This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/10/rudd-issues-transport-challenge-to-meet-uk-renewables-target
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| UK doesn't have right policies to meet renewable energy target, admits Amber Rudd | UK doesn't have right policies to meet renewable energy target, admits Amber Rudd |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Amber Rudd has admitted the UK does not have the right policies in place to meet its EU target of sourcing 15% of energy from renewable sources by 2020, and challenged transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin to help make up the shortfall. | |
| The energy secretary told MPs on Tuesday that meeting the target would be challenging, and admitted that the UK could end up having to buy renewable energy from its European neighbours if it fell short. | |
| Rudd said that the prospect of the UK getting just 11.5% of energy from renewables by 2020 without further action, first revealed in a leaked letter on Monday, was accurate. The gap would have to be addressed by the Department for Transport and by her department doing more on heat, she said. | |
| “It’s my aim we should meet the 2020 target. I recognise we don’t have the right policies, particularly in transport and heat, but we have four to five years and I remain committed to making the target,” she told the energy and climate change committee. | “It’s my aim we should meet the 2020 target. I recognise we don’t have the right policies, particularly in transport and heat, but we have four to five years and I remain committed to making the target,” she told the energy and climate change committee. |
| “I am concerned about the work that is being done on transport and on heat to meet the additional targets, that is why I have been writing to ministers in other departments, particularly in transport,” she said. | “I am concerned about the work that is being done on transport and on heat to meet the additional targets, that is why I have been writing to ministers in other departments, particularly in transport,” she said. |
| But making up the shortfall by increasing the amount of renewable electricity from sources such as windfarms, which the Tory party has hit with subsidy cuts, was not an option, she said. “I think it would be a mistake to abandon heat and transport, they need to make their contribution on the renewable targets.” | But making up the shortfall by increasing the amount of renewable electricity from sources such as windfarms, which the Tory party has hit with subsidy cuts, was not an option, she said. “I think it would be a mistake to abandon heat and transport, they need to make their contribution on the renewable targets.” |
| Buying renewable energy from other European countries was on the table as an option, she said, but would not be desirable. “The desirable option is to deliver it ourselves,” she said, while declining to name which countries the UK would consider buying green energy from. | Buying renewable energy from other European countries was on the table as an option, she said, but would not be desirable. “The desirable option is to deliver it ourselves,” she said, while declining to name which countries the UK would consider buying green energy from. |
| She also rejected claims that the government’s subsidy cuts to renewable electricity over the summer had harmed the UK’s ability to meet the EU target. | She also rejected claims that the government’s subsidy cuts to renewable electricity over the summer had harmed the UK’s ability to meet the EU target. |
| On heat, the energy secretary said she was lobbying the Treasury to continue subsidies for renewable heating ahead of the autumn statement. | On heat, the energy secretary said she was lobbying the Treasury to continue subsidies for renewable heating ahead of the autumn statement. |
| The domestic renewable heat incentive (RHI), which householders can use to get subsidies for technologies such as biomass boilers and groundsource heat pumps, launched in 2014 and is currently due to expire in 2017. Polling by the government, published on Tuesday, found that just one in ten people had heard of the RHI. | The domestic renewable heat incentive (RHI), which householders can use to get subsidies for technologies such as biomass boilers and groundsource heat pumps, launched in 2014 and is currently due to expire in 2017. Polling by the government, published on Tuesday, found that just one in ten people had heard of the RHI. |
| Rudd also defended the government’s deal with EDF to build new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset. | Rudd also defended the government’s deal with EDF to build new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset. |
| “We needed to have nuclear, we hadn’t done nuclear in 25 years. I think this was the right price to pay,” she told MPs if the government’s agreement to pay EDF twice the current wholesale price of electricity for 35 years. The government has admitted Hinkley will cost electricity customers at least £4.4bn. | “We needed to have nuclear, we hadn’t done nuclear in 25 years. I think this was the right price to pay,” she told MPs if the government’s agreement to pay EDF twice the current wholesale price of electricity for 35 years. The government has admitted Hinkley will cost electricity customers at least £4.4bn. |
| She also said that she would like to see Chinese-designed reactors up and running Bradwell, Essex, by the late 2020s, as well an EDF-designed reactor at Sizewell in Suffolk. | She also said that she would like to see Chinese-designed reactors up and running Bradwell, Essex, by the late 2020s, as well an EDF-designed reactor at Sizewell in Suffolk. |
| Stephen Lovegrove, permanent secretary at the Department of Energy and Climate Change also told MPs that the department was shedding 200 of its 1,600 staff as part of the comprehensive spending review. | Stephen Lovegrove, permanent secretary at the Department of Energy and Climate Change also told MPs that the department was shedding 200 of its 1,600 staff as part of the comprehensive spending review. |
| The Green party MP, Caroline Lucas MP, said that the government’s credibility on climate change was “in tatters”. “To create jobs and tackle climate change, the UK should be leading the way on clean home-grown energy. Ministers must get a grip and urgently act to ensure we meet all of our renewable energy targets,” she said. | The Green party MP, Caroline Lucas MP, said that the government’s credibility on climate change was “in tatters”. “To create jobs and tackle climate change, the UK should be leading the way on clean home-grown energy. Ministers must get a grip and urgently act to ensure we meet all of our renewable energy targets,” she said. |