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Fuel Poverty

It's always reassuring, as an advisory body, when one's advice is acted upon. The Sustainable Development Commission has been recommending the creation of a new department to bring together energy and climate change since the time of the 2003 Energy White Paper, and we're delighted that it has at last happened.

As we see it, the principal benefits will be as follows:

1. Enabling infinitely better coordination on both policy and implementation than has proved possible over the last 11 years. By combining Defra’s interests (climate change and energy efficiency) with BERR’s interests (energy policy, regulation etc), joined-up should become the norm rather than the rare exception.

There are other departments, of course, with big climate change responsibility (CLG, DFT, the rest of BERR, and particularly Treasury), but at least they won’t be able to play “divide and rule” with what should now be a much harder-hitting department.

2. Providing an authoritative sponsoring department for the complex network of organisations involved in the area, including The Carbon Trust, The Energy Saving Trust, The Office of Climate Change and (most importantly) The Committee for Climate Change – the one bit of the system with real clout.

3. Getting OFGEM under control, finally, so that its statutory remit is amended to ensure that it to plays its part in delivering a low-carbon economy for the UK – something of which it is currently entirely incapable.

4. Getting some of BERR’s more intransigent elements under better control. The reality is that BERR had, to all extents and purposes, become “a wholly owned subsidiary of the major energy companies”. This had become a massive problem in terms of proper policy development.

The pro-nuclear, pro-coal lobbies inside BERR won't of course disappear overnight, but they may find their influence properly curtailed.

And what a telling welcome for Ed Miliband, on his first full day in the new department, as Help The Aged and Friends Of The Earth launch a judicial review against the Government on its continuing, disgraceful failure to address the scandal of fuel poverty – with around 5 million households spending more than 10% of their income on heating and power (which is the official definition of fuel poverty).

Energy efficiency stands at Number 1 in the hierarchy of measures needed to address climate change. By far the best thing the government could do now to show it really understands this priority would be to massively ramp up its wholly inadequate efforts on fuel poverty.

Posted by Jonathon Porritt on October 7, 2008 11:36 AM |

Comments (4)

"Energy efficiency stands at Number 1 in the hierarchy of measures needed to address climate change". This, as you say, is THE no. 1 issue and in some ways is the easiest for everyone to grapple with since it makes most sense.

Energy efficiency or conservation: 1. saves energy (reduce the need for energy), 2. saves money so its benefit should be easy to 'sell' (energy costs are decreased), and 3. reduces climate change (given that most energy generated now creates CO2 emissions). Technology can play a huge part in energy efficiency, but a lot of common sense as well (turn off lights, turn down heating, low energy solutions).

Plus the political will needs to be there, so energy efficiency and conservation should be the absolute priority for government now, along with the search for alternative, non-carbon, energy sources.

Posted by Andrew Smith | October 7, 2008 12:47 PM

I'd like to see universal free insulation. This avoids means testing and maximises the money saving and carbon cutting impact.

http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2008-09-11-insulation.html


Posted by Glenn Vowles | October 8, 2008 12:16 PM

I think if Labor have proved one thing its that having comissions/committes/offices and trusts is no substitute for having commitment.

On wed there where two airport expansions let through in one day. Notable perhaps because the previous day the head of the climate change committee had written to ed milliband reccomending 80% by 2050 with the inclusion of aviation...

Kingsnorth still seems to be full steam ahead...

The govornment are that poor on renewables that some are claiming its performing poorly for a reason...nuclear looks tempting ehh?

Well, overall, i`m not impressed. Actions not words please.

Posted by Calvin | October 10, 2008 9:35 AM

Bringing together energy and climate change seems like a recipe for disaster. We need somebody to concentrate on the country's future energy supply so that disaster doesn't strike when demand exceeds supply (both electricity and gas). There has been no energy policy for about 20 years (10 ministers with no knowledge of energy in 11 years) and the country is sliding rapidly into an energy crisis. Forget climate change, it will happen (as it always has) regardless of what we do. The first priority has to be a secure supply of energy.

Posted by Phillip Bratby | October 13, 2008 4:55 PM

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