The UK is failing to green its economy, according to reports from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The internal forecasts show that by 2020 the UK will be sourcing only 5% of its energy from renewables, far short of the 15% target we signed up to with the European Commission.
The data, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, will be highly embarrassing for Gordon Brown. The prime minister signed up to the legally-binding target and, if Britain fails to meet it, the government will be liable for substantial fines from Brussels.
Greg Clarke, the shadow energy minister, said the figures revealed the “fundamental failure” of Labour’s climate-change policies. “This amounts to an admission that the government is going to fail not just marginally but abjectly. For the past 10 years we have lacked a credible and comprehensive energy policy. Labour’s piecemeal approach is clearly not working.”
Today Britain is one of the worst performers in Europe in terms of renewable energy, sourcing only 2% of its needs from non-fossil-fuel sources such as wind and landfill gas.
The prime minister has called for a “green revolution” and in the budget last month Alistair Darling put the sector at the centre of his plans to revitalise the economy.
The chancellor introduced subsidies for biomass and wind generation but fears persist in industry that many projects are uneconomic. The DECC’s own forecast, based on present policies and subsidies, seems to support that view.
A DECC spokeswoman said the department would soon announce proposals to help bridge the gap. She said: “We are not relying on existing policies. We consulted last summer on measures to take us to our binding 15% renewable-energy target and will be publishing our strategy this summer. This will set out how we intend to meet our share of the 2020 target.”
The largest portion of renewables is expected to come from wind followed by hydro power, biomass and sewage processing.
The Tories advocate greater use of micro-generation and building a bio-gas network, but it is unclear how the party would deal with planning restrictions that make it hard to get such projects off the ground. It opposes a Labour-created commission that would take away the power of local councils to assess large infrastructure projects but has not yet announced any alternative.
Source - The times
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