Climate tsar pushes for electric cars – U.K. Climate Change Committee calls current rate of emissions reduction ‘inadequate’
‘We need a national movement… and we think people would respond, because they only stand to gain through improving energy efficiency.’ –David Kennedy, Chief Executive, the Committee on Climate Change, quoted from a BBC News report from October 12th, 2009
Lord Turner (Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
With December’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen looming on the horizon, Britain is prepping itself with policies designed to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce environmental impact. Not enough says the U.K.’s ‘climate tsar’ Lord Turner.
The Climate Change Committee was established in 2008 by the U.K.’s Climate Change Act to function as an independent, yet official advisor, progress monitor and ‘climate watchdog’ for the country. The Committee, chaired by Lord Turner, suggests more support for electric cars, a national home insulation plan and streamlining power plants as methods of ‘decarbonizing’ Britain. It is also in favor of a ‘national movement’ with government support, rather than simply relying on market forces. Without more substantial changes and the implementation of more comprehensive programs than currently exist, the committee believes that the ambitious goals of the government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan – announced in July – will not be reached.
Nissan LEAF electric car (Image source: www.gov.hk)
The Climate Change Committee’s Blueprint to save the environment –taken from an article in the Independent from October 12th, 2009:
*1.7 million electric cars by 2020 and infrastructure to support them
*10 million lofts and 7.5 million cavity walls need to be insulated by 2015; 2.3 million solid walls insulated by 2022
*CO2 emissions from producing a kilowatt of electricity must drop from 540g today to 300g in 2020.
*8,000 more wind turbines
*Two new nuclear power stations must be built by 2020, a third by 2022
*Four coal-fired power plants with carbon capture and storage technology must be built by 2020.
*By 2022 the nation’s CO2 emissions must fall from 2007’s 636 million tonnes to 495 million tonnes.
Though emissions are already falling in the U.K. at an annual rate of 0.5%, the Climate Change Committee states that a rate of 2-3% is essential for meeting the goals set by the Low Carbon Transition Plan.
By Graham Land
Additional resources:
Committee on Climate Change
COP 15 website
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Tags: carbon emissions, Climate Change Committee, Lord Turner, UK
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