Written - Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Wales in 2005 and Government Intentions from 2007 Onwards

AEA Energy and Environment produce the Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on a regular basis.  The latest disaggregated figures were published on 18 September 2007.

The “basket” of six Greenhouse Gases are measured as follows:

• emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are measured against the base year 1990
• emissions of hydroflurocarbons, perflurocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride are measured against the base year 1995

Carbon Dioxide is by far the most significant component of the basket, representing over 80% of the total.

The September 2007 report shows that, for Wales:

• in 2005 there was a 9% decrease in emissions of the basket of six Greenhouse gases compared with base year emissions 1990  (the table included below provides more detail.)
• in 2005 there was 4% decrease in CO2 emissions compared to base year emissions

These figures show a reduction in emissions, which is good news, but greenhouse gas emissions are subject to annual fluctuations and we need to see a sustained reduction over time.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world and tackling it is a key priority of this Assembly Government.

The One Wales document illustrates the Assembly Government’s commitment to this issue, with proposals to establish a Climate Change Commission for Wales, achieving annual 3% reduction in greenhouse emissions in areas of devolved competence by 2011, committing to setting targets for the carbon neutrality of public buildings and actions in energy and public transport.

Work to tackle climate change is also already underway in all policy areas within the Assembly Government:

We have begun a communications campaign on climate change to encourage people to take action to address climate change. The emphasis is on communicating to local communities through local press and radio and I have sent a copy of the film “An Inconvenient Truth and an accompanying resource pack for teachers to all secondary schools and colleges in Wales.  We are developing plans for a wide ranging climate change campaign.  All action will need to be developed in collaboration with wider partners to maximise effectiveness and to avoid duplication of effort.

We have set ambitious targets for renewable energy generation and, as part of the energy policies I will be developing, I am committed to reviewing these targets upwards. I want to develop an approach to energy that maximises the opportunities for renewable and low carbon generation and makes the most of Wales’ natural resources. I am also determined that we should find ways to put energy back in the hands of people and communities – microgeneration and community scale generation must become an increasing part of our energy mix.  

We have set an ambitious aspiration that all new buildings in Wales should be zero carbon from 2011 and are putting in place actions to move us towards achieving this ambition.  For example:
o We now stipulate that where we provide funding or dispose of land for new buildings, it is conditional on the buildings being constructed to BREEAM excellence or equivalent standard.
o We are looking at devolving the Building Regulations to enable us to deliver on our 2011 aspiration.

We sponsor the Carbon Trust activities in Wales, and for 2007-08 this amounts to over £4.4m. The Carbon Trust provides invaluable support, advice and guidance to businesses and the public sector in Wales.  We have also recently funded the Energy Saving Trust to accelerate the establishment of a sustainable Energy Network in Wales which will strengthen the infrastructure in Wales for advice on energy efficiency, renewable energy and transport to households, private motorists, communities and micro-size businesses.  We are working with the road haulage industry to improve efficiency of lorry fleet operation to save fuel reducing costs and CO2 emissions.

Our Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) has helped over 72,000 households with energy efficiency measures such as cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, draught proofing. The scheme’s primary purpose is to tackle fuel poverty, but it is also improving the energy performance of domestic properties across Wales.

The Wood Energy Business Scheme has been very successful.  Wales is widely regarded as the UK leader in woodfuel. Innovative and successful projects include:
o Ceredigion Council’s 450kw wood chip heating scheme at Aberaeron which heats the Council offices, a school, sheltered housing and a retirement home is an exemplar. Powys County Council have a very similar scheme at the secondary school in Llandrindod Wells.
o Support to a local forestry contractor based in Bala, to purchase a brash baler to harvest forest residues for fuel to supply to the UPM plant at Shotton. This is the first of its kind in the UK.

In 2007-08, we have made available £2 million to support a range of local authority projects that will secure much needed investment to improve the cycling infrastructure in Wales.  

We have also made a £10 million commitment under the Safe Routes to Communities programme (this replaces the Safe Routes to Schools scheme). The main focus of the new programme will continue to be on schools, given that in most cases they are located at the heart of communities.  Local authorities will however also be able to develop safe routes for walking and cycling which were not focused exclusively on schools, for example, to provide links to leisure centres, parks, hospitals or care centres for the elderly.  This gives a major boost to walking and cycling by allowing new schemes to come forward.

The Assembly Government is committed to setting an example through the management of its own estate.  A comprehensive review of the administrative estate has been commissioned which will make recommendations on options for driving down the carbon footprint of our buildings and official travel.

Our contribution to the UK Climate Change Programme and other partnership working with the UK Government, Scotland and Northern Ireland is very important.

The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is the key mechanism for reducing emissions from large installations.  It is EU-wide and is a cap and trade scheme and so it will not necessarily, lead to emission reductions in Wales, but will lead to reductions across the EU as a whole.  The UK has set a tight cap which represents an emissions reduction of 8MtC for Phase ll of the Scheme which will run from 2008-2012.

We are working with the UK Government and other devolved administrations, on the proposals for the Carbon Reduction Commitment which will encourage better energy performance in sectors not covered by the EU ETS.

We are also working very closely with the UK Government on the development of the Climate Change Bill.