Potential carbon budget review could hinder targets
Summary
The Government has set out a fourth carbon budget aiming for a 50% emissions reduction by 2025 but a decision to review the budget in 2014 could put this bold aim at risk, 'Carbon Budgets’ (HC 1080) reports.
The Committee on Climate Change welcomes the Government’s decision to set the fourth carbon budget in line with their recommendations, however, the Environmental Audit Committee argues that a review of the budget could be bad for business.
The fourth budget is required by law under the Climate Change Act and should be regarded as an absolute minimum; if the budget is reviewed in 2014 and the terms relaxed, targets for UK climate change will become more costly and less achievable.
The Climate Change Act outlines that carbon emissions will be cut by at least 34% by 2020 and at least 80% by 2050.
The 2014 review could ease the budget if the UK's emissions reduction trajectory is steeper than that required by the EU's Emissions Trading System. MPs strongly support the mandatory emissions reporting by business in order to aid transparency and illustrate the contributions that companies are making.
In setting the budget, the Government announced that it would bring forward a package of measures to help energy intensive industries most at risk of so-called 'carbon leakage'. There should be a robust sector-by-sector assessment of whether jobs and production could be displaced by the UK's carbon budgets.
The report also criticises Ministers for dropping plans to require Government Departments and Local Authorities to budget for the carbon emissions produced by their policies and operations.
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