Time to take our foot off the gas

Tony Bosworth

26 June 2012

Energy Secretary Ed Davey is up before the House of Commons Energy & Climate Change committee this afternoon to answer questions about the Government's draft Energy Bill which will set the framework for the energy market for the next 15 years or so. A new report and briefing from Friends of the Earth show why the second dash for gas that the Government has effectively launched brings big risks in many areas.

Generating electricity produces over 30% of our carbon dioxide emissions. The Government's independent advisors in the Committee on Climate Change have said that decarbonising the power sector is a key step in meeting our legally-binding climate change targets. This must be at the heart of the Bill.

The biggest threat to the clean British energy future that we want to see is continuing to rely on gas. The new report, written by energy security expert Professor Michael Bradshaw, highlights that relying on imported gas brings with it a wide range of risks.

Much of our imported gas comes from the Gulf state of Qatar, and we could be drawn into military action to protect supplies if Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, as it has threatened to do.

Relying heavily on imported gas leaves us open to higher and more volatile prices. In recent years, higher gas prices have accounted for almost two-thirds of household energy bill increases. Most experts predict higher gas prices in the future, so we could have more of the same.

Some people would say the answer to these problems is shale gas - but as Professor Bradshaw says, this brings its own set of local environmental problems, and it's unlikely to be a game-changer.

The biggest threat is to our climate change targets. Our energy future must be based on clean, green energy, with unabated gas generating no more than 10% of our electricity by 2030. Any more unabated gas would make it much harder to decarbonise electricity generation. Government expectations that new nuclear power stations will be built are now looking pretty forlorn - we mustn't let the answer to this be more gas.

Ed Davey has said that we have to keep our foot on the gas for some time yet. Professor Bradshaw thinks this would send us down a risky road. He concludes "the best way to reduce the energy security risks associated with the UK's growing gas import dependence is to hold the course, promote renewable power generation, improve energy efficiency and reduce overall energy demand".

That's Friends of the Earth's vision of a future based on clean British energy.