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LONDON, England, April 26, 2006 (Refocus
Weekly)
An alliance of 35 groups in the UK has called on
the government to reduce demand and to boost renewable power as part
of its long-term energy strategy.
The priorities of the energy review should be to focus on green
heat and green fuels, as well as electricity, since energy is “an
inter-related system and policy should pay equal attention to all
parts of the mix,” says the one-page manifesto co-ordinated by the
Renewable Energy Association and endorsed by an alliance including
the British Wind Energy Association, Solar Trade Association,
Combined Heat & Power Association, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace,
WWF, Scottish Renewables Forum, Energy Saving Trust, Institute for
Public Policy Research, Institution of Mechanical Engineers,
Micropower Council, British Hydropower Association, National Energy
Foundation, National Farmers Union, New Economics Foundation,
Parliamentary Renewable & Sustainable Energy Group, Royal Society
for the Protection of Birds, Town & Country Planning Association, UK
Business Council for Sustainable Energy and others. The manifesto
was released in the Houses of Parliament with high level cross-party
support.
The UK government should “uphold the vision, objectives and targets
for sustainability, security, prosperity and fairness set out in the
2003 Energy White Paper” and “develop the long-term policy framework
necessary to provide enduring investment signals for businesses of
all sizes to deliver the major changes needed to our energy system,”
it recommends. The ‘energy gap’ should be minimized before policy
actions try to fill with supply, and the first priority is to reduce
demand followed by encouraging efficient energy production and
usage, and then to boost renewables.
Incentives and support measures should reflect these priorities, it
states.
Government and agencies should be structured to meet the objectives
by identifying a single body responsible for achievement of
sustainable energy targets, with primary duties for the regulator to
“reflect all national energy policy objectives,” it continues. The
strategic framework should lead to reduced consumption through
energy saving, and acknowledge that “conservation is the most
cost-efficient solution to energy security, fuel poverty and climate
change.”
An investment in decentralized energy systems would allow integrated
community systems and micro-generation to deliver heat and
electricity at point of use, displace inefficient production in
conventional stations and increase public awareness to catalyze
behaviour change. Government should strengthen regulations to
require all new buildings to be carbon0neutral by 2015 at the
latest.
“Renewables produce low carbon energy without fossil fuels and
stimulate agriculture and the economy,” it notes. “Government should
aim to put the UK in the top five EU members for renewable energy
contribution by 2025. Coherent transitional support measures are
needed to build scale and reduce costs.”
Government should press for international policies to boost
renewables, encourage energy efficiency and eliminate barriers to
sustainable energy, and it must lead by example in its own
procurement policies and infrastructure developments, it explains.
Government should invest in a sustained program of education to
achieve cultural change in energy use, and the measures, both
individually and collectively, “will enhance sustainability, boost
UK industry and reduce fuel poverty.”
“This is the last chance for government to bring forward a sustained
package of measures to deliver the objectives set out in 2003,” says
Philip Wolfe of the Renewable Energy Association. “Industry is
looking for strong signals so we can invest in the necessary changes
to our energy system.”
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