Big businesses urge Government to slash carbon emissions from UK's power sector

 
File photo dated 20/05/09 of the Whitelee Windfarm on the outskirts of Glasgow as the Government must set a target to slash carbon emissions from the power sector by 2030 to stimulate investment that will drive growth, businesses have urged. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Monday October 8, 2012. Companies and investors have joined with trade unions, environmental groups and industry bodies to warn Chancellor George Osborne that support for gas power into the 2030s is undermining investment in UK electricity infrastructure. In an open letter to the Chancellor on the day he addresses the Conservative Party conference, they demand a target in legislation to decarbonise the power sector to unleash a needed £110 billion investment in electricity supplies. It is the latest twist in the battle over energy policy, ignited when Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary Ed Davey saw off Tory calls for significant cuts to onshore wind farm subsidies - at the price of support for gas up to and beyond 2030. See PA story ENVIRONMENT Energy. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
8 October 2012

The Government must set a target to slash carbon emissions from the power sector by 2030 to stimulate investment that will drive growth, businesses have urged.

Companies and investors have joined with trade unions, environmental groups and industry bodies to warn Chancellor George Osborne that support for gas power into the 2030s is undermining investment in UK electricity infrastructure.

In an open letter to the Chancellor on the day he addresses the Conservative Party conference, they demand a target in legislation to decarbonise the power sector to unleash a needed £110 billion investment in electricity supplies.

It is the latest twist in the battle over energy policy, ignited when Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary Ed Davey saw off Tory calls for significant cuts to onshore wind farm subsidies - at the price of support for gas up to and beyond 2030.

The Government's climate advisers have warned support for future gas plants without technology fitted to cut emissions is not compatible with climate change legislation and is harming investment in low-carbon power such as renewables and nuclear.

Opposition leader Ed Miliband has spelled out his backing for a 2030 target for the power sector, and the Liberal Democrats have supported a target under the Energy Bill, to be included in secondary legislation to allow flexibility.

In today's letter, more than 50 businesses and organisations warn that failure to act at sufficient scale and pace on climate change, energy security and commodity price volatility would undermine prosperity and see the UK missing out on the opportunities of a global shift to a low-carbon economy.

"The Government's perceived commitment to the low carbon transition is being undermined by recent statements calling for unabated gas in the power sector beyond 2030 and the absence of a specific carbon intensity target," they warn.

The letter points to a recent report by business group the CBI, which estimates that while a third of UK growth in 2011/2012 came from green businesses, policy uncertainty could lose the UK £400 million in exports in 2014/2015 alone.

"It is essential for Government to provide investors with the long-term confidence they need to transform our electricity market and make investments capable of driving wider economic growth."

Major businesses such as Asda, Aviva, British American Tobacco, EDF, Microsoft, Marks & Spencer, PepsiCo, Philips, Sky and the Co-operative have signed the letter.

Peter Young, chairman of the Aldersgate Group which co-ordinated the move, said: "The message of this letter is loud and clear: we must put an end to any political uncertainty surrounding the UK's energy future and start unleashing the billions of pounds of overdue investment which will deliver new growth for our economy."

Andy Atkins, executive director at Friends of the Earth, which backed the letter, said the Chancellor's support for gas power was looking "increasingly isolated".

"The Liberal Democrats, Labour and leading firms are lining up against the Chancellor because they recognise the urgent need to decarbonise our power sector and seize the huge opportunities from embracing the Green Economy.

"David Cameron must stop the Chancellor's dash for gas that would send the economy and our environment hurtling in the wrong direction," he said.

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