Are particles, parasites and pongs really less important than climate change?

Simon Bullock

03 November 2010

Q What have particles, pongs and parasites got in common?

A The Government deems them all to be more important issues than climate change in their latest guidance.

The Government has issued a new consultation for National Policy Statements for energy - dull but important new guidance for the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) to use to decide what types of new power stations it should approve.

It clearly matters whether it's nuclear, offshore wind, coal or gas power stations that get built - but climate change is not something that the Government believes the IPC should think about when making that decision. Its new guidance has sections on how to tackle dust, odour, and even insect infestation - but nothing on preventing climate change. The new guidance does not even require applicants to set out what greenhouse gas emissions its proposal emits - a senior civil servant told me that's because it's not information the IPC need to know - because they are not supposed to take climate change into account.

This may sound absolutely ridiculous, but there is a tiny crumb of logic hidden behind the bread-bin of the Government's thinking. They argue that their energy policies are intended to deliver their climate change goals, and so any proposals that come in front of the IPC automatically reflect climate-change compatible market conditions. So every power station is compatible with climate change and everything's ok.

I'd love to share their touching faith in their own policies, but as the Committee on Climate Change has pointed out, the UK needs to strengthen its policies in almost all areas, we're in danger of a new dash-for-gas, we're in danger of lock-in to decades of high-carbon infrastructure. Two huge new gas fired power stations have already been submitted to the IPC - the developers know that there's still a strong market framework for high-carbon projects, even if the Government thinks there isn't.

The Energy Select Committee pointed all this out in its report earlier in the year - but so far the Government has just waved this away - as if it was something as unimportant as... a bit of dust, a smell or a fly.

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