1 December 2015
Energy News Global Apollo comes to life as
Mission Innovation It was launched five months ago and now it has
become a reality.
Prince Charles proposes green
financing initiative Prince Charles has proposed a new initiative to
ensure small-scale environmental projects receive
financing.
UK needs ‘57% emissions cut
by 2030’ The government should commit to an emissions
cut of 57% by 2030.
Community energy groups threaten
Treasury with legal action
Community energy groups plan to take legal action
against the Treasury following its “unexpected”
announcement to axe tax relief for the sector.
Energy efficiency ‘can reduce
business bills by 18-25%’ Energy efficiency can reduce bills by 18-25% with
an average payback of less than 1.5 years.
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Global Apollo comes to life as Mission Innovation
It was launched five months ago and now it has become a
reality.
The ‘Global Apollo Programme‘ which aims to make
renewables cheaper than fossil fuels to tackle climate
change has come to life as ‘Mission Innovation’.
It will be announced on Monday at COP21 by US President
Barack Obama and French President François Hollande.
The programme was supported by experts in the energy
sector, economists and scientists such as world’s leading
naturalist Sir David Attenborough.
Around 20 countries have committed to doubling their
investment in clean energy research and development
(R&D) in the next five years.
Lord Gus O’Donnell, Chairman of Frontier Economics and
one of the architects behind the programme told ELN:
“What we need now is to be clear about what the target is.
We said in Apollo it should be 10 years to make renewables
cheaper than fossil fuels and we needed a co-ordination
mechanism.
“I’m hopeful that we can now think about what is the
proper target and what’s the right co-ordination
mechanism to make sure that we all work together not just
the public sector working together but how we work
together with the private sector which is another fantastic
part of this.”
The UK government has not so far joined the programme
but Lord O’Donnell said he “would be delighted if they
can”.
He added: “I know the issue for them was the Spending
Review so it was difficult for them to commit to spending in
more sources but now that the Spending Review is done I
am really hopeful when the announcement comes forward
I’d like to hear that the UK will be a part of it.”
Lord O’Donnell believes that pledges to reduce carbon
emissions combined with investing in R&D is the “best
hope the world has for a long time”.
01 Energy News 1 December 2015 www.tridentutilities.co.uk
Prince Charles proposes green
financing initiative
Prince Charles has proposed a new initiative to ensure
small-scale environmental projects receive financing.
The ‘Commonwealth Green Finance Facility’ sets out cost
efficient and effective guarantees for green projects that
struggle to get funding.
The programme will seek investment from sovereign
wealth funds and pension funds.
The Prince of Wales made the announcement at the 10th
Commonwealth Business Forum in Malta last week, which
brought together 1,300 business leaders from around 80
countries, including 21 heads of governments.
The conference aimed to create new investment
opportunities and increase the involvement of the private
sector for sustainable economic growth.
Prince Charles said: “So much of the problem, as I
understand it, when dealing with projects that aim
to tackle some of the critical challenges we face
worldwide, is that they are small and risky for
investors. Finding ways to scale up and aggregate
these developments is therefore a vital part of the
solution.
“The Commonwealth, its members and businesses
have a huge role to play. We face an
unprecedented set of interlocking challenges, all of
which are creeping up on us in the shape of a
perfect storm – a global rise in unsustainable
population growth and consumption, migration,
rapid urbanisation, climate change, natural capital
depletion and social, economic and energy
insecurity.”
02 Energy News 1 December 2015 www.tridentutilities.co.uk
The ‘Commonwealth Green
Finance Facility’ sets out cost
efficient and effective
guarantees for green projects
that struggle to get funding.
Lord Deben, Chairman of the CCC, said: “By legislating the
fifth carbon budget at the recommended level the
government will take the next important step and build on
its commitment.”
UK needs ‘57%
emissions cut by
2030’ The government should commit to an emissions cut of
57% by 2030.
That’s in order to reach an 80% cut by 2050 on 1990
levels, according to the Committee on Climate Change
(CCC).
Its fifth carbon budget states new policies are required
to obtain this goal.
It adds the UK has “made good progress to date” as
“emissions have reduced by 36% on 1990 levels and if
current policies are effective will be down by 43% – 46%
in 2020”.
The report suggests the UK should aim to heat one in
seven homes using low carbon sources as well as have
“the majority of new cars bought in the UK partially
electric” by 2030.
It also suggests the country should be largely powered
by low carbon sources of electricity by this time and
“nearly all UK homes should have insulation installed”.
The CCC adds emissions must fall by 52% to meet the
fourth carbon budget. The proposed fifth carbon budget
continues along that trajectory and would continue to cut
emissions at the lowest cost to UK businesses and
households, it claims.
These are steady emissions reductions equivalent to 2%
per year from 1990-2014, 3% per year from 2014-2030 and
4% per year from 2030-2050.
Lord Deben, Chairman of the CCC, said: “By legislating the
fifth carbon budget at the recommended level the
government will take the next important step and build on
its commitment.”
03 Energy News 1 December 2015 www.tridentutilities.co.uk
Community energy groups threaten
Treasury with legal action Community energy groups plan to take legal action against
the Treasury following its “unexpected” announcement to
axe tax relief for the sector.
Community Energy England (CEE) served the Treasury with
a ‘Letter before Action’ yesterday – the first step towards
launching a judicial review.
It comes as the Treasury proposed to exclude community
energy schemes from a list of schemes including the
Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Social Investment
Tax Relief (SITR) from 30th November.
Community Energy Scotland and Community Energy Wales,
which are working with CEE, said their purpose in taking
action “is to make clear to the government how seriously
their collective members could be affected”.
CEE Chairman Philip Wolfe added: “Our letter gives HM
Treasury a final opportunity to reconsider its position in
light of the legitimate expectations of the community
energy sector arising from government statements in
the 2015 Budget.
“We have not taken the decision to challenge lightly but
believe it is important to seek the regulatory
consistency necessary to inspire the billions of pounds
of investment, which sustainable energy infrastructure
needs to survive and thrive over the next decade and
more.”
04 Energy News 1 December 2015 www.tridentutilities.co.uk
Community Energy Scotland and
Community Energy Wales, which
are working with CEE, said their
purpose in taking action “is to
make clear to the government
how seriously their collective
members could be affected”.
Energy efficiency ‘can
reduce business bills by
18-25%’
Energy efficiency can reduce bills by 18-25% with an
average payback of less than 1.5 years.
That’s according to a report by the Federation of Small
Businesses (FSB).
It also states 31% of FSB members said energy costs were
a barrier to growth and 90% of them want to be energy
efficient but only a fifth have been offered advice on how
to be.
The report adds 45% of small businesses say rented
premises prevent further efficiency and 61% of small
businesses say enhanced tax relief would encourage
energy efficiency.
It went on to say more than half of small businesses “are
motivated by environmental protection”.
The report states smart meters “are critical for helping
small firms take control of their energy use and reduce
costs”.
Energy companies must roll out smart meters for all
homes and small businesses by 2019.
A recent report by DECC showed nearly eight out of 10
smart meter customers have taken steps to reduce their
energy use.
05 Energy News 1 December 2015 www.tridentutilities.co.uk
The report states smart meters
“are critical for helping small
firms take control of their
energy use and reduce costs”.