Grants for home installation of solar panels and wind turbines have plummeted despite the Government's publicly stated commitment to promote renewable power, official figures show.
Household payments under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme have tumbled from £536,000 a month before the rules of the scheme were changed in May, to £219,000 afterwards – a fall of 59 per cent. The number of householders getting grants has fallen 19 per cent.
The Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Willott, who uncovered the figures in a Commons question to the Energy minister, Malcolm Wicks, said the Government was in danger of "pulling the rug from underneath" Britain's micro-renewables industry.
Amid publicity about the danger of climate change, the Low Carbon Buildings Programme was very popular at the start of 2007 with the allocation of money running out in minutes on the first day of each month. The Government wants 20 per cent of UK electricity to be from green sources by 2020.
But in May, Alistair Darling, then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, cut the maximum grant for household renewable energy from £15,400 to £2,500.
Grants for solar PV and grants for heating were slashed by 83 per cent and those for wind turbines halved. Solar heating water was left unchanged at £400. As a consequence, more people are receiving small grants for solar water, but 24 per cent fewer are getting grants for solar heating, and the number of wind grants has fallen by 60 per cent. The total amount given to expensive solar heating installations has fallen by 76 per cent.
Ms Willott said: "The Government claims that by 2050, 40 per cent of the UK's electricity could be generated by micro-renewables, yet nothing is being done to make this happen.
"Ministers watered down this successful scheme because they couldn't cope with its overwhelming popularity. The new system has made installing micro-renewables far too expensive for all but the richest families."
full article
Monday, 19 November 2007
Tough action on climate
It is easier to sound tough than act tough when it comes to climate change. Today Gordon Brown will make his first major speech on the environment since becoming Prime Minister. It will contain some frightening figures: the International Energy Agency's prediction that on current trends energy demands will rise by 50% and global emissions by 60% and the UN's latest report suggesting that this translates into a 60cm rise in sea levels and 4oC in temperatures by 2100.
His message will be that Britain can be a world leader in a new global carbon economy and benefit economically. But many are beginning to question his assertion that it is possible to be both pro the environment and pro endless growth. In the decade since Labour came to power, Britain's total carbon emissions, including shipping and aviation, have continued to rise.
Tough targets look unconvincing alongside recent trends. A government that talks green presses on with road-building and airport expansion projects. Energy savings achieved by new technologies are squandered in bigger cars, more travel, more gadgets, increased consumption. The country with pretensions to lead the world on cutting energy consumption cannot even ban plastic bags and power-gobbling light bulbs. Meanwhile, it has been reported that Defra, the department dealing with climate change, faces £300m in cuts.
full article
His message will be that Britain can be a world leader in a new global carbon economy and benefit economically. But many are beginning to question his assertion that it is possible to be both pro the environment and pro endless growth. In the decade since Labour came to power, Britain's total carbon emissions, including shipping and aviation, have continued to rise.
Tough targets look unconvincing alongside recent trends. A government that talks green presses on with road-building and airport expansion projects. Energy savings achieved by new technologies are squandered in bigger cars, more travel, more gadgets, increased consumption. The country with pretensions to lead the world on cutting energy consumption cannot even ban plastic bags and power-gobbling light bulbs. Meanwhile, it has been reported that Defra, the department dealing with climate change, faces £300m in cuts.
full article
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Carmakers zoom in on green initiatives
Progress has been slow, and technology and cost obstacles remain, but the automotive industry is making strides in developing environment-friendly vehicles. With the looming specter of more stringent regulation of emissions and fuel economy, automakers appear determined to stay one step ahead of legislators through their own initiatives to develop greener vehicles. Moreover, they realize that going green can be a useful marketing tool.
"There's no silver bullet," said Edward Wall, DOE program manager for vehicle technology. "We need to have a broad portfolio that looks at all of these technologies: advanced combustion engines, diesel engines, fuel cells, and hybrids."
Cheaper hybrids
Toyota, which produces the Prius, Camry and Highlander hybrids, appears determined to remain the industry leader. Toyota recently announced it would reduce the price of its Prius—the best-selling hybrid—by omitting several features. According to the Driving Change Network, Ford Motor Corp. followed suit by cutting prices on the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids.
These price cuts may give consumers added incentive to purchase hybrids, which typically cost several thousand dollars more than the gasoline-powered versions of the same car. Up to now, federal and state tax incentives were the only way for consumers to defray some of the cost.
full article
"There's no silver bullet," said Edward Wall, DOE program manager for vehicle technology. "We need to have a broad portfolio that looks at all of these technologies: advanced combustion engines, diesel engines, fuel cells, and hybrids."
Cheaper hybrids
Toyota, which produces the Prius, Camry and Highlander hybrids, appears determined to remain the industry leader. Toyota recently announced it would reduce the price of its Prius—the best-selling hybrid—by omitting several features. According to the Driving Change Network, Ford Motor Corp. followed suit by cutting prices on the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids.
These price cuts may give consumers added incentive to purchase hybrids, which typically cost several thousand dollars more than the gasoline-powered versions of the same car. Up to now, federal and state tax incentives were the only way for consumers to defray some of the cost.
full article
Saturday, 17 November 2007
Experts warn of 'abrupt' warming
"This is the strongest report yet by the IPCC - but says that there is still time to act," Bill Hare, an Australian climate scientist and one of the authors, told Reuters.
Among the report's top-line conclusions are that climate change is "unequivocal", that humankind's emissions of greenhouse gases are more than 90% likely to be the main cause, and that impacts can be reduced at reasonable cost.
The synthesis summary finalised late on Friday strengthens the language of those earlier reports with a warning that climate change may bring "abrupt and irreversible" impacts.
Such impacts could include the fast melting of glaciers and species extinctions.
"Approximately 20-30% of species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 1.5-2.5C (relative to the 1980-1999 average)," the summary concludes.
Other potential impacts highlighted in the text include:
between 75m and 250m people projected to have scarcer fresh water supplies than at present
yields from rain-fed agriculture could be halved
food security likely to be further compromised in Africa
widespread impacts on coral reefs
Writing in the International Herald Tribune ahead of the report's release, Ban Ki-moon said the world may be nearing a tipping-point on climate change.
"We all agree. Climate change is real, and we humans are its chief cause. Yet even now, few people fully understand the gravity of the threat, or its immediacy.
"Now I believe we are on the verge of a catastrophe if we do not act."
full article
Among the report's top-line conclusions are that climate change is "unequivocal", that humankind's emissions of greenhouse gases are more than 90% likely to be the main cause, and that impacts can be reduced at reasonable cost.
The synthesis summary finalised late on Friday strengthens the language of those earlier reports with a warning that climate change may bring "abrupt and irreversible" impacts.
Such impacts could include the fast melting of glaciers and species extinctions.
"Approximately 20-30% of species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 1.5-2.5C (relative to the 1980-1999 average)," the summary concludes.
Other potential impacts highlighted in the text include:
between 75m and 250m people projected to have scarcer fresh water supplies than at present
yields from rain-fed agriculture could be halved
food security likely to be further compromised in Africa
widespread impacts on coral reefs
Writing in the International Herald Tribune ahead of the report's release, Ban Ki-moon said the world may be nearing a tipping-point on climate change.
"We all agree. Climate change is real, and we humans are its chief cause. Yet even now, few people fully understand the gravity of the threat, or its immediacy.
"Now I believe we are on the verge of a catastrophe if we do not act."
full article
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