British energy and climate minister Ed Miliband said last week that he was in support of proposals calling for Britain to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent of 1990 levels by the year 2050 (contrasting the current target level of 60 percent).
The Minister plans on making the new target binding by amending its Climate Change Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament.
This new target is based on the government’s Committee on Climate Change, which recommended that Britain reduce its emissions by 80% of 1990 values, as part of Britain’s overall strategy to participate in the halving of global emissions by 2050. Government advisors believe that the new target will end up costing British taxpayers about £1100 per person or £24 billion a year.
“In tough economic times, some people will ask whether we should retreat from our climate change objectives,” he said. “In our view, it would be quite wrong to row back.”
Other measures announced included:
- Amending the Energy Bill to introduce ‘feed in’ tariffs for renewable energy in small-scale electricity generation (this could include homes with turbines and solar panels). These tariffs would provide guaranteed prices to those feeding into Britain’s national grid.
- New legislation for customers being charged extra for energy because they use pre-paid meters.
Miliband is excited about the new measures announced, feeling that they have an important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
“I also believe that complementing the renewables obligation for large-scale projects, guaranteed prices for small-scale electricity generation (and) feed-in tariffs, have the potential to play an important role, as they do in other countries,” he told legislators.
Whether the Climate Change bill or the Energy Bill actually become law as they make their way through Parliament are another story entirely.
But are they at last going to start to take transport seriously ? The UK still has one of the highest rates of driving and lowest rates of cycling in Europe.
A good question David… and one that I don’t have the answer to.