Is the UK set to become the greenest nation yet?

Tuesday saw the announcement of a new green budget, which places the UK at the forefront of carbon reductions and the only country so far to have legally binding targets past 2020.

A year ago David Cameron promised that his government would be the greenest on record but until this week there were serious concerns that the promise may not be fulfilled. Last week a letter was sent to the Prime Minister from 15 environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth and the RSPB [1] warning the government that it was in danger of breaking this promise, resulting in green issues taking a backburner. The letter urged the coalition government to ‘…promote a green economy with “urgency and resolve” if it is to follow its vow to be the “greenest government ever” [1].’

The concern from the green campaign groups, which also include Green Alliance, Oxfam, WWF, Christian Aid and the Campaign for Better Transport, had grown from a reported split within the government on how a green economy should be pursued and whether it should take such precedence. Leading figures in the Cabinet such as the Chancellor, George Osborne and the Business Secretary, Vince Cable were concerned that such plans could inhibit the UK’s economic growth [2]. However, on Tuesday, the Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne announced to parliament that the government had accepted the recommendations from the Independent Committee on Climate Change, committing the UK to some of the most drastic carbon emissions cuts ever. David Kennedy, Chief Executive of the Committee said, “We have moved into unchartered territory and are going to be watched carefully by other countries. No one else has a target like this.” [2]. While there are concerns over whether the UK’s economy can take such investment at this time (some say such plans will require an investment of £16 billion per annum), it is argued that failure to decarbonise the economy now would result in a greater costs in replacing power plants in the future [2]. David Kennedy argues that, “If we have to pay more in the future that will slow economic growth, so we need to act now.” [2].

The Energy Bill

The bill itself has three main objectives, which are: tackling barriers to investment in energy efficiency; enhancing energy security; and enabling investment in low carbon supplies [3]. Some of the main components of the bill are:

• The Green Deal – a scheme to encourage energy efficiency improvements in buildings, paid for by savings in energy bills.
• Energy efficiency – the rollout of smart electricity and gas meters to domestic properties and small/medium non-domestic sites.
• Electricity security – proposal to obligate Ofgem to assess future capacity needs and increase effectiveness of monitoring of security of supply.
• Low carbon generation – delivery of an offshore electricity grid in order to support the development of a new generation of renewable energy sources from wind, wave and tide.
• Energy Performance Certificates – to allow greater access to energy performance data by extending the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency.

[3]

The policy initiatives listed above are just a few examples of what the government is expected to announce. The initiatives not only target the UK as a whole and how our energy is sourced nationally but also involve the individual, e.g. the provision of Smart Meters. It is essential that such measures are established if the UK is to make serious inroads into reducing carbon emissions and achieving our agreed targets. Involving people at the local scale demonstrates that reducing our carbon emissions is not only a national government responsibility but one where individuals can have an impact. People can start to believe that they can really make a difference.

References

[1] BBC News (2011) [Online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13398311

[2] The Guardian (2011) [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/14/historic-climate-change-deal-agreed-chris-huhne

[3] The Energy Bill (2010-2011). Available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/legislation/energybill/427-energy-security-and-green-economy-bill.pdf