The parliamentary Committee on Climate Change in its latest annual progress report has described the UK as making good progress on renewables in 2012 with measures implemented on insulation in lofts and cavity walls and boiler replacement in residential buildings. The wind sector has benefited from record new generation capacity and there have been significant improvements in the efficiency of new cars and the reduction of waste emissions.
However, despite all this, there are significant risks that progress made so far will not be sustained, particularly with regard to insulation and investment in new generation capacity. Incentives for uptake of insulation measures under the Green Deal should be strengthened, the Committee says, while with regard to low-carbon power generation it is vital to provide investors with the confidence they need in order to achieve sector decarbonisation. Progress in other areas, such as solid wall insulation, low-carbon heat and energy efficiency improvement was limited in 2012 and so new approaches are needed to ensure uptake is increased in these areas.
“Although the first carbon budget has been comfortably achieved and the second budget is likely to be achieved, this is largely due to the impact of the economic downturn” said David Kennedy, Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee (CCC). “There remains a very significant challenge delivering the 3% annual emissions reduction required to meet the third and fourth carbon budgets, particularly as the economy returns to growth. Government action is required over the next two years to develop and implement new policies. A failure to do this would raise the costs and risks associated with moving to a low-carbon economy.”
The report reveals that UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increased by 3.5 percent last year, mainly due to the cold winter and a switch from gas to coal in power generation. The report also includes assessments by sector and highlights specific challenges facing attempts to further reduce emissions.
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