12 October 2009
Climate change committee demands 'step change'
Robin Mannering
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The Committee on Climate Change has called for a massive roll-out of electric vehicles and a revolution in home energy efficiency as part of a ‘step change’ to meet carbon budgets.
In its first annual report to Parliament, the committee reported that greenhouse gas emissions are falling at an average of 0.5% per annum, but cuts of 2-3% are required to meet targets.
The economic downturn is likely to have produced an emissions cut of 2% in 2008, but the committee warns that ‘recession-induced reductions must not be confused with underlying progress’.
It calls for the introduction of 240,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrids by 2015, and 1.7m by 2020, supported by appropriate charging infrastructure. The Government should also commit to a phased roll-out of ‘smarter’ travel towns and cities to encourage more public transport use, based on the success of the sustainable travel town projects – in Darlington, Worcester and Peterborough – in reducing emissions.
In addition, a new strategy is required to ensure land use planning decisions fully reflect implications for transport emissions. For example, promoting urban regeneration rather than moving populations away from urban areas would reduce emissions. This especially applies to the Government’s plans to build 3m new homes by 2020. The committee says the transport proposals, which also include road pricing, would result in a 25% emissions reduction on 2007 levels by 2020.
Meanwhile, energy efficiency in homes could be improved by 35% by 2020 with improved insulation, the installation of 12m energy efficient condensing boilers and improvements in electrical appliance efficiency.
But this would require a shift from the existing Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) approach in which electricity companies meet their supplier obligation through specific measures. Whole house approaches and street-by-street approaches involving councils and energy companies within a strategy defined by the Government are likely to be required.
Lord Turner, chair of the CCC said: ‘With the carbon budgets in place, we now need to achieve a step change in the pace of emissions reduction.
‘The Government needs to build on its “Low Carbon Transition Plan” and put in place a comprehensive delivery framework. What we have proposed is achievable and affordable but action needs to be taken now if we are to make our contribution to combating climate change.’
Meeting carbon budgets - the need for a step change
In its first annual report to Parliament, the committee reported that greenhouse gas emissions are falling at an average of 0.5% per annum, but cuts of 2-3% are required to meet targets.
The economic downturn is likely to have produced an emissions cut of 2% in 2008, but the committee warns that ‘recession-induced reductions must not be confused with underlying progress’.
It calls for the introduction of 240,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrids by 2015, and 1.7m by 2020, supported by appropriate charging infrastructure. The Government should also commit to a phased roll-out of ‘smarter’ travel towns and cities to encourage more public transport use, based on the success of the sustainable travel town projects – in Darlington, Worcester and Peterborough – in reducing emissions.
In addition, a new strategy is required to ensure land use planning decisions fully reflect implications for transport emissions. For example, promoting urban regeneration rather than moving populations away from urban areas would reduce emissions. This especially applies to the Government’s plans to build 3m new homes by 2020. The committee says the transport proposals, which also include road pricing, would result in a 25% emissions reduction on 2007 levels by 2020.
Meanwhile, energy efficiency in homes could be improved by 35% by 2020 with improved insulation, the installation of 12m energy efficient condensing boilers and improvements in electrical appliance efficiency.
But this would require a shift from the existing Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) approach in which electricity companies meet their supplier obligation through specific measures. Whole house approaches and street-by-street approaches involving councils and energy companies within a strategy defined by the Government are likely to be required.
Lord Turner, chair of the CCC said: ‘With the carbon budgets in place, we now need to achieve a step change in the pace of emissions reduction.
‘The Government needs to build on its “Low Carbon Transition Plan” and put in place a comprehensive delivery framework. What we have proposed is achievable and affordable but action needs to be taken now if we are to make our contribution to combating climate change.’
Meeting carbon budgets - the need for a step change
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