Renew On Line (UK) 27

Extracts from the July-Aug 2000 edition of Renew
These extracts only represent about 25% of it

7. Climate Change policy

The new Climate Change Draft UK Policy produced by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (see Renew 125) seems to be a comprehensive exercise - and has been quite well received, even if it did fudge the 20% target a little. Thus it concluded that ‘the combination of existing policies and the impact of some of the measures the Government has introduced since Kyoto is forecast to reduce UK emissions of the six greenhouse gas basket to around 13.5% below 1990 levels in 2010. This would be enough to deliver the UK's Kyoto target of a 12.5% reduction. On the same projections, emissions of carbon dioxide are expected to be 7% below 1990 levels in 2010'.

However, it added that ‘the full draft programme as outlined by the DETR will take the UK well beyond its international target and bring a cut of 21.5% in the basket of greenhouse gases on which the Kyoto target is based. The scope for carbon dioxide savings from quantified policies is 17.5% below 1990 levels by 2010. Beyond this core programme, the Government is confident that the large number of measures not yet quantified, will have a substantial impact and could allow emissions to fall further still, so that the UK's carbon dioxide emissions reach 20% below 1990 levels in 2010.’

The total savings in the programme amount to 17.6 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) by 2010. As discussed in our Reviews section, the energy supply sector contributes 2.5 MtC, with renewables playing a major role. Smaller amounts come from the agricultural, public and business sectors- see our Technology section. As that notes, the transport sector faces a 6MtC emission increase. But the good news is that sufficient savings are seen as possible from new vehicle technology and demand management, to compensate and make a small overall emission cut. And there’s also some useful savings from the other big energy user, the domestic sector.

Savings in the Domestic Sector

The DETR note that in 1990, greenhouse gas emissions from the domestic sector were 46.6 MtC - including emissions from the generation of electricity. Annual emissions are expected to fall by 12% between 1990 and 2000 and are projected to be only about half a percent higher in 2010.

They note that 'the projected fall of about 10% by 2010 in emissions from the domestic sector is mainly due to fuel switching in the electricity supply sector, and to reduced heating requirements because of the upward trend in the outside temperature.'

Indeed, without these savings, emissions from the domestic sector would be higher in 2010 than in 1990 due to increased household numbers and demand for energy services.

As the DETR note, there are however still many demand management and technology based efficiency opportunities which can increase savings further - they suggest that a range of simple measures could save up to 2.7-3.8 MtC pa by 2010: see our Technology section. But, there are also many obstacles to making changes, not least the governments reluctance to introduce policies that will raise fuel bills. In this situation, the emphasis may stay on the supply side, which, as the DETR indicate, is where many of the domestic sector savings actually come from.

EESOP’s Enables

As part of the new Climate Change policy package, the DETR announced new energy efficiency measures - which, as well as cutting greenhouse gas emissions, will also, they claim, lead to lower fuel bills and warmer homes. These are the outcomes expected from a new version of the Energy Efficiency Standards of Performance (EESOPs), which require electricity and gas companies to encourage and help their domestic customers save energy.

The new Government-set EESOP (EESOP 4) will start in 2002, taking over from and expanding the present Regulator-set scheme. It will, say the DETR, continue to give particular help to low-income consumers and contribute to the Government's attack on fuel poverty, generating a total saving of £275 million for UK consumers every year. And it will cut greenhouse emissions by an additional 750,000 tonnes of carbon a year.

Launching a consultation paper on EESOP 4, Energy Efficiency Minister, Lord Whitty, said:"We estimate that priority households will benefit by around £22 on average a year from EESOP 4 programmes by 2005, in lower bills or increased comfort, benefiting year after year. Better-off householders should benefit by around £7 a year."

He added that these savings would be on top of the savings of up to £50 a year that Ofgem expects to come from the strong regulatory measures that the Government and he have put in place in the Utility Bill- which makes Ministers responsible for setting the levy, and the social focus for future EESOPs.