UK Carbon Plan a 'positive first step'

UK officials today launched a cross-government action plan on climate change backed by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister that sets strict actions and deadlines for Whitehall.

The new Carbon Plan sets out what has to happen and by when if the government is to live up to its green ambitions, meet tough domestic carbon targets and encourage greater action internationally. It is focused on the jobs and economic opportunities of the low-carbon economy and on policies aimed at helping insulate Britain from future energy price shocks.

The UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security (ITPOES) welcomed the Carbon Plan as a “positive first step.” However, the group said political instability in the Middle East, rising fuel prices and increasing uncertainty over oil reserves had heightened the urgency for action.

With the draft publication of the Carbon Plan, the public and organisations will now have an opportunity to give their views on the contents. A final version is set to be published in the autumn and then updated annually.

In a foreword to the document, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne write:

This Carbon Plan sets out a vision of a changed Britain, powered by cleaner energy used more efficiently in our homes and businesses, with more secure energy supplies and more stable energy prices, and benefiting from the jobs and growth that a low carbon economy will bring.

“But it does more than that. It shows exactly how we will deliver that vision and play our part in the global effort to tackle climate change and build a green economy through specific, practical action across government, month by month and department by department.”

The draft plan highlights three key changes that will be required across the UK economy, including:

• The way electricity is generated, with a dramatic shift away from fossil fuels and toward low-carbon alternatives is needed, including renewable energy, new nuclear power and fossil fuel power stations fitted with carbon capture and storage;
• The way homes and businesses are heated, where a step change is needed in how well homes are insulated and away from gas boilers to low-carbon alternatives such as heat pumps;
• The way people travel. This means more use of public transport and substituting the need for some journeys. However, the greatest change will be in road transport — reducing emissions from petrol and diesel engines and moving toward alternative technologies such as electric vehicles.

Internationally, the plan sets out how the UK will work within the European Union and with other countries to promote ambitious action on climate change; support developing countries to limit emissions and adapt to climate change; and seek further progress toward a global climate change agreement.

The document details a range of deadlines and actions that a number of government departments will have to meet. These include:

• Legislation to create a floor in the carbon price by April 2011
• Awarding a contract for the first UK carbon capture and storage demonstration by end of this year and identifying further demonstration projects by May 2012
• Making the Green Investment Bank operational by September 2012 with the first annual data released on the funds in and size of investments made by the bank by May 2013
• Developing a nationwide strategy to promote the installation of electric vehicle infrastructure
• Reducing the central government’s emissions by 10 per cent in twelve months with the deadline of May 2011
• Launching a pilot project to develop and trial methods for delivering integrated environmental advice for farmers, including advice on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To enable local councils the opportunity to take the lead in reducing emissions, Huhne will sign a memorandum of understanding this week with Richard Kemp, the vice-chair of the Local Government Association, to set out how DECC and local government will work together to help and encourage all councils to take firm action to:

• Reduce the carbon emissions from their own estate and operations
• Reduce carbon emissions from homes, businesses and transport infrastructure, creating more, appropriate renewable energy generation, using council influence and powers; and
• Participate in national carbon reduction initiatives at the local level, particularly the rollout of the Green Deal, smart metering and renewable energy deployment.

In response to the new plan, the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security said the private sector was crucial to ensuring the practical delivery of any strategy. It urged ministers to adopt a closer and more collaborative working partnership with industry and use the forthcoming budget to give a clear commitment to accelerate a range of low-carbon initiatives, including the “Green Deal,” Green Investment Bank and protection of feed-in tariffs for renewable energy.

In a joint statement, ITPOES members Arup, Buro Happold, Kingfisher, Solarcentury, SSE, Stagecoach Group and Virgin Group said, “For the past three years, we have been warning of the very energy security risks that have been brought into sharp focus by events in the Middle East. We have stressed the need for co-operative contingency planning and proactive risk-abatement and we remain extremely keen to work with the UK government.

“Recognition by the coalition administration that we have a serious problem and moves to ensure a more joined-up approach across government are a positive first step.

“However, the negative impact of our dependency on oil threatens to be far worse than the oil shocks of previous decades and the actions needed to tackle it are wider than just government.

“Business has a crucial role to play if we are to wean the UK off oil. We must work together to deliver a radical solution to the challenge of peak oil, and we hope this will be reflected in the forthcoming budget with accelerated support for domestic and commercial low-carbon initiatives, including a low-carbon transportation strategy to reduce our oil dependency.”

ITPOES released reports in 2008 and 2010 on the impact of peak oil on the UK economy, highlighting the complex factors above and below ground that will increasingly tighten the flexibility in the oil market over the next few years, and as early as 2015. ITPOES also produced a briefing note in November 2010 highlighting the risks to global oil supply from increasing exposure to deepwater oil production. These reports are all available on its website.