Archived press release

Climate change programme review - Labour's credibility test

23 March 2006

Friends of the Earth today warned that the Government's Climate Change Programme Review, due to be published on Tuesday 28th March, is the acid test of its credibility on climate change. The environmental campaign group urged Ministers not to ignore solutions to global warming which - if implemented - would slash UK carbon dioxide emissions.

UK emissions have risen by three percent since Labour came to power in 1997. The Review will outline new Government plans for delivering cuts in carbon dioxide emissions, promised in three consecutive election manifestos.

Friends of the Earth has put together a package of climate solutions - realistic ways for the UK to meet its energy and transport needs and tackle climate change without a new nuclear programme. These technologies are already in or close to commercial use.

With the right Government policies in place these solutions will take off, putting the Government on track to meet its targets, and positioning UK companies at the cutting edge of new world leading industries.

Friends of the Earths Executive Director, Tony Juniper said:

"This is Tony Blair's chance to show he is listening to over half of the UK's MPs and to the tens of thousands of people across the country who support The Big Ask, Friends of the Earth's demand for a climate change law. The solutions are there - whether or not the Government chooses to use them is a key test of its credibility on climate change and on whether it can be trusted to deliver on its manifesto commitments. "

Friends of the Earths package of climate solutions include:

Energy efficiency

Better building standards and insulation could make significant cuts in greenhouse gases. The Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University has suggested that emissions from the UK's housing stock could be reduced by 60 per cent by 2050, while according to the Carbon Trust, UK business waste £1 billion a year in lost energy.

If industry used efficient motors - ones that only used the exact amount of power needed - this would save the equivalent of three nuclear plants - and that's just in the UK.

Put a stop to standby. Across the richest economies the energy we waste by leaving equipment such as DVDs and computers on standby is equivalent to 20 nuclear or coal-fired power stations.

Transport

Using hybrid technology in cars, increasing investment in public transport, cycling, and walking, and reducing the need to travel could reduce emissions from transport by 60 per cent by 2030 according to a report to the Department for Transport.

Renewable energy and cleaner fossil fuels

The UK mainland has the best wind resource in Europe and research has shown that it's windy at the times we need the most energy - during peak daytime periods and in the winter. This means wind turbines could easily be our most dependable energy resources. Offshore winds are even stronger and more uniform than on land, meaning the output could be 25 per cent greater. Already hundreds of turbines are being built or planned off our coasts.

Tidal currents and waves could be harnessed to produce electricity on a commercial scale within the next two years. This type of power could produce a further 3.5 per cent of total UK electricity by 2025.

Burning plant and animal matter (biomass) could produce enough electricity to do away with more than four nuclear plants.

Peer-reviewed research published by Friends of the Earth showed that the UK can produce all the electricity it needs and reduce gas use at the same time as cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 48 to 71 per cent through the use of more efficient power plants and more renewable power.

Micro generation technologies

Many industrial scale technologies are being adapted to fit homes and business. These micro-generation technologies include mini wind turbines, solar panels which can be fitted to roofs, domestic boilers which use waste heat to produce electricity and devices which capture the heat stored in the Earth. They could provide 20-30 per cent of electricity according to the Energy Savings Trust.

Notes

The Climate Change Programme review and a plan of action for how the Government will tackle climate change over the next five to ten years was launched by Margaret Becket in December 2004 when it became clear that the Government's original programme, launched in 2000, would not deliver target cuts. The Review was originally due for publication in summer 2005 however delays have pushed back its release.

In its General Election manifestos of 1997, 2001 and 2005 the Labour Party pledged to reduce UK emissions of carbon dioxide - the main greenhouse gas - by 20 per cent from 1990 levels by 2010. Tony Blair also put climate change top of the world agenda during the Presidency of the G8 and the EU in 2005.

Friends of the Earth's climate campaign, The Big Ask, is calling on the Government to introduce a climate law that would set a legally binding target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 3 per cent every year, monitored through an annual carbon budget. For more information see www.thebigask.com.

Climate Facts and Figures

• Carbon dioxide emissions are now 5.5 per cent higher than when Labour came to power in 1997 - despite Government promises to make substantial cuts.

• In 2004 average industrial gas prices in the UK were the second lowest in the EU and the lowest in the G7.

• The average energy efficiency of houses in the UK is 51 out of 120. 120 indicate an extremely efficient house. Only 18 per cent of houses had full insulation by 2003.

• Between 1994 and 2004 average domestic prices fell by 27 per cent for electricity and11 percent for gas. UK industrial electricity prices fell by 35 per cent over the same period.

• 84 percent of the energy used in households in 2002 was for space or water heating.

• Since 1970 energy use for space heating has increased by 31 percent, for water heating by 13 percent and for lighting and appliances by 132 percent. By contrast energy use for cooking has fallen by 40 per cent.

• Since 1974 the UK government has spent £6.8 billion in research and development funding for nuclear fission (compared to £540 million for renewable power)

• It is currently estimated that the cost of nuclear waste disposal will be around £56 billion

• Nuclear power produces waste that stays dangerous for tens of thousands of years. A new generation of reactors is likely to lead an increase in high level radioactive waste by a factor of four.

• Fuel use by cars has increased by 71 per cent since 1970.

Friends of the Earth's submission to the climate change review had eight big asks. These are:

1. The conversion of the UK's 2010 20 per cent reduction target into a carbon budget for years 2008-12 and the introduction of national carbon accounts reporting on progress towards targets and providing an economic framework for decision making.

2. The establishment of emissions budgets for different sectors of the economy based on a set of transparent principles, including the need to:

   1. respect environmental limits
   2. include all sectors of the economy
   3. address genuine concerns about competitiveness
   4. take account of social policies.
      
      

3. A set of recommendations for the second phase of the EU Emissions Trading scheme including actions needed at an EU level.

4. The use of regulatory mechanisms to reverse the "roll to coal" that has been occurring this decade (with support for coal gasification demonstration projects) and the introduction of a Renewable Heat Obligation.

5. The reinvention of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme using carbon credit taxes to require the purchasing of approved project credits to offset emissions from "difficult" sectors, such as the commercial sector.

6. Lowering transport emissions through new regulations on car efficiency, (increased VED rates and minimum standards), the introduction of Renewable Fuels Obligation, the recycling of tax receipts into sustainable alternatives to the car and measures to constrain the growth in aviation emissions.

7. Reducing emissions from households through the introduction of a tradable demand-reduction scheme for energy suppliers.

8. Institutionalising carbon dioxide reductions within government in Whitehall, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions through the sharing of the Public Service Agreement to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 20 per cent by 2010 from 1990 levels.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust