C
Captain Compassion
Guest
Revealed: cover-up plan on energy target
Ministers urged to lobby for get-out on renewables
Ashley Seager and Mark Milner The Guardian Monday August 13 2007
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/13/renewableenergy.energy/print
Government officials have secretly briefed ministers that Britain has
no hope of getting remotely near the new European Union renewable
energy target that Tony Blair signed up to in the spring - and have
suggested that they find ways of wriggling out of it.
In contrast to the government's claims to be leading the world on
climate change, officials within the former Department of Trade and
Industry have admitted that under current policies Britain would miss
the EU's 2020 target of 20% energy from renewables by a long way. And
their suggestion that "statistical interpretations of the target" be
used rather than new ways to reach it has infuriated
environmentalists.
An internal briefing paper for ministers, a copy of which has been
obtained by the Guardian, reveals that officials at the department,
now the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform,
think the best the UK could hope for is 9% of energy from renewable
sources such as wind, solar or hydro by 2020.
It says the UK "has achieved little so far on renewables" and that
getting to 9%, from the current level of about 2%, would be
"challenging". The paper was produced in the early summer, around the
time the government published its energy white paper.
Under current policies renewables would account for only 5% of
Britain's energy mix by 2020, the document says. The EU average is 7%;
Germany is at 13%. It acknowledges that Germany, unlike Britain, has
built a "strong and growing renewables industry".
EU leaders agreed the 20% target for the bloc in spring. The European
Commission is working out how to reach this .
DBERR officials fear that Britain may end up being told to get to 16%,
which it describes as "very challenging". The paper suggests a number
of ways ministers could wriggle out of specific commitments. It also
suggests ministers lobby certain EU commissioners and countries such
as France, Germany, Poland and Italy to agree to a more flexible
interpretation of the target, by including nuclear power, for example,
or investment in solar farms in Africa.
Officials ask ministers to examine "what options there are for
statistical interpretations of the target that would make it easier to
achieve".
They suggest the target lacks credibility because it is so ambitious,
while acknowledging that the Germans will be difficult to persuade
because the Chancellor Angela Merkel is the champion of the 20% target
and wants to commit Germany to 27%.
"These flexible options are ones that may be difficult to negotiate
with some member states such as Germany, who we expect to resist
approaches that may be seen to water down the renewables target," the
briefing says.
Environmentalists were shocked. "This briefing reads like a 'wriggle
and squirm' paper," said Andrew Simms, director of the New Economics
Foundation. "It combines almost comic desperation from civil servants
suddenly realising that they actually have to do something to promote
renewable energy, with a breathtaking cynicism as they explore every
conceivable get-out clause to escape the UK's international
commitments."
A spokesman for DBERR said he would not comment on leaked documents,
but added: "This government is committed to renewables and reducing
emissions in line with EU targets."
The Conservative's shadow secretary of state, Alan Duncan, said: "This
is a staggering revelation and shows the government has known all
along it won't meet its targets but has deliberately avoided admitting
it. They have been living a lie."
The Lib Dem environment spokesman, Chris Huhne, agreed: "This news
confirms that the government has said yes to an EU target of 20% of
renewable energy without any visible means of achieving it. If the
government's policy is now to have any credibility and not be seen as
a cynical attempt to woo green opinion, ministers must stop fudging
and start acting."
The paper reveals an aversion to renewables on the basis of perceived
cost, arguing that they are a more expensive way of reducing carbon
emissions than the European Emissions Trading Scheme. It estimates
that getting to 9% by 2020 could cost the economy
Ministers urged to lobby for get-out on renewables
Ashley Seager and Mark Milner The Guardian Monday August 13 2007
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/13/renewableenergy.energy/print
Government officials have secretly briefed ministers that Britain has
no hope of getting remotely near the new European Union renewable
energy target that Tony Blair signed up to in the spring - and have
suggested that they find ways of wriggling out of it.
In contrast to the government's claims to be leading the world on
climate change, officials within the former Department of Trade and
Industry have admitted that under current policies Britain would miss
the EU's 2020 target of 20% energy from renewables by a long way. And
their suggestion that "statistical interpretations of the target" be
used rather than new ways to reach it has infuriated
environmentalists.
An internal briefing paper for ministers, a copy of which has been
obtained by the Guardian, reveals that officials at the department,
now the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform,
think the best the UK could hope for is 9% of energy from renewable
sources such as wind, solar or hydro by 2020.
It says the UK "has achieved little so far on renewables" and that
getting to 9%, from the current level of about 2%, would be
"challenging". The paper was produced in the early summer, around the
time the government published its energy white paper.
Under current policies renewables would account for only 5% of
Britain's energy mix by 2020, the document says. The EU average is 7%;
Germany is at 13%. It acknowledges that Germany, unlike Britain, has
built a "strong and growing renewables industry".
EU leaders agreed the 20% target for the bloc in spring. The European
Commission is working out how to reach this .
DBERR officials fear that Britain may end up being told to get to 16%,
which it describes as "very challenging". The paper suggests a number
of ways ministers could wriggle out of specific commitments. It also
suggests ministers lobby certain EU commissioners and countries such
as France, Germany, Poland and Italy to agree to a more flexible
interpretation of the target, by including nuclear power, for example,
or investment in solar farms in Africa.
Officials ask ministers to examine "what options there are for
statistical interpretations of the target that would make it easier to
achieve".
They suggest the target lacks credibility because it is so ambitious,
while acknowledging that the Germans will be difficult to persuade
because the Chancellor Angela Merkel is the champion of the 20% target
and wants to commit Germany to 27%.
"These flexible options are ones that may be difficult to negotiate
with some member states such as Germany, who we expect to resist
approaches that may be seen to water down the renewables target," the
briefing says.
Environmentalists were shocked. "This briefing reads like a 'wriggle
and squirm' paper," said Andrew Simms, director of the New Economics
Foundation. "It combines almost comic desperation from civil servants
suddenly realising that they actually have to do something to promote
renewable energy, with a breathtaking cynicism as they explore every
conceivable get-out clause to escape the UK's international
commitments."
A spokesman for DBERR said he would not comment on leaked documents,
but added: "This government is committed to renewables and reducing
emissions in line with EU targets."
The Conservative's shadow secretary of state, Alan Duncan, said: "This
is a staggering revelation and shows the government has known all
along it won't meet its targets but has deliberately avoided admitting
it. They have been living a lie."
The Lib Dem environment spokesman, Chris Huhne, agreed: "This news
confirms that the government has said yes to an EU target of 20% of
renewable energy without any visible means of achieving it. If the
government's policy is now to have any credibility and not be seen as
a cynical attempt to woo green opinion, ministers must stop fudging
and start acting."
The paper reveals an aversion to renewables on the basis of perceived
cost, arguing that they are a more expensive way of reducing carbon
emissions than the European Emissions Trading Scheme. It estimates
that getting to 9% by 2020 could cost the economy