remains on existing and beyond, they remain our guide to a low
cles and looking to deploy new fuels and tech- stock and accelerating the installation of insula- carbon economy. And while words and policy
nologies. The Committee stated that we should tion and improved boilers. This is relatively old advice will take us some of the way, it is actions
be aiming for a figure of around 240,000 electric news but rational given that 60% of our current that will ultimately take us there. For that, we
or plug-in vehicles by 2015, and rising to 1.7 building stock will remain in use by 2050. The should welcome the Committee’s report and
million by 2020 – a clearly ambitious target. Committee highlighted the fact that energy look at developing the step change that they
For businesses to willingly take up using efficiency in homes could be improved by 35% have so rightly called for.
electric vehicles there remain three issues: by 2020 with an ambitious programme.
investment in infrastructure (the CCC suggests Current policies in place are starting to deliv- Heather Haydock is knowledge leader for
£800M is required, not the Government’s er improvements but substantial barriers still energy and cilmate change at AEA
18 November/December 2009 ❘ Sustainable Business
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