The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) today advised that the UK should protect funding for a suite of low-carbon technologies, which if developed here, will help to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050, whilst also providing the basis for green economic growth in the longer term.

Without government support, a range of essential low-carbon technologies are likely to get stuck in a so-called ‘valley of death’, where development is curtailed, and will fail to make it to market.

New low-carbon technologies will be vital in generating cleaner forms of electricity, which can then be used for electric vehicles and heating, and in delivering energy efficient buildings, areas which will make a very significant contribution to meeting the 2050 target to reduce emissions by 80% relative to 1990 levels.

The Committee conclude that any reduction in current funding levels (£550m per year) and specific future commitments (e.g. for power generation, CCS demonstration and electric vehicles) would increase the risk of missing carbon budgets and would see the UK losing out on critical opportunities to build a green economy. Once financial pressures have eased, increased funding will be required in specific cases (such as marine technologies and electric vehicles), and for low-carbon innovation more generally, over the next decade.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) today published its Annual Report & Accounts for 2009-10. These were formally laid before Parliament this morning, and were given an unqualified opinion by the National Audit Office.

Included in the report is a new sustainability strategy for the organisation, and results from monitoring of emissions over the past year.

From 1 May 2009 to 30 April 2010, the CCC emitted 54.2 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)*. Of this, 19% came from business travel, 24% from gas used for heating the office, 30% on electricity for air-conditioning, and 27% for electricity for appliances. The Committee is working with the Carbon Trust in order to reduce business emissions further.

The Committee’s office has been equipped with energy efficient appliances, recycling units, electricity trackers, and all lights are fitted with sensors. The office space has been assessed and received an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of ‘E’.

The Committee on Climate Change said today that a step change in the pace of underlying emissions reductions is still required if the UK is to meet its legislated carbon budgets - which require at least a 34% cut in emissions by 2020 relative to 1990 levels.

The conclusions are set out in the Committee’s 2nd progress report to Parliament. 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. As the economy returns to growth, the risk is that emissions will increase, and that carbon budgets will not be achieved.

The Committee has advised Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne, to consider extending the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) competition to include gas as well as coal demonstration projects, and to consider extending the proposed Emissions Performance Standard to cover new gas plant added to the system from 2020.  

The letter, from Lord Adair Turner, recommends a coherent approach to all conventional fossil fuel generation (i.e. coal and gas), building on the current – coal focused – approach.

Given new evidence on the potential competitiveness of gas CCS with other forms of low carbon generation, and the very limited international effort to develop this technology, the Committee suggests that serious consideration should be given to funding at least one gas CCS demonstration project as part of the four coal CCS demonstration projects committed to in the Coalition Agreement.

The Offshore Valuation Group, today publishes the first full economic valuation of the UK’s offshore renewable resource. The study was part-funded by the CCC, one of a range of commissioning organisations of the independent study, which included the  UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments, and eight energy companies.

The study suggests that the offshore renewable energy industry in the UK, using less than a third of the total available resource, could:

•    Generate electricity equivalent to1 billion barrels of oil annually, matching North Sea oil and gas production

•    Result in cumulative carbon dioxide savings of 1.1 billion tonnes by 2050

The Scottish Government today reflected the advice of the independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC) in its implementing framework for the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Within the package of secondary legislation proposed today, the Scottish Government reaffirmed its commitment to reduce emissions of all greenhouse gases in Scotland by 42% by 2020 - a challenging target which would, if achieved, put Scotland on a path to meeting the 2050 target.

Scottish Ministers asked for independent advice from the Committee on Climate Change. The CCC delivered its advice in a report to the Scottish Government, published in February 2010, which has been closely followed in today’s legislation.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) today advised the Scottish Government that the climate change targets set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act are ambitious, but would be achievable following a tightening of the EU framework in response to a global deal to cut emissions. Delivering the targets will require that steps are taken to significantly strengthen and to add to existing policies in key areas.

The 2020 target to reduce emissions of all greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 42% by 2020 relative to 1990 represents an appropriate contribution to required global emission reductions, and is on the path to meeting the 2050 target to reduce emissions by 80%, said the Committee.

The Committee recommended that traded sector emissions (from power generation and other energy intensive industries) should be regarded as following the wider EU trajectory under the European cap and trade scheme. The plan under this scheme is that the EU will move from the currently legislated trajectory to deeper cuts in traded sector emissions following a new global deal.
 
The Committee’s analysis suggests that meeting the 42% target would be difficult before a global deal has been reached, but feasible following a global deal and the tightening of the traded sector cap.

The Committee recommended that Scottish strategy should be aimed at delivering a level of emissions reduction in the non-traded sector (e.g. covering heat, transport, agriculture, etc.) that is invariant to whether or when a global deal is reached Options consistent with this recommendation include making the Scottish target conditional on the global deal.

Given limited recent progress reducing emissions, a step change in effort will be required to unlock emissions reduction potential in key areas including from buildings, transport, agriculture and waste. This will require a mix of reserved and devolved policy levers. For example, there are important roles for the Scottish Government in leading a national programme for energy efficiency improvement and renewable heat uptake, promoting the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places transport initiative, supporting the roll-out of electric cars through network measures and charging infrastructure provision, and developing new policies aimed at reducing emissions from agriculture and waste.

There is also an important role for the Scottish Government to play in enabling investment in renewable electricity, for example, through providing speedier approval for planning applications, in order to support decarbonisation and unlock employment and other economic benefits.

The Committee proposed that mechanisms should be considered to add flexibility to the Scottish targets. At present the Scottish framework includes rigid annual targets which could be missed, for example, if there is a very cold winter.

The Committee’s analysis suggests that following a global deal to cut emissions Scotland can meet the 42% cut at a relatively low cost to its economy (e.g. less than 1% of GDP in 2020). The Committee argued that this is a price worth paying in the light of the very high costs and consequences from taking no action on climate change.

Committee member, Professor Jim Skea said:

“These are ambitious targets that go further than those in the rest of the UK. A step change will be needed to unlock potential emissions reductions in Scotland, but we believe this to be achievable with new policies. It is important now that the Scottish Government commits to a clear and constant target for the non-traded sector and sets out a strategy to deliver this. Given a new policy framework, the opportunities are there for Scottish people and businesses to drive down emissions and build a low-carbon economy”.

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Government today responded to the CCC’s first annual progress report to Parliament, and committed to redouble its efforts to reduce emissions from harmful greenhouse gases in order to meet Carbon Budgets and help to tackle  global warming.

The UK is working towards achieving a 34% reduction in emissions by 2020, which requires annual reductions of 2-3%. However, the CCC’s progress report found that the UK has only achieved annual average CO2 emissions cuts of around 0.5% in recent years. It called for a step change to be made by Government in the pace of emissions reductions so that the UK remains on track to meet Carbon Budgets and its wider commitments to tackle global warming. It highlighted the need for action notwithstanding the recession, and the need for policy strengthening to drive the required step change.

In launching the Government’s response, the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband said:  

“The recession will not deflect the Government’s efforts to cut emissions and move to a low carbon economy. We will not let up on the fight against climate change, instead we must redouble our efforts at home and internationally so the UK emerges from the global downturn building on the opportunities and benefits a low carbon future will bring”.

The response accepts the recommendations of the CCC report, acknowledging the need for a step change going beyond any emissions reductions resulting from the recession, and setting out new initiatives for policy strengthening in key areas including a review of the electricity market arrangements. It also broadly accepts the Committee’s framework of indicators against which future progress reducing emissions will be assessed.

Lord Turner, Chair of the Committee on Climate Change, responded to the report on behalf of the Committee saying:

“We welcome this positive response to our first report to Parliament. It starts to address issues that we raised, and moves us closer to a framework that will drive required emissions cuts. We look forward to departmental action plans and the 2050 vision to be published by the Government in Spring, and will provide an updated assessment of progress meeting carbon budgets in our June report to Parliament.”

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A report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) published today says that aviation policy should be based on the assumption that demand growth between now and 2050 cannot exceed 60% if the UK is to meet the Government’s target that aviation emissions in 2050 must  not exceed  2005 levels.

The report concludes that fuel efficiency and operational improvements are likely to result in a 30% reduction in carbon emissions per seat km flown and that  sustainable biofuels could account for 10% of aviation fuel use in 2050. Faster   technological improvements are possible, but unless and until they are achieved, it is not prudent to assume that demand increases of more than 60% are compatible with the target.

David Kennedy, Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) was today joined by Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney, at the Scottish launch of the Committee’s first annual report to Parliament.

The Climate Change Act requires the CCC to report to the UK Parliament each year on emissions reductions relative to the UK’s carbon budgets. The CCC’s first report to Parliament concludes that a step change is needed in the pace of UK emissions reduction to meet carbon budgets, and that this will require new policy approaches in key areas.

The CCC’s report found that over the past five years UK emissions have fallen each year by around 0.5%. In Scotland CO2 emissions have fallen by 1.5% in the last five years. Going forward emissions reductions of 2-3% per annum will be required and the UK and Scotland will need to contribute to this reduction.