 UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, recently said climate change is the “single most important issue that we face as a global community” and David King, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, said it is “more serious even than the threat of terrorism".
The UK Government has made commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through:
- The UK Climate Change Program – its purpose is to deliver the UK’s Kyoto target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5%, as well as move towards its domestic goal of cutting emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2010.
- The Energy White Paper – published in February 2003, it set out the UK’s long term energy policy, and accepted that the UK should work towards reducing carbon emissions by 60% by 2050. The Government maintained this commitment to reducing carbon emissions in its Energy Review published in July 2006.
The Government has introduced a number of measures to try and meet targets including:
- The Climate Change Levy – introduced on 1 April 2001, whereby businesses are required to pay a levy per kilowatt hour of electricity used. Electricity from eligible renewable energy sources is exempt from the levy and therefore businesses using renewable energy pay less.
- The Energy Efficiency Commitment – for 2002 to 2005, electricity and gas suppliers were set targets to promote domestic energy efficiency. Proposals for 2005 to 2008 were recently laid before Parliament.
- The UK Emissions Trading Scheme – a voluntary scheme with an economic incentive for businesses that reduce their emissions. The UK Government sets a limit or target on the emissions of a pollutant/greenhouse gas. Businesses that reduce emissions to below their limit can accrue emissions ‘credits’, while businesses that go above the limit can buy credits from those companies below their limit.
- The EU Emissions Trading Scheme – similar to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, it is being introduced across Europe to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Renewables Obligation – requires licensed electricity suppliers to source specified percentages of the electricity they supply from renewable sources.
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