Written - Publication of the Committee on Climate Change’s interim advice on recommendations for the UK’s 2050 target

In September 2007, the Prime Minister announced that the Committee on Climate Change would be asked to conduct a review of the 60% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 target set out in the Climate Change Bill and consider if it should be strengthened further. This approach was confirmed in the Government response to the pre-legislative scrutiny and public consultation on the Bill published in October 2007.

In September 2008, the Committee of Climate Change, in its shadow form, was asked by the Prime Minister to bring forward earlier advice on the level of the 2050 target and related issues in order to offer the possibility of amending the Climate Change Bill in its final stages on the basis of the Committee’s informed recommendations.

The Committee published their recommendations on 7 October - http://www.theccc.org.uk/. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change will respond to the recommendations this week.

The Committee’s recommendations, in summary, are:

• The UK should aim to reduce Kyoto greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. This would be an appropriate UK contribution to a global deal aiming to reduce Kyoto gas emissions to between 20-24 billion tonnes by 2050 (between 50-60% below current levels). 
• The costs to the UK from this level of emissions reduction can be made affordable with appropriate policies and trajectories – between 1-2% of GDP in 2050.
• The 80% target should apply to the sum of all sectors of the UK economy, including international aviation and shipping. To the extent that international aviation and shipping emissions are not reduced by 80%, either these sectors would have to purchase credits, or more effort would have to be made in other sectors. 
• The target should also cover all greenhouse gases rather than just CO2.
• The emissions reduction target for those sectors covered by the Climate Change Bill should be at least 80%.

The Committee advise that meeting an 80% target or higher will be challenging but feasible based on a range of options for reducing emissions. These include: 

• Energy efficiency improvement in buildings and industry which will be particularly important for reducing emissions in the period to 2020
• Decarbonisation of the power sector, starting now and continuing through the 2020s. 
• Transport sector decarbonisation, first through improving fuel efficiency of conventional engines and increased use of sustainable first generation biofuels, with progressive introduction of new technologies. 
• Heat sector decarbonisation through increased use of biomass in boilers and CHP, air exchange and ground source heat pumps, and modern electric storage heating. 
• Decarbonisation of industry through the introduction of new technologies such as Carbon Capture and Storage in cement, iron and steel.

The Climate Change Commission for Wales wants to see the inclusion of aviation and shipping into UK targets and will be pleased that the Committee has recommended this. However, I accept, as does the UK Government, Lord Turner’s recommendation that because of uncertainties over how to allocate emissions between countries, aviation and shipping should be addressed outside of the Climate Change Bill.

I have provided the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with the Assembly Government’s initial response to the Committee’s recommendations. In particular, that we support the adoption of at least 80% for the 2050 target, the target should be based on all greenhouse gases as Welsh targets already are, and that the Climate Change Bill should be amended accordingly.

I am pleased to report that the UK Government has accepted Lord Turner’s recommendations and the Climate Change Bill will be amended accordingly to set the target to cut 80 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and that target will be binding in law. I also welcomed the inclusion in the Secretary of State’s parliamentary statement that there will be a move to introduce feed in tariffs for microgeneration, as an amendment to the Energy Bill and that that there will be a forthcoming announcement on renewable heat. I have always supported feed in tariffs and wrote in support of their inclusion in the Energy Bill to the previous minister.

The Assembly Government is committed to tackling climate change and to delivering its fair share of emission reductions. This is reflected in our One Wales commitment to achieve annual 3% reductions in emissions in areas of devolved competence from 2011.

Our target is intended to deliver year on year reductions and to stimulate early emission reduction. Early reductions will be critical to getting on the right trajectory to deliver ambitious longer term targets.

The Committee’s full report on the 2050 target and the level of the UK’s first three carbon budgets will be published on 1st December 2008.

The Bill specifies that the devolved administrations should be consulted on a number of key decisions in the Bill – for example setting the carbon budget. I will ask the Climate Change Commission for Wales to contribute to the development of the Assembly Government’s response and representatives of the UK Committee will attend the Commission meeting in December to inform the discussion around our response.