Sad day for CO2 targets
Yesterday's failure in the House of Commons to secure legal targets for de-carbonisation are a blow to environmentalists and would-be investors in green tech alike.
Tory MP Tim Yeo had tabled an amendment (to the new Energy Bill) requiring hard targets for CO2 reduction measures be decided by 2014 that proved unpopular with the Treasury, preferring as they do to back shale (aka fracking) and convetional gas as a "quick fix" and to defer any decisions until after 2016. No surprise there as No. 10's new energy adviser turns out to be an ex-gas company lobbyist!
The amendment was largely supported by green and wildlife groups, the renewables industry, Labour, SNP and the Green Party but was narrowly voted down by just 23 votes because, tweeted Labour leader Ed Milliband:
"Only about 15 Lib Dems backed their own policy of decarbonising the economy by 2030 in Commons vote. Huge missed opportunity"
Last month, government adviser the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) suggested that the carbon intensity of power generation be reduced to an average 50 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilowatt hour by 2030 from the current 500 gCO2/kWh.
The CCC said this would limit new gas-fired power plants after 2020, unless they are fitted with the as yet commercially unproven carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology or else as back-up for intermittent renewables.
Friends of the Earth head campaigner Andrew Pendleton commented:
"Investors say that they need certainty so they can make long-term investments in clean British energy. Without it we risk losing business overseas to countries that have made a clear commitment to developing a low-carbon future."
..and as if to echo this exact sentiment a new report shows investment in green energy has fallen to a seven year low.
Renewables set to save UK £45bn
Yes, you read that correctly... A report published by the Climate Change Commission (CCC) and presented to Government ministers estimates a saving of £45bn if the UK electricity supply moves away from fossil fuels to nuclear and renewables. Put another way this represents a saving of £1600 for every UK household.
This of course is quite contrary to the propaganda spread by climate change deniers and 'big oil' lobbyists that opting for the renewables route will cost everyone an arm-and-a-leg.
The report indicates that between 2010 and 2020 the switch to low carbon forms of energy would add around £100 per year to annual fuel bills. Of course that's not to say the cost of fossil fuels will not also be increasing and the overall increases in energy costs must not be blames purely on renewables. UK gas prices are expected to jump significantly next year as long term supply contracts for LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) from Qatar are due to be renegotiated in light of increased demand from Europe and Japan following the Fukushima incident.
As noted by energy minister Ed Davey this week
“The real reason for high energy bills is high global gas prices. I can’t control global gas prices but I can put a cushion between the high global gas price that people face and the bills consumers pay,”
So if anything the report probably underestimates the long term prices for oil and gas. The CCC’s £45bn estimate represents the value of savings in today’s money that British households would collectively make between 2020 and 2050. It is based on expected changes in the price of gas and the penalties big companies will face for their carbon emissions and could potentially rise as high £100bn – or more than £3,000 per household – if those figures have been substantially underestimated.
The report will likely increase tensions between George Osborne’s dash-for-gas Treasury and the Department of Energy and Climate Change secretary Ed Davey. Davey insists a decarbonisation target should be included in the Energy Bill and to apply from next year, while Osborne is pushing to defer a decision on whether to introduce a decarbonisation target until 2016.
To provide some balance it is good to note that at least some Conservative MPs support the CCC report such as Tim Yeo:
“There has clearly been quite a big attempt to portray decarbonisation as a huge burden to the consumer. But this report provides a robust rebuttal to that argument on anything but a short-term basis.”