A call by David Cameron's favourite think tank for a radical new approach to UK energy policy was today echoed by the UK's biggest green groups. Policy Exchange is calling for the kind of greenhouse gas efficiency standard that is applied to cars to now be applied to power stations. The call comes on the same day that Greenpeace, WWF, Friends of the Earth and the RSPB released a joint recommendation for the introduction of a tough new performance standard of 350g of CO2 per kilowatt hour for power plants.
If adopted, the standard would make it very difficult for a government to allow the building of a series of new coal-fired power stations, which are backed by Labour.
The debate around new coal is at a key juncture as John Hutton considers proposals from German energy giant E.ON to build the first new unabated coal-fired power station in Britain for three decades at Kingsnorth in Kent. A standard like the one proposed today would deter decisions that ‘lock in' high carbon projects like new coal plants such as Kingsnorth, which if approved could pollute at high levels for up to fifty years, and undermine Britain's international credibility on climate change.
Robin Oakley, head of the climate campaign for Greenpeace UK, said: "John Hutton could send a signal that the UK is committed to tackling climate change by adopting this idea of a greenhouse gas standard that rules out the most climate wrecking power plants. Standards like this already exist in California ensuring that coal plants like Kingsnorth cannot be built. This standard would focus investment on implementing the real solutions to climate change and energy security - energy efficiency and renewable energy. Britain should follow California's lead."
He added: "A consensus is emerging that the emissions trading scheme alone will not bring about the transition to a low-carbon energy system that is needed. Additional measures like setting a greenhouse gas standard should help put Britain on the right path."
Keith Allott, Head of Climate Change at WWF-UK said: "Carbon capture and storage might well have some role in meeting deep emission reduction targets. But building new coal stations now without even the flimsiest of guarantees that full-scale CCS would ever be fitted is a reckless gamble that neither the climate nor the taxpayer can afford. An emissions performance standard would head off this risk, reinforce the EU emissions trading scheme and help put the UK on the path to a truly sustainable energy system."
Ruth Davis, Head of the climate campaign for the RSPB, said: "Dangerous climate change spells disaster for the world's ecosystems and the millions of people who depend upon them. To play out part in tackling the problem will require a revolution in our energy system. Setting a greenhouse gas standard that rules out the dirtiest forms of power generation is the first step towards that revolution -and an essential one if the UK wishes to safeguard its wildlife, and build a strong, green economy for the future."
Robin Webster, head of the climate campaign for FoE, said: "It's vital that the industrialised world takes the lead in making radical cuts in climate changing emissions. Now is the time to make it happen - through energy efficiency, greener transport and a massive expansion of renewable power. Building coal plants without a greenhouse gas standard would lock us into our addiction to fossil fuels and the environmental devastation it would cause."
ENDS
Greenpeace press office - 07801 212967
