Committee on Climate Change

The Committee’s 2nd progress report to Parliament, published yesterday (30 June) concluded that a step change in the pace of underlying emissions reductions is still required if the UK is to meet its legislated carbon budgets.

The Committee’s report found that emissions of greenhouse gases have declined over the past year (by 8.6%), but this is almost entirely due to a reduction in economic activity caused by the recession and increased fossil fuel/ energy prices, and is not the result of the implementation of measures to reduce emissions.

Lord Turner (see picture left) said that as the economy returns to growth, the risk is that emissions will increase, and that carbon budgets will not be achieved.

1. Electricity market reform to ensure that incentives for investing in low-carbon power generation are strengthened – including, but not limited to, introducing a minimum price for carbon.
2. National energy efficiency programme – to transform houses and neighbourhoods by installing insulation, and removing the ‘hassle factor’ for consumers by providing this through a ‘one stop shop’.
3. Support for deployment of 1.7 million electric cars on the road by 2020, in particular, protection for money that has already been ear-marked by DfT to subsidise the cost of purchasing cars and developing a national battery charging network (£260 million).
4. Introduction of new policies to cover agricultural emissions, which is an area where significant reductions could be made but which is currently covered by a voluntary framework of measures.