As you may have seen from the previous post, members of several NGOs visiting Chris Huhne last Friday to ask him a range of questions about the Energy Bill, energy production, and the World Bank's response to climate change in developing nations. Some of the responses were quite complex, but here are the edited/paraphrased highlights in the form of Q&As:
SCC: Could you clarify the ambition of current energy policy as this is something that the business community and investors are keen to see?
CH: The package is clear – it starts in October 2012 and businesses are very interested in the Green Deal. Also, the Chancellor has provided incentives for Green Deal take-up, and councils can drive take-up through Council Tax mechanisms.Relating to the carbon budget, 25% of CO2 emissions are domestic, hence the retrofitting plans. All 26 million households in the country will be covered by 2050. The number of jobs involved in the relevant retrofit work is expected to quadruple from the current figure of 27,000 (i.e. to around 100,000).
SCC: Why do upgrades in the private rented sector have to wait until 2018? What legal protection will tenants have against eviction if they demand upgrades from their landlords?
CH: The date of 2018 is required to give time for not only landlords to make changes, but also for businesses to plan/expand, government to prepare, fitters to be trained and so on. Monitoring of take-up would be through existing apparatus e.g. register of tenancies. By 2018, landlords must have a Green Deal in place (or have reached some other acceptable agreement). Tenants will be able to ask landlords to install via the Green Deal and landlords can’t refuse what is reasonable. The threat of eviction should be reduced as the Green Deal won’t cost landlords anything i.e. it’s a win-win situation so tenants shouldn’t need extra protection.
Regarding encouragement to act earlier, the eco-obligation gives extra subsidy, especially in these two key objectives/areas:
* Solid-wall insulation is still not quite economic and so requires subsidy.
* Fuel-poor groups need subsidy as savings are in terms of increased comfort, hence subsidy is needed as savings aren’t made through the Green Deal (and hence its funding mechanism i.e. people who are fuel-poor won’t use less, but what they use will be more effective).
Re increasing the minimum standard over time, it is meant to be a one-off retrofit and not incremental, and would seek to meet 2050 targets this way rather that through ‘monthly targets’ and repeatedly ‘getting the builders in’.
SCC: There should be a duty on local councils to act on climate change
CH: I would like to see an information database (about council actions etc), but not on making this a duty. The thrust of the Government is to get Whitehall out of local decision-making, but Local Authorities are very interested in the Green Deal (including potential savings and job creation) and there was no reason from them not to actively take it up.
SCC: What about feed-in tarrifs?
CH: These are definitely not in as they are covered by other legislation than the Energy Bill, with subsidies for renewable heating & microgeneration separate from the Green Deal.
SCC: What about the apparent nuclear subsidies and windfalls to nuclear companies?
CH: There are no subsidies for nuclear and that the idea that there are is a misunderstanding. Ideally there would be a complete emissions trading scheme; however the one we have (EUETS) is partial and the price is too low. In essence, there are only offsets due to market failures (to do with the ETS). Subsidies would be for low-carbon technologies/industries that are pioneering/infant in nature, a requirement not met by nuclear. Regarding windfall benefits, this was inevitable with any non-carbon activity and would also apply to industries we were in favour of e.g. wind turbines.
Christian Aid also asked about World Bank activity and CH was in favour of their proposals and has already been discussing this - more from the CA website.
Overall, a positive meeting with some areas that might be followed up - if so, watch this space...
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