Home > Press releases > 2004 > GOVERNMENT CURBS 'CARBON DINOSAURS' BY 23% BY 2008
Jan 19 2004
Friends of the Earth has welcomed today's Government announcement limiting the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted by industry. This move will set a standard for other countries across the European Union to follow. Any electricity price rise will be modest and be easily accommodated due to recent price drops in wholesale electricity. [1].
The Government's announcement, which affects industry sectors included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, requires carbon dioxide emission cuts in two phases. In the first phase of trading (2005-2008) targets will be in line with a 16.3% target by 2010 compared to 1990 levels. In practice this means an 8% cut across all UK emissions compared to 2001 levels. Government also made clear its firm commitment to tougher limits in the second phase (2008-2012), in line with our national target of a 20% cut in carbon dioxide by the end of the decade.
Inefficient coal fired power stations, the carbon dinosaurs of our economy, will be the most affected sector overall. On average these stations will need to make between a 20% and 25% reduction in 2002 emissions levels by 2008. This is considerably more than the 8% cut needed across all sectors to be in line with the initial 16.3% target.
|
1998-2002 |
Allocation |
% reduction |
|
(MtCO2) |
(MtCO2) |
(from baseline by 2008) |
Fiddlers Ferry |
6.4 |
5 |
22% |
Ironbridge |
2.8 |
2.2 |
21.5% |
Didcot A |
4.9 |
3.9 |
20% |
Drax |
19.9 |
14.4 |
22.5% |
This clean up process will be further helped by the setting aside of 5.7% of carbon permits for new entrants into the carbon trading market. Some of these allowances will be ring fenced for combined heat and power stations. This is important because otherwise they would have had to pay for allowances, whereas existing generators have been handed them for free, making it harder to enter the market.
Friends of the Earth's climate campaigner Bryony Worthington, said:
"We support Government plans to clean up our electricity industry through this scheme. Power stations are still the biggest single source of greenhouse gases in the UK. These carbon dinosaurs should be phased out. Small increases in domestic electricity bills may follow. But any rise will be modest compared to the massive fall in electricity prices over the past ten years. Climate change threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the world, including Britain. It's not a question of can we afford to take action on climate change, it's can we afford not to."
[1] Domestic electricity prices will be far cheaper than they were 10 years ago, even if they do rise by three per cent as a result of Government moves to tackle global climate change DTI figures reveal (DTI Quarterly Energy Prices - December 2003 Table 2.2.2)
Since 1993 domestic electricity prices have fallen. In England and Wales in real terms they were 33.4 per cent cheaper than 1993. For Scotland the fall is 21.7 per cent and for Northern Ireland it is a reduction of 18.4 per cent.
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