UK: Climate Change policies still on track

Climate Change policies still on track despite UK Spending Cuts

The British Government has made long -term decisions that will mean UK can still make vital steps towards energy security and a low carbon transition inspite of unprecedented cuts to state spending.

The spending cuts aim to get the British budget balanced by 2015 . The cuts will be 80 per cent of the budget balancing exercise with tax increases making up the remainder.

The cuts will mean the loss of half a million jobs and raising the retirement age over time to 66

In terms of Climate Change policy these will be the impacts :

Up to £1bn of funding has been made available for Carbon Capture and Storage . The largest public funding contribution in the world to a CCS project, ensuring that the UK will continue to lead the way on commercial-scale demonstration. The Government remains committed to four CCS demonstrations and will announce further details on the programme for demonstrations 2-4 later this year.

The Renewable Heat Incentive will go ahead in June 2011 and Feed In Tariffs will continue. The RHI is a world-leading scheme to provide long term support for renewable heat technologies, from household solar-thermal panels to industrial wood pellet boilers.

It represents over £850m of investment over the period of the Spending Review. It will drive a more-than-tenfold increase of renewable heat in Great Britain over the coming decade, shifting renewable heat from a fringe industry firmly into the mainstream. The Government has looked at the RHI’s design and found 20 percent of savings that can be made by 2014/15 – while still keeping us on track for the UK’s carbon and renewables goals.

FITs will be reviewed in 2012, unless higher than expected deployment requires an early review. The Government has identified scope to cut FIT costs by 10 percent, to be achieved as part of its next review. Support for large scale renewable electricity under the Renewables Obligation will also be maintained, confirming the Government’s commitment to the renewables target.

New funding has been made available to support offshore wind manufacturing infrastructure at port sites, to meet the needs of offshore wind manufacturers looking to locate new facilities in the UK
Source: Foreign Office

ENDS

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