The government has accepted it will not be able to meet its pledge to source 20% of the UK’s energy supply from renewables by 2020.

Following an expose by The Guardian newspaper, energy minister Malcolm Wicks said the Brussels deal that Tony Blair had signed up to earlier this year did not specify that all European Union members had to meet the 20% level, as long as it was achieved across Europe as a whole.

He told BBC’s Newsnight: “We are negotiating with the European Commission, but it’s got to be a considerable figure. It's got to be somewhere between 10 and 15%.”

According to The Guardian, the leaked briefing documents revealed the 20% target Blair had signed up to would be expensive and create “severe practical difficulties”.

The Guardian also claimed the documents revealed that John Hutton, secretary of state for business, would tell Gordon Brown the UK should work with governments who were sceptical about climate change to persuade them to set lower renewable targets.

The UK currently sources 2% of energy from renewables.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor