New plan to help homes cut emissions starts today

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband has outlined Government’s latest measures to help householders save money and energy as he welcomed 10:10 – a new campaign to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband has outlined Government’s latest measures to help householders save money and energy as he welcomed 10:10 – a new campaign to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.

- Around 90,000 homes in some of the poorest areas in the UK should see an average saving of 20% per year in their emissions through a new community based energy saving scheme which starts today. This amounts to financial savings of around £300 per year off fuel bills.

- In the past year, more than 1.2 million homes have received some form of insulation under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target with enough professional loft insulation installed to stretch from London to Sydney and back. The number of households getting this help through energy companies has been increased, with Government recently increasing the target by 20%.

Responding to the 10:10 campaign, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has confirmed that it is on course to cut its own emissions at its London headquarters by 10% by April 2010 and it will make further reductions through the rest of 2010 and beyond. DECC staff have been encouraged by Ed Miliband to join him in taking up the 10:10 pledge in their homes and lifestyles.

Ed Miliband said:

“As government, we are in the best position to make it as easy as possible for everyone to cut their carbon emissions.

“By signing up to the10:10 campaign, I hope people will be sending a broader message to governments round the world. They need to agree a global deal at Copenhagen that is ambitious in cutting emissions, fair to developing countries and effective in holding countries to their word.

“We will cut emissions in the UK by at least a third by 2020. Concerted action shows the world we are serious about tackling climate change ahead of the crucial climate talks in Copenhagen.”

Government support

Helping householders to make a contribution to cutting 10% in 2010

- A new Community Energy Saving Programme starts today. Around £350 million will be spent by energy companies over the next three years to deliver whole house, whole street energy makeovers concentrating on some of the most vulnerable people in the UK.

- The Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT), an obligation on energy suppliers to promote household carbon reductions is operating at a higher level than ever before, with the target recently increased. In 2010 topping up a loft could contribute around 2% to a 10% saving.

- In 2010, we’ll start trialling “Pay As You Save”. This is a new way of paying for whole house energy retrofits as part of our commitment to treat 7 million homes by 2020.

- From today the EU will be phasing out old fashioned 100W and all pearl light bulbs. Money saving energy efficient ones will replace them.

- The government’s ACT ON CO2 website has lots more energy saving advice and top tips to help save 10% in 2010, including a carbon calculator to work out carbon footprints
- www.direct.gov.uk/ActOnCO2
Helping businesses to make a contribution to cutting 10% in 2010

- The Carbon Reduction Commitment will come in to force in 2010 which will affect around 5,000 businesses – including all government departments. It will not only deliver massive carbon savings but businesses taking action will also benefit from lower fuel bills and will yield a benefit to businesses of around £1billion.

- Interest free loans of up to £400,000 are currently available from the Carbon Trust for small and medium size businesses to improve on energy efficiency.
Government’s 10:10 commitment

DECC has committed to reducing emissions from its headquarters in London by 10% by April 2010. We will be achieving this through making changes to the heating and air conditioning systems, more energy efficient lighting.

All government departments have signed up to playing their part in achieving the world’s first carbon budgets, which will set the UK on track to reaching our emissions cuts in 2020 and 2050. Each department is already taking steps to reduce emissions - for example, when the Home Office replaces its fleet cars it has committed to selecting the most efficient, and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport is using software which switches off computers during non-working hours.

In Number 10, reductions are also already occurring – for example, the Downing Street complex has a D rating Display Energy Certificate for operational energy performance. This is well below typical energy use for comparable Grade 1 Listed buildings, 50% of the energy used is from an efficient Combined Heat and Power plant. Energy efficient light bulbs are used wherever possible in staterooms, offices and meeting rooms.

Across Government we will be looking at what more can be done over the coming months.

Local projects receive £600,000 in ‘big green challenge plus’

Community projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions and developing clean, local energy sources are set to receive up to £20,000 funding under a new partnership between the Department of Energy and Climate Change and NESTA

Community projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions and developing clean, local energy sources are set to receive up to £20,000 funding under a new partnership between the Department of Energy and Climate Change and NESTA.

The collaboration between DECC and NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) will see direct funding and support packages, worth a total of £600,000, provided by DECC to 17 grassroots projects across England. NESTA will administer the scheme.

A low carbon co-operative in Manchester, a project to deliver local hydro power from water mills near Bath, and a plan to install renewable energy technologies on local farms around Winchester, are among the projects to receive funding under the ‘Big Green Challenge Plus’ partnership.

The new money is in addition to funding already allocated by NESTA to 10 Big Green Challenge finalists, announced in October. The winners of the original Challenge will be revealed later this year, sharing in prize money of £1 million. Because of the calibre of the applicants, DECC has agreed to provide funding for a further 17 projects.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said:

“Local solutions to the global problem of climate change are vital if we are to make the shift to a low-carbon future. Yesterday we set out how the Government will achieve this in our UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, but we also need the support of householders and communities across the nation. The winners of Big Green Challenge Plus provide an example of the grassroots action we need to encourage in order to meet our goals.

“I was impressed by the quality of the shortlisted projects – and heartened to see so many people and groups across the country showing real initiative and ingenuity in their approaches.

“We want to support people in their efforts so they can reap the benefits of cleaner energy, a better quality of life, and stronger, cohesive communities.”

NESTA chief executive Jonathan Kestenbaum, said:

“We think that the Big Green Challenge Plus is an inspiring project and that’s been reflected in the high-standard of innovative ideas that have been submitted.

“Community involvement is a vital element in tackling climate change but it’s one piece of the jigsaw that is often ignored by policy makers. So it’s great news that this kind of approach is being recognised by Government.

“We know there is no ‘miracle cure’ to the environmental challenges that we face but giving people the opportunity to get actively involved has to play its part.”

(DECC) UK sets World's first carbon budgets

Chancellor delivers new support for low carbon industries

The UK today became the first country in the world to bind itself into an ambitious long-term framework to limit its greenhouse gas emissions.

Announcing the UK's first three 'carbon budgets' alongside his fiscal Budget, the Chancellor also set out new measures designed to help low carbon industries capitalise on the opportunities presented by the UK's legally binding target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

The Chancellor today announced:

* Legally binding carbon budgets for the first three five-year periods 2008-2012, 2013-2017 and 2018-2022.

* A revised target to reduce emissions to at least 34% below 1990 emissions by 2018-22.

* Aim to meet the carbon budgets announced today through domestic action alone, and consistent with this, setting a zero limit in the non-traded sector on offsetting through international credits for the first budget period.

* Commitment to tighten the budget after Copenhagen this December, once we have a global climate change agreement.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said:

"Meeting carbon budgets will require emission reductions across the whole UK economy. We are on course to meet the first carbon budget, a 22% cut by the end of 2012 compared to 1990. The package of measures set out by the Chancellor today is good for the environment, good for jobs and good for energy consumers, helping ensure that Britain's recovery and long term future is low carbon and secure."

The UK's carbon budgets will be met through collective action across Government. All departments will be involved in delivering the carbon budgets, through formulating policies to reduce emissions and through reducing emissions from the public sector estate.

Key departments and the Devolved Administrations will work with DECC to set out our proposals and policies for meeting these carbon budgets. These will be published in an Energy and Climate Change Strategy this summer.

INVESTING IN LOW CARBON BRITAIN

The Chancellor today announced new support for low carbon industries ranging from energy efficiency and renewables through to carbon capture and storage.

Today's budget provides more than £1.4bn of extra targeted support in the low carbon sector.

These measures together with announcements made since last autumn will enable an additional £10.4bn of low carbon investment over the next three years.

Tomorrow the Government will set this out in "Investing in a Low Carbon Britain", which will build on Low Carbon Industrial Strategy: A Vision, which was published this March.

Summary of new support announced in the Budget today for new green industries:

CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE

Plans to fund up to four Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) demonstration projects to help drive this technology to commercial viability. This represents the biggest global contribution of any country in developing this technology.

Climate Change and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will make an oral statement in Parliament tomorrow (Thursday 23 April) outlining in more detail the UK's plans for CCS technology and coal.

SUPPORT FOR ENERGY COMPANIES THROUGH THE CREDIT CRUNCH

UK renewable and energy projects stand to benefit from up to £4 billion of new capital from the European Investment Bank (EIB) through direct lending to energy projects and intermediated lending to banks. The Government will bring together the EIB, banks and developers, to ensure this new framework lending and other products deliver rapid and sustained investment for UK renewable energy. The Government believes that this initiative can bring forward £1bn worth of consented small and medium sized UK renewables projects to deployment.

RENEWABLES AND LOW CARBON INDUSTRIES

As required under the Energy Act before any change in ROCs banding, we are launching a review into the support for offshore wind under the Renewables Obligation (RO). If the review confirms the evidence we have been provided with, we propose to provide even more incentive to offshore wind in the form of two renewable obligation certificates (ROCs). This builds on the recent uplift to 1.5 ROCs. The additional support is worth up to £3.5 bn over the lifetime of the projects.

Government is allocating £405m of targeted support for priority sectors. This funding will provide support for close-to-market innovation through, for example, the Environmental Transformation Fund (ETF), and support for mature industry through a range of delivery mechanisms such as the Grant for Business Investment (GBI).

Over the next two years there will be £70 million for decentralised small-scale and community low-carbon energy, including £45 million for small-scale renewable electricity and heat, primarily through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, and £25 million for at least 10 community heating schemes. This will create jobs and growth now, and develop the low carbon supply chain and industry for the upturn and meet our 2020 renewables targets and energy goals.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

We will invest an additional £65m over the next year to achieve a step change in the energy efficiency of schools, hospitals and other public sector organisations. All public sector organisations will be eligible to apply for interest-free loans to install energy efficiency technologies as well as some advice to drive projects forward.

There will be an additional £100m of interest-free energy efficiency loans for small and medium businesses over the next two years. This will help save around 140,000 tCO2 and save businesses £23m.

We will seek European Commission approval to extend an exemption from payment of the Climate Change Levy (CCL) for electricity exports from Combined Heat and Power (CHP) out to 2023 (it is currently exempt to 2013). This could help bring forward an additional £2.5bn of investment in CHP.

OIL AND GAS

Oil and gas remain important parts of Britain's energy mix. The Government will be introducing a "Field Allowance" for new small and technically-challenged oil and gas fields which should encourage continued investment in the UK Continental Shelf.

The confirmation that cushion gas will be eligible for plant and machinery capital allowances means that a necessary cost of doing business will be recognised in the tax regime. This should remove a material deterrent to investment in additional gas storage capacity and thus improve security of gas supply and result in lower and/or less volatile gas prices.

UK emissions fall - Greenpeace response

Commenting on provisional figures suggesting UK greenhouse emissions have fallen by 2 per cent, Greenpeace head of climate and energy Robin Oakley said:

"The only reason our emissions have dropped is because we're using more gas and less coal to generate power. So it beggars belief that the government is even thinking of consenting a new fleet of coal-fired power station just as we need to be slashing our emissions further. With a big decision approaching on the proposed plant at Kingsnorth in Kent we'll soon know just how committed ministers really are to fighting climate change."

He continued: "Overall emissions in the UK have actually risen under Labour. Until last year they had been rising steadily because of increased coal burning. It's been so bad that government has had to abandon its own 2010 target for CO2 cuts because it knows it has failed to do enough to meet it."