Campaign and lobby groups have joined industry leaders in welcoming today's announcement of legally binding targets to reduce the UK greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
David Kennedy, Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said: “We are delighted that Government has accepted our recommendations on the 4th carbon budget (2023-2027). This is a world first: no other country has made legally binding commitments to ambitious emissions reduction targets for the 2020s.
“Setting and meeting the carbon budget will place the UK in a strong position, both in terms of meeting the 2050 target, and building an economy very well placed to prosper in a low-carbon world.
“The carbon budget will underpin much of the high level ambition set out in the Coalition Agreement. It is important now to translate this ambition into detailed policies with strong incentives.
“The key areas to focus on now are the Electricity Market Reform, demonstration of CCS technology, the Green Deal, the Renewable Heat Incentive, and support for electric vehicle market development.
“With the right policies in place, our analysis shows that we can achieve deep emissions cuts over the next two decades in power generation, buildings and surface transport at low cost.
“Aiming now to introduce clean technologies in these sectors and meet the carbon budget will ensure that we make the right investment choices, maximising long-term growth and reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels.”
A powerful alliance of the UK’s largest businesses and environmental groups welcomed today’s commitment to a legally binding target to reduce carbon emissions. They state that strong and clear action on climate change is essential for long-term economic growth, jobs and competitive advantage.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to be published tomorrow, the signatories warn that failure to act at sufficient scale and pace would mean that the costs of tackling climate change in the future will be much higher and the UK will miss out on commercial opportunities associated with the low carbon economy.
The letter is signed by a large number of businesses, investors, industry bodies, trade unions and environmental groups. Signatories include Aviva, BT, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Cable & Wireless, Eurostar, Grontmij, HG Capital, Ikea, InterfaceFlor, Knight Frank, Microsoft, National Grid, PepsiCo, Philips, Reed Elsevier, Thames Water, The Co-operative, TUC, Unilever, Willmott Dixon Group, Worcester Bosch, UK Social Investment Forum, Friends of the Earth, Green Alliance and WWF.
Peter Young, Chairman of the Aldersgate Group, the alliance which drafted the dispatch, said: “The message of this letter is loud and clear: Strong carbon targets protect both the environment and the economy. They are vital for future competitiveness and provide the overall framework to enable the UK to be a leader in the transition to a low carbon economy.
“This will provide greater certainty for business to invest in green technologies and create jobs. Last week we called on the Prime Minister to show leadership on the climate change agenda and it is extremely welcome that he delivered. The focus must now be on the EU to raise its level of ambition.”
The letter states that the global race to develop and adopt low carbon technologies will help define prosperity in the twenty-first century and the UK must ensure that its overall policy framework maximises the economic opportunities.
Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust, added: “We back tough targets - but we should look at what lies behind any target-setting. There needs to be rigorous testing of the kind of technologies that will need to be going into people’s homes to achieve these objectives.
“Ultimately, new and emerging technologies need to deliver exactly what they say on the tin, and that’s not just in terms of carbon emissions, but their capability in making people’s homes warmer, more comfortable and cheaper to run.
“What’s more, the chance to enjoy these benefits must be available for all, so people need to have access to completely impartial advice to guide them, whatever stage of a journey to a lower carbon life they might be.”
Ole Beier Sørensen, Chairman of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the leading European investors’ forum for collaboration on climate change, said: “The new carbon budget set out today by the UK government demonstrates determination, is ambitious in scope and sends a signal to the UK public, financial markets as well as the wider international community.
“We hope that the ambition shown by the UK government sets a benchmark and has a wider impact at international level.
“However,the suggestion that the UK could review, and potentially weaken, its own commitments depending on progress elsewhere needs to be clarified to ensure certainty for investors beyond 2014.
“Policy details outlining how the government will stimulate the financing necessary to green the UK economy and bring about these reductions is now the important next step. Turning these targets into a reality will rest on these details.”
Friends of the Earth's Executive Director Andy Atkins said: "David Cameron's welcome decision to back Chris Huhne over the climate committee's call for tougher global warming action will boost his flagging green credentials.
"But the inclusion of a get-out clause', in case Europe doesn't cut emissions fast enough, creates needless uncertainty that could dent business confidence - and all just to save face for the Chancellor and Business Secretary, who opposed this agreement.
"The Cabinet row over carbon budgets is a clear warning that some key Government departments are still only thinking about the short-term and would scupper moves to develop a low-carbon economy.
"Ministers must now get on with the urgent task of fast-tracking the development of a low-carbon economy which will create new jobs and business opportunities and wean the nation off its costly addiction to fossil fuels."
"No other country has set legally binding emission reduction targets going into the 2020s and so with this decision the UK is demonstrating genuine leadership on climate change," said Keith Allott, WWF-UK’s head of climate change. "The Climate Change Act remains a groundbreaking piece of legislation that with support, will underpin the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy.”
“However, we must remember that the Committee on Climate Change had made clear that the carbon budget agreed today is the "absolute minimum" necessary, and that it should be achieved through actions taken here in the UK rather than relying on emission credits from overseas.
"The unwillingness of Government to accept this recommendation suggests that some Whitehall departments are more committed to action than others."
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