LONDON - Rising pollution from cars and households threatens to derail Britain's attempt to meet self-imposed targets on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, according to research published on Friday.
Independent analysts Cambridge Econometrics (CE) said the government must beef up policies designed to tackle climate change if it wants to meet carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction goals which Britain is on course to miss by a wide margin. The government wants to cut emissions of CO2, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, by 20 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2010. CE said Britain is heading for a 12.25 percent reduction by 2010.
"Carbon emissions from households are expected to be 18.5 percent above the 1990 level by 2010," said CE in the report.
"Along with road transport, they (household emissions) continue to be the major obstacle to achieving the government's 20 carbon reduction goal," said CE.
CE said the government must launch major new policies to curb energy use by households and road transport, or set much tougher CO2 limits under the European Union's emissions trading scheme.
The scheme, which launched in January, aims to curb CO2 emissions from heavy industry through a system based on traded CO2 allowances.
Companies are allocated permits which dictate how much CO2 they can emit. To bust their CO2 limits firms must buy extra allowances from firms which undershoot their limits and have spare allowances.
CE said the UK would need to reduce the number of allowances given out to industry under phase two scheme (2008-2012) by 20-30 percent, compared with phase one (2005-2007), to get back on track to meet its domestic CO2 reduction goals.
The government has launched a consultation on its approach to phase two and aims to publish a draft plan in December.
The scheme forms the centrepiece of the EU's effort to its Kyoto Protocol targets on cutting greenhouse emissions.
Despite slippage on its domestic targets, Britain is still on track to meet its Kyoto targets, CE said.
Story by Stuart Penson
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
