ECA supports climate bill

The government has set out its strategy for tackling climate change in a draft Climate Change Bill. The Bill proposes legally binding CO2 emissions reduction targets of 60% by 2050 and 26-32% by 2020.

Five-year carbon budgets, set at least 15 years ahead, would set out the path to meet targets. The Bill would also see a new statutory body, the Committee on Climate Change, to provide independent advice on achieving targets and staying within budgets. The Bill is the first of its kind in any country.

Environment secretary David Milliband said: “With climate change we can’t just close our eyes and cross our fingers. We need to step up our action and time isn’t on our side.”

The ECA has voiced its full support of the Bill. ECA director David Pollock said: “The Bill is a positive step by the Government. It is vital we reduce the use of fossil fuels as quickly as possible. It is our strong belief, however, that whilst energy efficiency initiatives are essential they are not sufficient.

“We urge Government action to remove price and planning barriers between customers and renewable sources of electricity. Coupled with clear, objective advice from ECA members this would make such sources of energy the obvious choice for both business and domestic customers.

“We stress the importance of local generation of electricity and in particular micro renewable electricity as key options that could make a huge difference in achieving a 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

“The ECA and our members make concerted efforts to promote and enable energy efficiency and the uptake of renewables among consumers and businesses. We are keen to work with government and other key players to ensure designers as well as businesses and domestic customers can make the right choices in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in line with the draft Bill’s targets.”