Government Policy

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Government should support the development of a portfolio of renewables to 2030

May 17, 2011 in CCC, Emily Towers, Government Policy, Offshore wind, Uncategorized, renewable energy by Committee on Climate Change

By Emily Towers, Communications Manager

We published our Renewable Energy Review this week. This outlined a range of scenarios for contributions from renewables to meeting carbon budgets over the next two decades.

We concluded that:

  • A range of promising options exists for delivering decarbonisation of the power sector by 2030 at reasonable cost. This includes renewables, nuclear and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
  • None of these options can be relied upon alone. It is appropriate that a portfolio approach is taken, whereby renewables, nuclear and CCS are all developed to support decarbonisation
  • Government should now commit to support for offshore wind and marine generation through the 2020’s and should implement this as part of their reform of the electricity market.
  • •    Our scenarios for renewable energy penetration in 2030 include a share of 30% (460TWh) in a central case, rising to a maximum of 45% (680TWh) in 2030.
  • Further funding will be required to support renewable heat, and the Green Deal and Renewable Heat Incentive policies should be integrated.
  • A cautious approach to the use of biofuels in surface transport is appropriate until and unless sustainability concerns are resolved.

These were only partially reflected in media coverage, much of which focussed on the analysis of nuclear costs, and possible moderating of offshore wind ambition in 2020.

The chart below illustrates the contribution renewables might make to our energy mix in 2030.

The Knowledge Broker….

July 21, 2010 in Alex Kazaglis, Climate Change Act, Government Policy by Committee on Climate Change

Alex Kazaglis is a Senior Policy Analyst at the CCC. He has a Masters in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics. In his Masters dissertation  he analysed the Committees role, arguing that it is a unique player in the climate change field…

“The CCC is the first institution of its type in the world – an independent statutory body established under legislation (the Climate Change Act, 2008), to provide advice to Government on climate change.

The establishment of the CCC illustrates an acknowledgement by policy makers that the problem of climate change requires a long term and strategic solution, independent of politics and short term election cycles.

Lessons from the first two years of operation of the CCC are potentially important to policy makers in other countries, both in terms of general strategic approaches to climate change policy, and the specific possibility of setting up similar independent organisations.

With this in mind, I recently undertook a masters dissertation to investigate the role of the CCC as an independent body in providing advice on climate change policy.

In providing its first advice on the level of carbon budgets and the 2050 target, and monitoring progress reducing emisisons, the CCC acted as a Knowledge Broker. Such a body is an intermediary between expert knowledge and policy, tasked with translating complex information into policy relevant terms. The CCC has fulfilled this role, assessing and developing a vast evidence base in developing its advice, and translating this to specific and clear recommendations, all of which have been accepted by the Government to date.

5 key recommendations from our 2nd Progress Report

July 2, 2010 in Agriculture, Climate Change Act, Electricity market reform, Energy efficiency, Government Policy, Low-carbon economy, Progress Reports, Renewable heat, Transport, renewable energy by Committee on Climate Change

  1. Electricity market reform to provide stronger incentives for investment in low-carbon power generation. Government is right to consider setting a minimum price on carbon, and should consider an Emissions Performance Standard for new gas generation added after 2020.
  2. A national energy efficiency programme, addressing both financial and non-financial barriers, involving a whole house/ whole street approach whereby homeowners are assisted with insulating their houses, in addition to the proposed Pay as you Save scheme.
  3. Currently committed funding of £260 million to support electric car market development will be required to cover extra purchase costs and investment in a battery charging network, and should be protected. Government should set ambitious targets for electric cars on the road by 2020 (e.g. Committee’s analysis suggests 1.7 million cars is feasible and desirable).
  4. The framework for renewable heat should be finalised given the need for early investment, and significantly increased renewable heat penetration by 2020 (e.g. from 1% currently to 12% in 2020).
  5. New policies are required to drive down emissions in the agricultural sector. These should include measures to improve the efficiency of the methods by which fertilisers are applied to soils and livestock are fed and could result in significant emissions cuts.

Committee members at the launch of the 2nd Progress Report - 30 June 2010

View the latest from the Committee – with Adrian’s monthly meeting round-up

June 21, 2010 in Chris Huhne, Climate Change Act, Government Policy, Low-carbon economy, Professor John Beddington, Uncategorized, carbon capture and storage, low carbon innovation by Committee on Climate Change | No comments

Adrian Gault - Chief Economist

Adrian Gault - Chief Economist

I’m the Chief Economist at the CCC. Each month, I will update you on the latest analytical discussions from our Committee.  Members of the Committee are experts in climate science, economics and engineering. They direct our work programme and each month, meet to review and debate emerging findings in order to ensure our work is robust and credible. They also guide and contribute to future work plans.

Top of the agenda in our latest meeting (11 June) was the Committee’s 2nd report to Parliament on the progress that has been made in meeting carbon budgets (to be published 30 June). The latest data that we have shows UK greenhouse gas emissions falling by 8.6% over the past year. The Committee debated what the key drivers might be behind this – is this reduction due to recessionary impacts or other factors, such as the implementation of new policy measures?

We also discussed some of the emerging messages from the work that we are doing to advise Government on the second phase cap (2013-18) for the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency scheme (we are publishing a report on this in September).

The Committee has also been looking at how analytical work plans are developing for our 4th carbon budget  report (to be published by December). This report will include a review of developments in climate science since 2008, and will consider options – amongst other things – for heat decarbonisation in the 2020s (including the potential role of heat pumps and biomass), plus the potential for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology to be applied to gas generation (read our recent letter to Chris Huhne on this).

Lastly, the Committee were provided with an update on emerging findings from a report into low carbon innovation. Is the UK investing enough in the right technologies and research in order to meet carbon budgets? We were asked to conduct this review by the Government’s Chief Scientist Professor John Beddington. The report should be published in July.

These minutes will be agreed at the next meeting and made available in more detail on our website in July. For previous minutes of all of our Committee meetings please see our website. http://www.theccc.org.uk/about-the-ccc/minutes-of-meetings

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10 Environmental pledges from the lib/con coalition Government

May 13, 2010 in Caroline Spelman, Chris Huhne, Government Policy by Committee on Climate Change | No comments

The new liberal conservative coalition Government has agreed on a list of policy pledges on the Environment and climate change.

Here is a summary of some of the pledges that are directly relevant to meeting carbon budgets:

1.    The Government will push for the EU to demonstrate leadership in tackling international climate change, including by supporting an increase in the EU emission reduction target to 30% by 2020
2.    Seek to increase the target for energy from renewable sources, subject to the advice of the Climate Change Committee
3.    Continue public sector investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for four coal-fired power stations.
4.    Create a green investment bank
5.    Establish an emissions performance standard that will prevent coal-fired power stations being built unless they are equipped with sufficient carbon capture and storage to meet the emissions performance standard.
6.    Cancel the third runway at Heathrow
7.    Introduce a floor price for carbon
8.    Through the ‘Green Deal’, encourage home energy efficiency improvements paid for by savings from energy bills
9.    Reform energy markets to deliver security of supply and investment in low carbon energy
10.    Mandate a national recharging network for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles

The full list of pledges are available at: The Coalition: Programme for Government

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Caroline Spelman

Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Caroline Spelman

Chris Huhne

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne

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