Amber Rudd, the British Energy Minister (and EU supporter) has vowed to continue with her pro-nuclear power policy – while reiterating UK government commitment to cutting carbon emissions. Commenting on the vote in favour of British Independence from Brussels – she said: “To be clear, Britain will leave the EU. “However, I want to underline our commitment to the issue over which I have primary responsibility; climate change. “We made a clear commitment to acting on climate change. That will continue. “Climate change has not been downgraded as a threat. It remains one of the most serious long-term risks to our economic and national security. “Beyond that, we will continue to invest in clean energy. We have agreed to support up to 4GW of offshore wind and other technologies for deployment in the 2020s – providing the costs come down. “At the same time we made tough decisions on support for renewable energy, reflecting our core belief that technologies should be able to stand on their own two feet. “We remain committed to new nuclear power in the UK – to provide clean, secure energy. “Government has prepared the ground for a fleet of new nuclear stations. Three consortia have proposals to develop 18GW of new power stations at six new sites across the UK.”
Scottish Energy News 1st July 2016 read more »
The government has this morning won plaudits from green businesses, after announcing it has agreed to set a new legally binding target to cut emissions 57 per cent against 1990 levels by 2032. As expected the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) issued a statement on its website confirming Ministers have approved the recommendations for the fifth carbon budget put forward by the independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC). John Sauven, director at Greenpeace, warned the positive signals provided by the fifth carbon budget risked being undermined by the continued absence of a credible plan for ensuring it is met. “The government has kept its word to adopt this important target to limit the UK’s carbon emissions,” he said. “This is music to our ears… But, it’s no good having numbers on spreadsheets without the delivery to match. The absence of clear government plans and support for action on renewable energy, homes, cars, agriculture and planes shows how far the rhetoric of climate action has drifted from anything real. The only plan the government seems to have is expensive and dodgy nuclear power stations where the Committee now says the government need a plan B because they might not happen.”
Business Green 30th June 2016 read more »
The UK government has set a fifth carbon budget aimed at cutting the country’s carbon dioxide emissions by almost 57% by 2032 compared with 1990 levels. Legislation ultimately aims to cut the UK’s emissions by 80% by 2050. The UK’s Climate Change Act of 2008 sets the ambitious 2050 target. It requires the government to set legally-binding carbon budgets, which limit the country’s emissions for consecutive five-year periods. The budgets are designed to put emission reductions on an appropriate and cost-effective path to meeting the 2050 target.
World Nuclear News 30th June 2016 read more »
Committee on Climate Change warns UK must tackle ‘policy shortfall’ to meet new carbon targets: On the same day as the government announced it would officially adopt the fifth carbon budget and its goal of slashing emissions 57 per cent against 1990 levels by 2030, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has released its annual update detailing the challenges Ministers will have to overcome if they are to meet the new target. The CCC’s 2016 Progress Report confirms the UK has made significant progress with its decarbonisation efforts in recent years, cutting carbon emissions by an average of 4.5 per cent a year over the past three years to ensure emissions are now 38 per cent below 1990 levels. However, the report notes that the emissions reductions have been achieved almost entirely through the power sector, thanks to record investment in renewables and a reduction in coal use. It warns that progress on other fronts, including low carbon heat, energy efficiency and transport, has “stalled”. “Rates of installing insulation in homes has fallen by 60-90 per cent, take-up of low-carbon heating remains below 2.5 per cent of demand and, in the past year, emissions have been rising in the transport and agriculture sectors,” the CCC said. It added that based on current plans the UK was set to fall around 100 million tonnes of CO2 savings short of the target recommended for the fifth carbon budget period from 2028 to 2032. The policy gap represents around half the emissions savings that are required through to 2030 and the CCC warned that the gap could be larger if current policies fail to deliver anticipated emissions savings.
Business Green 30th June 2016 read more »
The UK has no policies in place to meet more than half of the carbon emission cuts required by law by 2030, the government’s official advisers warned on Thursday, the same day ministers committed to the target.
Guardian 30th June 2016 read more »
The UK’s carbon reduction policies fall far short of those required to hit tough new targets set on Thursday, the Government’s official climate change advisor has warned. Ministers confirmed they would accept the Committee on Climate Change (CCC)’s advice and set a new target for cutting UK carbon emission in the period 2028-2032 to 57pc below 1990 levels – or about a third below current levels. But just hours after the target was confirmed by the Government, the CCC issued a report warning that the UK’s current policy plans were vastly inadequate and would only achieve about half of the reductions now needed to meet the targets.
Telegraph 30th June 2016 read more »
Times 1st July 2016 read more »
Carbon Brief 30th June 2016 read more »
Brexit: 94 unanswered questions for climate and energy policy.
Carbon Brief 29th June 2016 read more »
Amid all the other news happening right now, you might have missed a vital story: the government has accepted the Climate Change Committee’s recommendation for the ‘fifth carbon budget’. This is the total amount of greenhouse gases which the UK economy will be allowed to emit in the 2028-30 period, which will now be cut by 57% on 1990 levels. This would be important for the UK’s contribution to tackling climate change at any time. In the aftermath of the EU referendum campaign it takes on special significance, for it nails the myth that Brexit will tear up all of the UK’s environmental policies and commitments.
Guardian 30th June 2016 read more »